960419

Kalim Siddiqui

head of UK's Muslim

parliment dies

LONDON: Kalim Siddiqui, controversial leader of Britain's self-styled Muslim parliament whose hardline comments sparked regular outrage, died on Thursday in South Africa of a heart attack aged 62.

A statement from the parliament said Siddiqui -- who had a heart by-pass operation last June -- died in Pretoria while attending a conference.

Siddiqui, once labelled "Britain's most controversial Muslim", rose to prominence in the late 1980s by voicing support for the death sentence that Iran's late spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini passed on author Salman Rushdie.

Although Iran softened its tone after Khomeini's death Siddiqui maintained a hardline stance, saying just three weeks ago that the sentence should still be carried out against Rushdie, author of the book "The Satanic Verses".

It was a typically provocative remark by the former newspaper journalist and sub-editor, who founded the parliament in 1992 to represent militant Muslims in Britain.

Siddiqui also hit the headlines for saying British Muslims should be given military training to defend themselves against a repetition of the war in Bosnia and threatening to "break every bone" in Rushdie's body.

Many moderate Muslim leaders distanced themselves from the parliament, saying it did nothing to foster good relations with the rest of the community.

The parliamentary statement said Siddiqui was born on July 2, 1933. He was survived by his three children.-Reuter