Background
He was born in Delhi, India, migrated to Pakistan in late 1947 and moved to the United Kingdom in 1964.
He was born in Delhi, India, migrated to Pakistan in late 1947 and moved to the United Kingdom in 1964.
Siddiqui claims to have met Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi (whom he considered "charismatic") and much of the early Jamaat-e-Islami and Muslim Brotherhood leadership. Rejecting their methodologies, he forged a close relationship with Iran and met the more radical Ayatullah Khomeini and other members in the revolutionary Iranian leadership. This explains some reports that the Institute was funded by the Iranian government.
Siddiqui supported the death sentence placed on Salman Rushdie.
His support for the fatwa issued by Khomeini continued as late as the year 2000, as The Independent and the Press Association reported. Siddiqui criticises Saudi Arabia and Saudi-sponsored institutions, accusing them of having destabilised the world by working with the Central Intelligence Agency against the Soviet Union during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.