London-based businessman Zia Bin Russell, originally from Raozan in Chattogram, has bought a bar in east London and transformed it into a full mosque and Muslim community centre. The source says he invested substantial funds to convert the building, though it does not specify the purchase date, cost, or the centre’s opening date.

The report describes the conversion as part of Zia Bin Russell’s longer humanitarian work in Bangladesh and internationally. Through the Hafezzi Charitable Society of Bangladesh in Nabinagar, Savar, he is involved in financing and planning specialised skills-development training for people with disabilities and special needs, aimed at supporting longer-term self-reliance.

His initiatives also include distributing sewing machines, cash and income-generating materials to disadvantaged women in remote areas of Bangladesh. He regularly supports maktabs and madrasas in difficult-to-reach areas, while funding education for orphaned and poor students; the report says several completed Quran memorisation. His aid has also reached Gaza in Palestine and Sudan, and he has supported people during disasters in Bangladesh.