On March 17th, 2003, thirty-year-old Shaham Ali was shot in the head while using a public telephone on Waverley Road in Small Heath, Birmingham, England. He was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a week later, on March 24th.
The incident occurred around nine p.m. when two groups of men in separate cars clashed. Shaham was one of two victims; another man, Azmat Yaqub (aged about thirty-four), was shot in the shoulder and survived. Police described it as a targeted attack involving a drive-by shooting.
Shaham, who lived in Acocks Green, Birmingham, was a member of Birmingham Central Mosque. The shooting was widely linked to a bitter internal feud at the mosque involving allegations of sexual misconduct. Reports indicated that rival factions clashed over claims that the mosque secretary had impregnated the wife of the imam. Shaham was reportedly targeted due to his support for one side in the dispute.
This feud later contributed to further violence, including the unsolved 2004 murder of Azmat Yaqub, who had been injured alongside Shaham Ali.
West Midlands Police made several arrests shortly after the shooting. Two men from Balsall Heath were initially charged with attempted murder (charges that could be upgraded). Additional individuals faced related charges, including false imprisonment.
Four men were eventually charged in connection with the case. At trial, two—reportedly including Mohammed Sharafit Khan and Mohammed Arshad Khan—were accused of the murder but acquitted of that specific charge. One defendant, along with two others, was convicted of assaulting and unlawfully imprisoning Shaham Ali. The case highlighted deep divisions within the local community tied to the mosque dispute.
Despite these proceedings, no one has been convicted of the murder, and it remains unsolved as of June 2026.
Crime Immemorial 