JEDDAH: A longtime Indian resident of Jeddah, Syed Khalid Omar, died here recently. He was 85.
He was among the senior-most Indian expats in Jeddah, having arrived in the Kingdom from Lucknow in 1968. His father was from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.
Omar was employed with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) in Jeddah as an engineer.
A pious man, with a large circle of friends, Omar is survived by five sons and two daughters. His wife who was from Gorakhpur died in 2004.
All his sons, Tariq, Talha, Taiyab, Taha and Tahir, were brought up by their parents in Jeddah and made a name for themselves in their chosen fields.
Taiyab, the most accomplished of Omar’s sons, lives in Toronto with his family while another, Taha, is in Dublin, Ireland.
Omar’s two daughters, Sultana and Durdana, are married and live in Jeddah. Sultana is married to Irfan Kidwai and Durdana to Dr. Asar Khan; both sons-in-law are well-known in the Indian community.
A large number of family and friends attended Omar’s funeral prayers. “He wanted to spend the rest of life in prayer in the shadow of the Two Holy Mosques,” said Taiyab. “That is why after his retirement from SWCC in 1998, he remained in the holy land.”
Among his closest friends were Fareedul Waheedy, Dr. Abdul Qayyum and Mahmood Kidwai, all of whom died before him.
He was among the senior-most Indian expats in Jeddah, having arrived in the Kingdom from Lucknow in 1968. His father was from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.
Omar was employed with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) in Jeddah as an engineer.
A pious man, with a large circle of friends, Omar is survived by five sons and two daughters. His wife who was from Gorakhpur died in 2004.
All his sons, Tariq, Talha, Taiyab, Taha and Tahir, were brought up by their parents in Jeddah and made a name for themselves in their chosen fields.
Taiyab, the most accomplished of Omar’s sons, lives in Toronto with his family while another, Taha, is in Dublin, Ireland.
Omar’s two daughters, Sultana and Durdana, are married and live in Jeddah. Sultana is married to Irfan Kidwai and Durdana to Dr. Asar Khan; both sons-in-law are well-known in the Indian community.
A large number of family and friends attended Omar’s funeral prayers. “He wanted to spend the rest of life in prayer in the shadow of the Two Holy Mosques,” said Taiyab. “That is why after his retirement from SWCC in 1998, he remained in the holy land.”
Among his closest friends were Fareedul Waheedy, Dr. Abdul Qayyum and Mahmood Kidwai, all of whom died before him.
