Early and Personal Life
Galloway was born in the Lochee area of Dundee to a Scottish trade unionist father and Irish republican mother. He describes himself as "born in an attic in a slum tenement in the Irish quarter of Dundee, which is known as Tipperary". He grew up in Charleston and attended Charleston Primary and then Harris Academy, a non-denominational school. During his school years at Charleston Primary and Harris Academy, he used to play football for the school team. As an amateur footballer, he went on to play for West End United U12s, Lochee Boys Club U16s and St Columbus U18s.
From 1979 to 1999, he was married to Elaine Fyffe, with whom he has a daughter. In 1994 he married Amineh Abu-Zayyad as a second wife. She filed for divorce in 2005 and that same year Galloway married as his third wife a Lebanese former researcher Rima Husseini. She gave birth to their first son in May 2007, and a second son in December 2011. In March 2012, Galloway married Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, a consultant with a Dutch research firm.
By his own account he decided, at the age of 18, never to drink alcohol. He disapproves of it and describes it as having a "very deleterious effect on people". He stated at a March 2012 rally "We stand for justice and haqq" and "A Muslim is somebody who is not afraid of earthly power but who fears only the Judgment Day. I’m ready for that, I’m working for that and it’s the only thing I fear".
In an April 2012 New Statesman magazine interview with Galloway, Jemima Khan asserted that the politician had become a Muslim sometime around 2000, but had not advertised this fact. Galloway subsequently denied a ceremony had taken place: "I have never attended any such ceremony in Kilburn, Karachi or Kathmandu. It is simply and categorically untrue." He does not answer questions about his religious beliefs saying that this is a "personal matter". The New Statesman issued an update to justify their original story. Galloway was asked in a June 2012 interview with The Independent whether he had plans to sue the New Statesman, and said that he could not since being called a Muslim is not a matter of libel.
Read more about this topic: George Galloway
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