George Osborne's brother becomes a Muslim to marry his love of 14 years
The younger brother of Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has converted to Islam to allow him to marry a beautiful Bangladeshi-born plastic surgeon he met at university.
Adam Osborne, 33, who was temporarily banned from working as a junior doctor last year following allegations that he prescribed drugs to a friend, 'quietly married' Rahala Noor, 31, in two ceremonies held during the past six weeks. One was a civil ceremony, the other a traditional Asian Muslim celebration.
Dr Osborne's religious conversion is said to have been a condition put forward by Dr Noor's devoutly Muslim family for the marriage to take place.
Call me Mohammed: Adam Osborne, who has taken an Islamic name, donned traditional sherwani and turban for his colourful Muslim wedding to Dr Rahala Noor in Manchester, as pictured on Facebook
Dr Osborne has adopted the name Mohammed, plans to attend mosque regularly and now prays five times a day.
But the newlyweds have been forced to live apart because of work pressures. Dr Osborne is a specialist in psychiatric care at the John Howard Centre - a mental health unit in Hackney, East London. His new wife recently took up a post at the plastic surgery unit of Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire.
The couple have been going out for 14 years after falling in love as undergraduates at St Andrews University in Scotland. They went on to study medicine together at Manchester University, but they kept their relationship hidden from Dr Noor's family, who live in Manchester, for several years.
A friend of the couple said: 'They met in the first week, after a lecture, and that's when the relationship started. They didn't tell her family, however, because Rahala was worried about how they would react.
'Adam's family knew all about it and they thought she was a very good influence on him.
'But Rahala didn't want to upset her folks. She knew that her parents probably wanted her to have an arranged marriage and she did not want to disappoint them.
'She only told her mother and siblings two years ago, after her father died.
'Rahala explained to her three brothers and two sisters that she was deeply in love and wanted to marry Adam. I don't think they were too keen. Her older sister, who had an arranged marriage, was especially resistant.
'Over time, however, and after meeting him on a few occasions, they came around to the idea. And when Adam announced that he was going to convert to Islam, it enabled everyone to accept the relationship.'
The couple even managed to survive last year's illegal prescription scandal, which led to Dr Osborne's suspension by the General Medical Council and his resignation as a junior doctor at Manchester's Wythenshawe Hospital.
A 21-year-old cocaine-addicted prostitute revealed Dr Osborne had given her prescription drugs to stop terrifying hallucinations she suffered as a result of her £750-a-week habit.
Big brother: George Osborne with his wife Frances
The woman also claimed that she started having a relationship with Dr Osborne in October 2007. She said he paid the rent on her £795-a-month flat in Manchester.
Another friend said: 'It was a tough time for them, but Rahala stood by him because she loves and believes in him. She is very religious. She has never drunk alcohol, prays every day and only eats halal meat.
'From the moment they got serious it was obvious that Adam would have to convert otherwise there was no way the family would have accepted him.
'She is also very keen to start a family and wants to raise the children as Muslims - which he is happy about. He's converted for the future of their family.
'Family is very important to both of them, and he can relate to how Rahala views family. If her family hadn't given their approval for this wedding then I don't think she would have gone against their wishes.
'She's very traditional and Adam loves the fact that he's got a wife who is willing to look after him.'
As the friend observed: 'You couldn't get two people who come from such different backgrounds. He's very established and English, and she's the typical immigrant made good.'
Adam is one of four sons of Baronet Osborne of Ballintaylor - the 66-year-old Sir Peter Osborne - and his wife, Felicity, 63. Sir Peter is a multi-millionaire businessman, who founded wallpaper company Osborne & Little.
The boys grew up in a £5million house in Notting Hill, West London, and Adam attended the prestigious St Paul's School for boys. 'They were very traditional Church of England,' said one former neighbour.
In contrast, Rahala's father Abdullah emigrated from Bangladesh to Manchester in 1980, when she was two. The family settled in the city's Withington district where they still live. Her mother Sufia is a housewife in her late 70s who is said to speak very little English.
Abdullah, who initially worked in an Indian takeaway, saved money to open and run his own restaurant. A traditional and deeply religious man, he insisted that his three daughters all had a good education.
