Difference between revisions 766640599 and 772863254 on enwiki

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Altab Ali
| image         = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = 
| birth_date    = {{birth year|1953}}
| birth_place   = [[Sylhet District]], [[Sylhet Division]], [[East Bengal]] (now Bangladesh)
| death_date    = {{Death date|df=yes|1978|5|4}} (aged 25)
| death_place   = [[Whitechapel]], [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], London, England
| resting_place = [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], London, England
| nationality   = [[Bangladesh]]i
| other_names   = 
| occupation    = 
| years_active  = 
| known_for     = 
| notable_works = 
}}

'''Altab Ali''' (1953 – 4 May 1978) was a [[Bangladesh]]i [[textile]] worker who was murdered by three teenagers on 4 May 1978 in a racially motivated attack as he walked home after work.  His murder took place at St. Mary's Gardens by St Mary's Churchyard, near the corner of Adler Street and [[Whitechapel Road]] in [[London]].  It provoked the mass mobilisation of the local [[Bengali people|Bengali]] community.  Ali became a symbol of resistance against racism and has been associated with the struggle for human rights in defence of [[British Bangladeshi]]s.  The churchyard he was murdered in was later renamed [[Altab Ali Park]] in his memory.

==Background==
Ali was a 25-year-old mechanic who had recently arrived<ref name="Being Bengali">{{cite book |last=Chakraborty|first=Mridula Nath|title=Being Bengali: At Home and in the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DUgsAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA178 |year=2014|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=178|isbn=978-0415625883}}</ref> from [[Sylhet District]], [[Sylhet Division]],<ref name="Muslims in British Local Government">{{cite book |last=Tatari|first=Eren|title=Muslims in British Local Government: Representing Minority Interests in Hackney, Newham, and Tower Hamlets |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_4QBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|year=2015|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill Academic Publishers]]|page=116|isbn=978-9004269699}}</ref> [[East Bengal]] (now [[Bangladesh]]) and lived in the [[East End of London|East End]] of London.<ref name="UKIA">{{cite web |url=http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/09/381365.html|title=Indymedia: Altab Ali|publisher=Indymedia|date= |accessdate=19 September 2007}}</ref>

==Death==
On 4 May 1978, on [[Tower Hamlets London Borough Council election, 1978|local borough election]] night and against a background of agitation by [[National Front (UK)|National Front]],<ref name="Being Bengali"/> Ali was making his way to the bus stop after finishing work<ref name="Muslims in Motion">{{cite book |last=Kibria |first=Nazli |date=2011 |title=Muslims in Motion: Islam and National Identity in the Bangladeshi Diaspora |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJeEFctj5PUC&pg=PA86 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |page=86 |isbn=978-0-8135-5056-5}}</ref> as a textile<ref name="morningstaronline">{{cite news |last=Rashid|first=Harounor|url=http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-ed64-May-Day-Linking-workers-from-east-London-to-Bangladesh#.Vjt2nyucegZ|title=May Day: Linking workers from east London to Bangladesh|work= |location=London|publisher=''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]]''|date=1 May 2014|accessdate=1 December 2015}}</ref> factory<ref name="Judaism, Christianity, and Islam">{{cite book |last=Gilman |first=Sander L. |date=2014 |title=Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Collaboration and Conflict in the Age of Diaspora |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d3AfBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |page=171 |isbn=978-988-8208-27-2}}</ref> garment worker at a sweatshop in [[Brick Lane]].<ref name="Being Bengali"/> He was chased along [[Brick Lane]] and stabbed to death near [[Aldgate tube station|Aldgate Station]]<ref name="East End Chronicles">{{cite book |last=Glinert |first=Ed |date=2006 |title=East End Chronicles |publisher=Penguin |page=268 |isbn=978-0-14-101718-1}}</ref> in a racially motivated attack<ref name="Education, Racism, and Reform">{{cite book |last1=Troyna |first1=Barry |last2=Carrington |first2=Bruce |date=1990 |title=Education, Racism and Reform |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5DfVXjddHsC&pg=PA30 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=30 |isbn=978-0-415-03826-3}}</ref> at St. Mary's Gardens, the site of the church of [[St Mary Matfelon]]<ref name="After the Cosmopolitan?">{{cite book |last=Keith |first=Michael |date=2005 |title=After the Cosmopolitan?: Multicultural Cities and the Future of Racism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMt_AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 |publisher=Routledge |page=144 honorific_prefix = 
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| birth_date       = 1953
| birth_place      = [[Sylhet District]], [[Sylhet Division]], [[East Bengal]] (now [[Bangladesh]])
| death_date       = {{Death date|df=yes|1978|4|5}} (aged 25)
| death_place      = [[Whitechapel]], [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], London, England
| death_cause      = 
| resting_place    = [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]], London, England
| residence        = 
| nationality      = [[Bangladesh]]i
| other_names      = 
| ethnicity        = [[Bengali people|Bengali]]
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'''Altab Ali''' (1953 – 4 May 1978) was a [[Bangladesh]]i [[textile]] worker who was murdered by three teenagers on 4 May 1978 in a racist attack as he walked home after work. His murder took place at St. Mary's Gardens by St Mary's Churchyard, and near the corner of Adler Street and [[Whitechapel Road]] in [[London]]. It provoked the mass mobilisation of the [[Bengali people|Bengali]] community locally and came to represent the self-organisation of the community. Ali became a symbol of resistance against racism and is associated with the struggle for human rights in defence of [[British Bangladeshi]]s. The churchyard he was murdered in was later renamed [[Altab Ali Park]] in his memory.

