'Curry King' on Mumbai terror attacks & Shariat

Muslims settling down in the UK must not demand parallel Shariat (Muslim personal law) in the country and follow the law of the land instead, leading NRI entrepreneur 'Curry King' Sir Ghulam Noon has said.

"Those who are complaining about Shariat should follow the rules of the land. If you want Shariat, then go to the country where it is prevailing. This is my message," Noon said at the launch of his autobiography, NOON, With a View.
The 72-year-old, who narrowly survived the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, said the United Nations should deal with the scourge of terrorism and cautioned that unless something drastic was done, the country that is harbouring terrorists would have to pay a heavy price.

He also said that religion does not sanction violence and terrorists have no religion.

"Quran says if you kill one human being, you are killing humanity and if you save one, you are saving the humanity," said Sir Noon.

Narrating his brush with death when terrorists struck the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai on November 26, Sir Noon said he, his brother and two others were to dine at the Hotel's restaurant, which came under attack but they decided at the last moment to have their dinner in their room.

He said this was the fourth time he had narrowly escaped death. He had earlier escaped a road accident as a 22-year-old in India before surviving an air crash in Baghdad in 1972. Subsequently, he also survived a bomb blast in a taxi near the same Taj Hotel in Mumbai.

Lord David Sainsbury formally launched the 195-page book in the presence of a distinguished gathering, which included leading NRI Labour MP Keith Vaz, President of the Hinduja Group G P Hinduja, Lord Bhiku Parikh and over a dozen MPs.

"This is the exciting story of a born entrepreneur who started with a single small sweet shop in Mumbai and became the head of a highly successful food empire," Lord Sainsbury said.

Known universally as 'Noon', Sir Ghulam was born in Mumbai and assumed control of the family business at an early age and spent a lifetime in the food business. Moving to the UK, he launched a range of authentic ethnic meals through 'Noon Products' and built a hugely successful business.

In 1996, he was awarded an MBE in recognition of his work as an employer and his charitable activities. He was knighted in 2002, and in addition to remaining active in business he sits on boards of several government and charity organisations, including the Advisory Board for Naturalisation and Integration.