Saturday, May 09, 2020
By
Web Desk

100-year-old British Muslim raises more than £70,000 for virus victims while fasting

By
Web Desk
|
 Dabirul Islam Choudhury is doing 100 laps of his community garden while fasting for Ramadan. Photo: Ramadan Family Commitment (RFC)/PA/The Guardian 

A 100-year-old Muslim man in UK has raised over £70,000 by walking laps in his garden while fasting during the month of Ramadan to raise funds for coronavirus victims in the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and other countries.

According to Al Jazeera, Dabirul Islam Choudhury was inspired by Tom Moore, a fellow British centenarian and WWII veteran who raised almost £33 million for the National Health Service by walking garden laps.

Born on January 1, 1920, in British Assam, now modern-day Bangladesh, Choudhury moved to London to study English literature in 1957.

Choudhury had a target of 100 laps when he started his mission on April 26, but said he hit his goal within days and will now continue with the garden laps to raise more funds.

His JustGiving page has raised more than £73,000 for the Ramadan Family Commitment (RFC) COVIS-19 crisis initiative, run by British-Bangladeshi television broadcaster Channel S, according to the Evening Standard.

His son, Atique Choudhury, told BBC London, “When we started, we started at a small pace but he’s been increasing his number of laps he’s doing.

“The problem we have is that we have to try and stop him because he wants to carry on.”