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I was
born under the British rule over India on 19th March 1929 in a small
town called Rander, near the city of Surat in the state of Gujarat.
Many
of our Muslim community members went to Burma, Bangkok, Singapore
and Mauritius well before I was born.
As
a result, our community was very wealthy and it was a golden period
of my life. Money was coming from abroad, so my early life was very
enjoyable.
There
was no mosque in Gloucester.
We collected half a crown from every working
Muslim and hired a hall in Ryecroft Street which we used as
a praying hall.
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| Ebrahim
Mohammed Surty |
Rander
was a very small town but we had our own cricket ground - there
was no ground even in Surat, which is a very big city.
There
were beautiful mosques plus two Islamic religious universities and
we played many sports such as football, cricket, table tennis and
snooker. Our
people were specialists in various kinds of cuisine.
After
1950, Burma completed the path to independence and its government
took over all our businesses and properties. Many people of our
community were forced to return to Rander without any money.
At
that time I was a young kid. My family also lost our property and
I married a local girl the same year. I studied up to Matriculation
(equivalent to GCSE) in Rander High School and got a job as a bank
clerk in Bombay.
I could
not afford to live in Bombay with my wife and two children, as it
was a very expensive city. I had to pay for a rented flat there,
so I came back to Rander at the end of 1953 and got a job as a traffic
inspector in Surat.
I worked
there until I came to England in 1961. It was a very sad day for
my wife and I, as I had to leave her and all of my family behind.
Poverty, corruption and insecurity has forced many of us to come
to Britain.
India
was in the Commonwealth, so at that time there was no need for a
visa.
Dirty
job
Living
in Britain has provided our community with a better standard of
living to that back home. When I first came to England, I went to
Dewsbury in Yorkshire.
I was
working in a woollen factory, three miles outside the town. It was
a very dirty job. My wage was £5 a week and I had to work 42 hours.
From
that income, I had to send money to my wife and five children and
to my parents as well. It was very difficult to fulfil this obligation
but I did it by cutting all my basic needs.
At
that time, to transfer money to India cost 11 rupees, which was
about £1 in British money.
In
1961 and 1962 we had very harsh winters and I had no woollen clothes
or even a kerosene heater. The landlord didn't provide me with any
kind of heater in the bedroom.
Mr Suleman Kholwadia opened the first Asian grocery shop in
Gloucester in 1963. He was the first Muslim to come to Gloucester
in 1956.  |
| Ebrahim
Mohammed Surty |
There
was no halal meat or spices over here and I had never cooked in
my life back in India. I only learnt how to fry eggs and cook one
kind of curry over here.
I was
alone and had no friends. I wanted to go back to India but that
was not possible.
It
was very difficult for me to cook during factory work and because
I was tired, to cook after finishing my shift.
Luckily
I found one Muslim family who would cook for me, so I went to live
with them. The family bought live chickens from the farm and butchered
them at home. That was the first time I ate halal meat in England.
Due
to the hard winters, I left Dewsbury in 1963 and I came to live
in Gloucester where my friend and his family lived - again I did
not have to cook any more.
I got
a job in an engineering factory. At that time the Muslim community
was bringing live chickens from the cattle market and the spices
were coming from Birmingham.
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| Two
houses were converted to form Gloucester's first mosque in Ryecroft
Street was |
A Mr
Suleman Kholwadia opened the first Asian grocery shop in Gloucester
in 1963. He was the first Muslim to come to Gloucester in 1956.
There
was no mosque in Gloucester at this time. We collected half a crown
from every working Muslim and hired a hall in Ryecroft Street which
we used as a praying hall.
At
that time there were only a few Muslims living in the city. On our
Eid festival we prayed the first year in Gloucester Park, then the
Labour Party hall, the Conservative Party hall and then the City
Hall.
Vacant
houses
In
1966 the City Council gave us two vacant houses for £1,000 in Ryecroft
Street. Mr Kholwadia went to South Africa to collect money to repair
these two properties and we started to pray there in 1967.
About
100 Muslims, including some families, then lived in Gloucester.
We joined the International Friendship League (I.F.L) Club to pass
the time during weekends and a cricket team was established and
played against some of the local teams.
In
1967 the Muslims established the Muslim Welfare Association and
prepared a constitution and registered it as a charity.
We
started negotiations with the cemetery superintendent to address
the Muslim needs of burial - the Islamic law states that the
body should be buried within 24 hours.
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| Ebrahim
Mohammed Surty |
We
called a religious minister, Molvi Lulat Sahib, to conduct the five
prayers and to teach the Koran to young children.
That
year I was elected as the executive committee member of the local
Council for Racial Equality (CRE) and I worked there for 20 years.
