Nearly half a century after his father was murdered in a racist attack in North Tyneside, former Newcastle city councillor and former Lord Mayor Habib Rahman has issued a powerful warning about what he describes as the growing threat of racism, Islamophobia and far-right politics in modern Britain.
Today marks 49 years since Rahman’s father, Azizur Rahman, was brutally murdered while working at a restaurant in Wallsend in 1977. Habib Rahman was just three years old at the time.
For the former councillor, anti-racism campaigning has never been theoretical or political theatre. It has been deeply personal.
“My mother became a widow at the age of 36,” Rahman said in an emotional statement marking the anniversary. “From that moment she dedicated her life to raising her sons to become law-abiding citizens, decent human beings who share love and never spread hate towards any of mankind.”
Choosing forgiveness
Despite the unimaginable trauma, Rahman says his mother chose forgiveness over hatred.
“She forgave the man who killed her husband,” he said. “Her message was always clear: love for all, hatred for none.”
That upbringing would shape Rahman’s life and future public service. Over the following decades he became one of the North East’s most recognisable anti-racism campaigners, youth workers and community activists before eventually entering politics and becoming Newcastle’s first British Bangladeshi, first Muslim and first BAME Lord Mayor.
A dangerous moment
But alongside reflecting on personal grief, Rahman says the anniversary comes at a dangerous moment for Britain. He warned:
“It feels as though the ghosts of yesterday are awakening once again. I fear darker days ahead.”
Rahman drew parallels between the racism faced by migrant communities in the 1970s and the rise in anti-migrant rhetoric and Islamophobia in current political discourse.
Without naming individual figures directly, he criticised what he described as the “normalisation of division and scapegoating” in sections of British politics, warning that the growing influence of populist far-right narratives risks emboldening extremists on the streets.
He expressed particular concern over the rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric and what many anti-racism organisations have identified as increasingly hostile narratives surrounding immigration, multiculturalism and refugees.
“Racism and racist violence are not merely expressions of hatred,” he said. “They are acts of terror. They spread fear, inflict deep and lasting pain, and threaten the very foundation of our shared humanity.”
A journey to eradicate hate
Rahman also reflected on another tragedy that shaped his life: the 1992 racist killing of community elder Khowaj Miah, who died after being attacked by a gang while walking to mosque.
“That moment became a turning point in my life,” he said. “It was the beginning of my own personal journey – a journey to eradicate hate.”
Rather than turning towards anger or extremism, Rahman says he chose community work, youth engagement and public service.
“I could easily have succumbed to hatred,” he said. “But I could not abandon the values my mother worked so hard to instill in us.”
Over a political career spanning more than a decade, Rahman campaigned on anti-racism, housing, youth services, community cohesion and international human rights causes including Rohingya genocide awareness and Palestine solidarity.
Supporters credit him with helping amplify the voices of Newcastle’s minority communities and challenging institutional racism within public life.
Now outside frontline politics, Rahman says his commitment remains unchanged. He said:
“I promise this: I will continue to challenge every Islamophobe, every racist, and every form of hatred – no matter who they are or how powerful they may be.”
His message ends not with bitterness, but remembrance.
“Forty-nine years of pain will never fade,” he wrote. “But your spirit lives on through the lessons you taught, the love you gave, and the strength you left behind.”
For many in Newcastle’s diverse communities, the story of Habib Rahman represents both the painful legacy of racism in Britain and the resilience of those who refused to answer hatred with hatred.
And as political tensions continue to rise across the country, his warning is likely to resonate far beyond the North East.