A family friend says: 'He put a lot of emphasis on education for his children and ensured that they all got good qualifications, even though he didn't speak very much English himself and was barely educated in Bangladesh, having left school at 16 to work as a cook.'
Dr Noor, who was always academically gifted, went to a comprehensive school in Withington before attending a private A-level college.
'Her father's dream was to make her a doctor,' the friend added. 'He really worked hard to ensure that his children had the best education. He raised them very traditionally and religion played an important part in the life of the family.
'Rahala is a real go-getter. Very homely, very determined and very ambitious. She is almost like the perfect wife from another time. Because of her upbringing, she is very traditional about the role of the wife and the husband.
Double the fun: Adam Osborne and Rahala Noor, pictured on Facebook at their Muslim wedding, also held a civil ceremony
That Dr Noor straddles two worlds was evident in the fact that she had two weddings, one for each aspect of her life.
The friend added: 'The first Western-style wedding was at St Andrew's Castle on October 31. Around 100 people attended. There was alcohol and dancing. George Osborne went with his wife and his kids. The bride wore a long white dress and it was a black-tie affair.
'I think Rahala knew that her family and other relatives would not feel comfortable in that environment. There was alcohol being served and non-halal meat, so Rahala probably thought that they would not have been too happy about that. Her youngest sister, Siria, who is studying dentistry, was the sole representative of the family.'
The second wedding was a more colourful Asian affair at a banqueting hall in Withington. Around 300 people attended, more than half of them Asians, made up of Dr Noor's family, relatives and members from the local Bangladeshi community.
The bride wore a red and gold lehenga. Dr Osborne wore a red and gold sherwani with a turban. His mother Felicity wore a traditional cream lehenga while his father, Sir Peter, wore a blue sherwani. George wasn't there.
The first part of the ceremony was a traditional Islamic affair with the bride and female guests in one room and the groom and male guests in the other. They recited marriage verses from the Koran, signed a document and an imam declared them man and wife.
This was followed by a lavish reception, without alcohol. Guests did not dance but entertainment was provided by a Bollywood dance group and a Bollywood brass band.
'There was a very strange mix of people at the wedding,' said one guest. 'A lot of the English people were quite amazed at what was going on. There were traditional, upper-middle-class people in the room and then lots of kids running around. It was really noisy.
'The English people were amazed at how late everybody arrived and that five or six members of one family were turning up even though they had received only one invitation.
'There was a lot of goodwill and love in the air. But the two sides did not really come together. The Asians were on one side of the room and English people on the other.
'As far as the couple are concerned, their different backgrounds have never been a problem for either of them. In fact, they are both very proud of where they come from.'
When contacted, Adam's mother Lady Osborne would only say: 'We don't really like to comment on personal matters.'
Adam, emerging at the front door of his semi-detached home on the outskirts of Manchester city centre wearing a pink and lime-green dressing gown, refused to comment on his recent marriage. 'I'm afraid I have no comment to make whatsoever,' he said, smiling.
But at his mother-in-law's nearby home, one of Rahala's brothers happily confirmed that the family was delighted by the wedding, particularly Adam's conversion to Islam.
Speaking at the family's semi-detached house, still decorated with strands of fairy lights and floral arrangements from the marriage celebrations, he said: 'Yes, of course you can say we're delighted.
'I don't understand why there is interest in this and I have been told not to say anything.'
When he was reminded of George Osborne's public profile and the fact that Adam had converted to Islam, Rahala's brother nodded and said the family was 'obviously pleased'.
Asked whether Adam's conversion had been prompted by his bride's family, Rahala's brother smiled and said simply: 'All I can say is that we are delighted.'
George is also married to a feisty woman - the Hon Frances Howell, daughter of former Conservative Cabinet Minister Lord Howell. They married nine years ago after having met at a dinner party and, she says, rowed furiously all evening. Today, they live in West London and have two children, Luke and Liberty.
Frances is an Oxford-educated former barrister who last year wrote a well-received biography about one of her racy ancestors, entitled The Bolter: Idina Sackville. Idina scandalised London society in the Twenties by walking out on her husband, then one of the richest men in Britain - and escaping to Africa with a lover.
__,_SourDaily Mail
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