What religion is Sajid Javid?
SAJID Javid is the newly appointed Health Secretary, taking over from disgraced Matt Hancock. Javid acknowledges his "Muslim heritage" but says he practises no religion. He says he drinks alcohol, which is forbidden in Islam, and lives in a primarily Christian household. The former Chancellor is said to have received religious hate mail in the form of a "Punish a Muslim day" parcel. Many people have also questioned his faith, calling him a "coconut" and an "Uncle Tom", he said. Javid is the son of Pakistani immigrants who came to the UK in the 1960s. His family came from the village of Rajana near Toba Tek Singh, Punjab. His father, Abdul Ghani-Javid, worked as a bus driver after moving to Britain. Meanwhile, his mother, Zubaid Javid, reportedly did not speak English for the first 10 years she lived in the UK. Javid told the Evening Standard in 2012: "My dad was from a tiny village in Pakistan and came here when he was 17 to look for work. "He settled in Rochdale and became a cotton-mill worker for Courtaulds. But he was quite ambitious, and saw that bus drivers were better paid. "His nickname was Mr Night and Day because he used to work every hour God sent his way." Abdul died on March 29, 2012. Javid's wife Laura, who he married in 1997, is a practising Christian. He told a husting during his 2010 election campaign: "My own family's heritage is Muslim. "Myself and my four brothers were brought up to believe in God, but I do not practise any religion. "My wife is a practising Christian and the only religion practised in my house is Christianity."