A parade celebrating the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday also acted as a poignant tribute to a respected Islamic scholar.

Today's march celebrated the life of a figurehead who set up a youth peace organisation after the Bradford riots and was at the forefront of a £500,000 mosque built in just six months.

Hazrat Khwaja Sufi Mohammed Aslam, who was chairman of the Naqshbandia Active Development Association (NADA), died aged 63 in February.

The parade was organised by his son, Sahibzada Sufi Amjad Aslam, who has taken over as his father’s successor.

More than 500 men and boys took to the streets for the 14th annual NADA march, waving banners and joining in with songs and prayers.

Senior Islamic figures from around the UK were adorned with garlands of flowers to welcome them to Bradford.

The parade, led by Mr Aslam riding in a horse-drawn carriage, left Jamia Masjid Naqshbandia Aslamia mosque in Tile Street, Manningham.

Nazim Ali, NADA's General Secretary, said: “It’s an emotional event for us.”

At the end of the parade, organisers presented a plaque to Seargent Faheem Nazir, of West Yorkshire Police, in recognition of the force’s support for the organisation over the past 14 years.