Killed shopkeeper Asad Shah's funeral held

The funeral of Asad Shah, who was killed in an attack outside his shop in Glasgow, has been held.

The service took place at the Ahmadiyya Muslim mosque in the Yorkhill area of the city.

The 40-year-old was found seriously injured in Minard Road in Shawlands at about 21:05 on Thursday 24 March. He died in hospital.

Tanveer Ahmed, 32, from Bradford in Yorkshire, has appeared in court charged with his murder.

Police Scotland had previously described the incident as a religiously prejudiced attack and said both men were Muslims.

Mr Shah was an Ahmadiyya Muslim, a group known for its non-violence and interfaith concerns, that is persecuted in many parts of the world.

Ahmadiyya are banned by the constitution of Pakistan from referring to themselves as Muslims.

Friends and family of Mr Shah, as well as politicians, attended the funeral at the Bait-Ur-Rahman Mosque at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Centre.

A message on the wall inside the hall at the mosque reads "Love For All Hatred For None".

Prayers were led at the hour-long service by Mansoor Shah, vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK.

After the service, Mr Shah said: "I think it was an extremely important service. I have been to Pollokshields this morning and I saw the bunches of flowers and I met a couple of neighbours down there and it was very moving.

"I was attached to this man. I saw what a lovely man he was and I was extremely sorry to see someone so lovely go away like this.

"We are the Islamic community and we do not believe in any kind of extremism. We must live in this country as law-abiding citizens.

"We are glad that the people of Scotland have come together. And shared their views with us and stood behind us. And we are extremely grateful to all the people of Scotland for having shown this solidarity."

Asad Shah died after being found badly injured near his shop in the Shawlands area of Glasgow

Abdul Abid, president of the Ahmadiyya community in Scotland, said: "We are sad that a very popular man of our community is not with us anymore.

"I don't know how we will survive without him. He was a polite, gentle person.

"Today's service is in his memory and we are proud to have had such a wonderful person amongst our community."

Lawyer Aamer Anwar said: "There has to be a legacy of Asad Shah. This city has seen sectarian strife for over 150 years. We need to make sure that we don't import the politics of hatred, of sectarianism from Pakistan into our communities and to our streets.

"Anybody who attended the vigil, anybody that attended the funeral today of Asad Shah would know that Asad Shah was a well-loved man who has devastated his family by leaving them behind. We can't have another life lost to such hatred."

Mr Shah was killed just hours after he posted an Easter message on Facebook to his customers.

This message said: "Good Friday and a very happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nationx"

The night after he died a silent vigil was held outside his shop attended by hundreds of people including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Hundreds of floral tributes were also left at the scene.

A fundraising page on GoFundMe, set up to help Mr Shah's family, has raised more than £111,000.

Mr Shah was born in Rabwah, Pakistan, and moved to Glasgow in 1998 to join his father in business.

Floral tributes were placed near the scene

Who are the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community?

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded in 1889. Its origins are in British-controlled northern India. The community identifies itself as a Muslim movement and follows the teachings of the Koran.

The community's website says it has tens of millions of members across 206 countries. Its current headquarters are in the UK.

The Ahmadiyya community takes its name from its founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who was born in 1835 and was regarded by his followers as the messiah and a prophet.

Ghulam Ahmad saw himself as a renewer of Islam and claimed to have been chosen by Allah.

The community "categorically rejects and condemns every form of terrorism" and also endorse a separation of the mosque and state.