In
1982, the company where I worked as a semi-skilled capstan operator
failed to get enough orders. I, along with about 30 per cent of
the workforce, was made redundant.
After
that I could not get another job as I was over 50 and many younger
people were also unemployed.
I was
elected as a committee member for the Muslim Welfare Association
in 1982. We started to bury our Muslim deceased ourselves, instead
of going to the funeral director. That way we saved a lot of money
for our community.
We
did try to buy land for our own cemetery, which was put on sale
by the city council. Other Muslim associations opposed it so it
was very easy for the council to say no to our request.
We
failed to acquire that land, so we started negotiations with the
cemetery superintendent to address the Muslim needs of burial -
the Islamic law states that the body should be buried within 24
hours.
This
and some other minor problems were solved by the cemetery superintendent
Mr Worrall. Mr Tony Aland and Mrs Iris Fowler helped us whenever
we requested them.
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| Ebrahim
Mohammed Surty made the long voyage from India to the UK in
1961 |
I later
became the president of the Muslim Welfare Association and minister
Sally Oppenheim officially opened a new mosque in 1983.
Sadly
one racist person threw paint on the mosque the night before the
opening day but it didn't stop it becoming a red-letter day for
the Muslims in Gloucester.
We
invited our MP, councillors, police officers, the chairman of the
Council for Racial Equality and representatives from Saudi Arabia,
including Yusuf Islam for a dinner party. We also invited all of
our new Ryecroft Street neighbours for a dinner party.
This
was the first purpose-built mosque in the south-west. After building
the mosque we started to try to tackle some of the religious and
cultural needs, especially in relation to education.
Strictly
prohibited
After
various meetings we solved most of the problems but we differed
on sex education, music and dance. In sex education others are teaching
sex instead of the morality of sex. In
Islam it is strictly prohibited.
It
is natural at a certain age anybody can learn about sex. Many others
and I never learned about sex in school. But you can learn about
what is right and wrong and what is safe sex from religious books.
It
is wrong to force all boys and girls to learn about sex.
God
gave brains to human beings to use them properly. Nowadays
everybody is using his or her brains for mainly material things.
In
school they are teaching what is their rights and not their responsibility.
Music and dancing is strictly prohibited in Islam. Anybody
can see the result since 1960 due to the music and dancing all over
the world.
In Gloucester, the emergence of religious zeal has principally
been led by the need to maintain an identity that is in line
with common religious principles. |
| Ebrahim
Mohammed Surty |
We
hope, one day, that the government will declare holidays for the
two Eids, Eid-ul-fitr and Eid-ul-adha.
I became
disabled in 1993. I am suffering from arthritis and I get cramps
in my foot. I have no control in my legs and can only walk a few
yards, suffering shortness of breath.
Here
in this country it is a more secure place to live. We see Britain
as our permanent home now.
Furthermore,
we find that this country has provided the community with many facilities.
Even though we live far away from home, we lead a very comfortable
life.
Mosques
are found in Gloucester with excellent praying facilities. Local
shops provide us with everything that we need - halal meat, fish,
or male and female clothes.
We
feel happy living in Britain due to the health care, which is the
best in the world, the education, the social security, availability
of council houses, sewing class for ladies and language teaching.
I was
fortunate to shake hands and talk with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth
on the opening of Widden County Primary School on Monday 14th April
1986.
Serious
effects
But
the environment around us encourages a mindless mentality of doing
whatever one desires. Alcohol, drugs, night clubs, pornography,
internet porn and homosexuality are all promoted and considered
as normal and that these are the part of British culture.
One
glance at our community shows the serious effects of the British
way of life on our youth.
Today
some youth are disobedient to their parents, forgetting what Islam
says about the relationship that they should have.
Some
Muslims are seen roaming the streets aimlessly, taking drugs, alcohol
and getting involved in sex, adultery and crime. Some marriages
are ending in divorce.
In Gloucester, the emergence of religious zeal has principally
been led by the need to maintain an identity that is in line
with common religious principles. |
| Ebrahim
Mohammed Surty |
We
as Muslims living in this country now feel that these issues should
be raised in every household.
There
is also a need for active participation in the political and social
processes in this country by the young Muslims in Gloucester.
The
main focus of attention has been on establishing community structures
that would safeguard the social well-being of the city's Muslim
community.
The
primary concern for the first generation migrants into the town
was on social sustainability.
It
is now commonly recognised, that community consensus will enable
future growth and development of challenges that face emerging Asian
heritage communities.
In
Gloucester, the emergence of religious zeal has principally been
led by the need to maintain an identity that is in line with common
religious principles.
This
has been the common uniting factor that brings the community together.
The
agenda that is led by the second and third generation of the town's
youth will require mainstream participation and support, and this
will be engendered by social stability.
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See 'The Gujarati Muslim Community'
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