==Background==
Ali was a 25-year-old mechanic who had recently arrived<ref name="Being Bengali">{{cite book |last=Chakraborty|first=Mridula Nath|title=Being Bengali: At Home and in the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DUgsAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA178|year=2014|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=178|isbn=978-0415625883}}</ref> from [[Sylhet District]], [[Sylhet Division]],<ref name="Muslims in British Local Government">{{cite book |last=Tatari|first=Eren|title=Muslims in British Local Government: Representing Minority Interests in Hackney, Newham, and Tower Hamlets |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_4QBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|year=2015|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill Academic Publishers]]|page=116|isbn=978-9004269699}}</ref> [[East Bengal]] (now [[Bangladesh]]) and lived in the [[East End of London|East End]] of London.<ref name="UKIA">{{cite web |url=http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/09/381365.html|title=Indymedia: Altab Ali|publisher=Indymedia|date= |accessdate=19 September 2007}}</ref>

==Death==
On 4 May 1978, on [[Tower Hamlets London Borough Council election, 1978|local borough election]] night and against a background of agitation by [[National Front (UK)|National Front]],<ref name="Being Bengali"/> Ali was making his way to the bus stop after finishing work<ref name="Muslims in Motion">{{cite book |last=Kibria|first=Nazli|title=Muslims in Motion: Islam and National Identity in the Bangladeshi Diaspora|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RJeEFctj5PUC&pg=PA86&dq=Altab+Ali&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBGoVChMI-b_J9frsyAIVQrIUCh1ZJgqI#v=onepage&q=Altab%20Ali&f=false|year=2011|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|page=86|isbn=978-0813550565}}</ref> as a textile<ref name="morningstaronline">{{cite news |last=Rashid|first=Harounor|url=http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-ed64-May-Day-Linking-workers-from-east-London-to-Bangladesh#.Vjt2nyucegZ|title=May Day: Linking workers from east London to Bangladesh|work= |location=London|publisher=''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]]''|date=1 May 2014|accessdate=1 December 2015}}</ref> factory<ref name="Judaism, Christianity, and Islam">{{cite book |last=Gilman|first=Sander L.|title=Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Collaboration and Conflict in the Age of Diaspora|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=d3AfBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA171&dq=Altab+Ali&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBWoVChMIg-vQ0ar6yAIVgrkUCh0gXgg5#v=onepage&q=Altab%20Ali&f=false|year=2015|publisher=[[Hong Kong University Press]]|page=171|isbn=978-9888208272}}</ref> garment worker at a sweatshop in [[Brick Lane]].<ref name="Being Bengali"/> He was chased along [[Brick Lane]] and stabbed to death near [[Aldgate tube station|Aldgate Station]]<ref name="East End Chronicles">{{cite book |last=Glinert|first=Ed|title=East End Chronicles|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=R4kdCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT309&dq=Altab+Ali&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBzgyahUKEwjF0ejOrvrIAhXJwBQKHST7Dss#v=onepage&q=Altab%20Ali&f=false|year=2006|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page= |isbn=978-0141017181}}</ref> in a racially motivated attack<ref name="Education, Racism, and Reform">{{cite book |last1=Troyna|first1=Barry|last2=Carrington|first2=Bruce|title=Education, Racism, and Reform|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=k5DfVXjddHsC&pg=PA30&dq=Altab+Ali+white+black&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMIota-qoXtyAIVi-0UCh37LAnn#v=onepage&q=Altab%20Ali%20white%20black&f=false|year=1990|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|page=30|isbn=978-0-415-03826-3}}</ref> at St. Mary's Gardens, the site of the church of [[St Mary Matfelon]]<ref name="After the Cosmopolitan?">{{cite book |last=Keith|first=Michael|title=After the Cosmopolitan?: Multicultural Cities and the Future of Racism|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vMt_AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA144&dq=Altab+Ali&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAmoVChMI-b_J9frsyAIVQrIUCh1ZJgqI#v=onepage&q=Altab%20Ali&f=false|year=2005|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=144|isbn=978-0-415-34169-1}}</ref> by St Mary's Churchyard, and the corner of Adler Street and [[Whitechapel Road]].<ref name="UKIA"/><ref name="20thcenturylondon">{{cite web |url=http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conInformationRecord.294 |title=Bangladeshi London|publisher=Exploring 20th century London|date= |accessdate=1 November 2015}}</ref>

(contracted; show full)

The murder provoked a mass mobilisation of the Bengali community locally<ref name="Judaism, Christianity, and Islam"/> The protest against the murder politicised a generation of young Bengali activists<ref name="Judaism, Christianity, and Islam"/> and many Bangladeshis were drawn into political activity in the aftermath of the murder.<ref name="A People's History of London">{{cite book |last1=German
 |first1=Lindsey |last2=Rees |first2=John |date=2012 |title=A People's History of London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7BN6m4LSkOQC&pg=PA248 |publisher=[[Verso Books]] |page=248 |isbn=978-1-84467-855-|first1=Lindsey|last2=Rees|first2=John|title=A People's History of London|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7BN6m4LSkOQC&pg=PA248&dq=Altab+Ali&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCGoVChMI-b_J9frsyAIVQrIUCh1ZJgqI#v=onepage&q=Altab%20Ali&f=false|year=1988|publisher=[[Verso Books]]|page=248|isbn=978-1844678556}}</ref> This began a movement that eventually pushed the National Front out of Whitechapel, and helped affirm Bengali identity there.<ref name="standard"/>

[[File:Entrance, Altab Ali Park.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Entrance to [[Altab Ali Park]]]]
(contracted; show full)e="eastlondonadvertiser2"/><ref name="eastlondonadvertiser1">{{cite news |last=Barnett|first=Adam|url=http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/anti_racists_and_bangladeshis_mark_altab_ali_day_in_whitechapel_1_3589309|title=Anti-racists and Bangladeshis mark Altab Ali Day in Whitechapel|work= |location=London|publisher=''[[Docklands and East London Advertiser|East London Advertiser]]''|date=7 May 2014|accessdate=1 November 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
*
  [[British Bangladeshi]]
*  [[List of British Bangladeshis]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*  [http://www.sublimephotography.co.uk/eastendphotos/whitechapel/photos/big/altabali.jpg Altab Ali Park entrance]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Altab}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Anti-Asian sentiment]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi Muslims]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British people of Bangladeshi descent]]
[[Category:English murder victims]]
[[Category:People murdered in London]]
[[Category:People from Sylhet District]]
[[Category:People from Whitechapel]]
[[Category:Deaths by stabbing in England]]
[[Category:Racially motivated violence in England]]