The Muslim News - The Muslim News Awards for Excellence shortlist

Issue 226, Friday 29 February 2008 - 21 Safar 1429

The Muslim News Awards for Excellence shortlist

The Muslim News Awards shortlist.

Championing a Muslim Cause

Karen Armstrong is an author who writes extensively on religion. A former nun who describes herself as a ‘freelance monotheist’, she has advanced the theory that fundamentalism in religion is a response to and a product of modern culture. Ever since 9/11 she has been in demand all over the world as a speaker and writer to explain Islam and ‘religious fundamentalism’. Last year these visits included trips to Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan, Singapore, and Egypt, where she received an Al Ahzar award for services to Islam. Among the numerous books she has authored are: the best-selling A History of God, Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time, and Islam: A Short History.

Professor Robert Booy is a Paediatrician who has been at the forefront of maintaining the welfare of British Muslim Hajj pilgrims. Moved by the plight of the Hajj pilgrims that were suffering from a strain of meningitis, which killed over a thousand pilgrims all over the globe in the years 2000-2001, Professor Booy, in collaboration with local community leaders, set up a research programme which resulted in the Department of Health and global health authorities changing the composition of the meningitis vaccine. Professor Booy was further involved in the medical welfare of Britain’s Muslims through his campaigns to raise awareness of health issues. Currently based in Sydney, he visits London regularly to continue his health surveys with Muslims.

Brian Haw is a peace activist who has been protesting against the War on Terror in Parliament Square since 2001, for which he has received extensive media coverage and the support of people from all around the world. In 2005 the Government passed a law (the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA)) which made it illegal to protest within a 1km radius of Parliament. After a long legal battle which involved many High Court rulings and appeals, Brian remains in the Square but almost all of his placards and messages have been taken away. In December 2005 Brian was shortlisted for the Human Rights Award 2005, and in February 2007 was voted Channel 4’s Most Inspiring Political Figure.

Young Person’s award

The National Union of Students Black students’ officer, Ruqayyah Collector is responsible for representing all African, Asian, Caribbean and Arab students, who make up over a fifth of all students at colleges and universities in the country. As the first Muslim woman in a full-time position on the NUS National Executive Committee in London, Ruqayyah has helped to create a new generation of Muslim student activists. As a student she was the first Muslim to get involved in her students’ Union at Leeds University. During this time she was active in leading anti-racism campaigns, one of which resulted in the suspension of a racist lecturer. Through her lobbying she was able to get the university to invest half a million pounds to rebuild its prayer area.

The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) is one of the largest Muslim youth bodies in the UK, run entirely by students. It has successfully represented over 90,000 Muslims who are currently studying at British universities and colleges. Affiliated to the Muslim Council of Britain, FOSIS has over the years worked to facilitate the message of Islam and counter dangerous misconceptions about the faith and its followers. Uniting Muslims from a multitude of different backgrounds, the London-based organisation, seeks to share experiences, and offer a collective platform for Muslim students to positively contribute to both Muslim and non-Muslim communities alike.

The Leicester-based Muslim Youthwork Foundation (MYWF) integrates Muslim and non-Muslim expertise in youth work, supporting and training young people to build their potential to be of service to their peers, communities and neighbourhoods. The organisation places a lot of emphasis on the neighbourhood as a space to engender belonging, identity and experience, by working with young people of all backgrounds, and nurturing relationships across a broad range of ethnicities and faiths. MYWF creates safe spaces for young Muslims to explore their personal, social, spiritual and political identities. The Foundation has also been successful in connecting the voices of youth workers and young people to policy and Government, and provides support and expertise to organisations and bodies wishing to develop youth work with Muslims.

Arts

After studying PPE at Oxford, London-based actor Rizwan Ahmed went on to win a scholarship at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He played one of the lead characters in the feature film Road to Guantánamo, going on to release his first single, Post 9/11 Blues, which was banned by MTV and mainstream media for its emphatic indictment of the ‘war on terror’. He performed as part of the Electric Proms with the BBC, and is also the Royal Festival Hall’s Resident Emerging Artist. He starred in the 2007 drama Britz, and numerous other stage and screen plays.

ArtIslam is a young London-based venture that welcomes artists with an interest in abstract Islamic art. It grew in response to the dearth of informational resources on Islamic artists and art. Its portfolio of non-commercial art is steadily growing, and it now employs a stained glass artist, a tile and ceramic artist, and a general artist. It hopes to grow in the future to meet the anticipated increase in demand for abstract Islamic art. It also runs design workshops in schools to give parents and children an opportunity to experiment in Arabic and Islamic calligraphy.

Khaleel Muhammad is a nasheed artist and a graphic designer living in Milton Keynes. He has performed in front of thousands throughout Europe and North America, and has produced two nasheed albums which blend traditional sounds and themes with contemporary styles. He has toured with fellow nasheed artists such as Dawud Wharnsby Ali and Sami Yusuf, and worked with Yusuf Islam, Zain Bhikha, and the Malaysian group Raihan. He has also produced an innovative audio play called The Adventures of Hakim; published A Aimple Guide to Prayer; and produced an audio story called Salah ad-Din: Champion of the Crusades.

Citizenship

Dr Zainab Al-Attar is a forensic psychologist teaching at the University of Central Lancashire, whose eight years of research at Oxford University won her an award in 2003. The majority of her prison, probation, police and psychiatric hospital work over seven years has driven public protection through the assessment, management and treatment of offenders who pose a risk to the public, especially children. In 2004, HM Prison Service granted her an award in recognition of her ‘great depth of care and compassion towards young prisoners’. Dr Al-Attar has taken a lead role in improving procedures to prevent bullying and self-harm within prisons. On a voluntary basis, she has run therapy groups for children with challenging behaviour, as well as adults with severe mental illness.

Sadiq Khan is the Labour MP for Tooting, and the first and only Muslim MP in London. He was instrumental in creating new Islamic finance options in the Treasury and was a member of the Finance Bill Standing Committee in 2006. He has raised concern about counter-terrorism measures and authored an open letter to Tony Blair in the summer of 2006, which was published in The Times newspaper, expressing concern about the Government’s foreign policy, specifically in relation to Lebanon. He has helped improve electoral registration amongst minority communities and has mentored many aspiring Muslim MPs. He is working with The Muslim News to create the first ever monthly dialogue sessions between British Muslims and their political leaders.

Salim Ismail Kholwadia has worked in a voluntary capacity from a young age, and is the first and youngest Asian to be awarded an MBE in the county of Gloucestershire. He is very active in his local community in Gloucester, using his mastery of Gujarati and English to provide free translation services to people who would otherwise be vulnerable and disenfranchised. Kholwadia’s standing in his community has also enabled him to find employment for many individuals, and he is active in training members of the community of all ages in essential IT skills. He is a voluntary member of the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education, and a regular contributor to a local community news magazine.

Community development

Mohammed Amran is a community cohesion manager for education. At the age of 22 Amran was the youngest ever Commissioner to be appointed to the Commission for Racial Equality, and was the first Muslim commissioner in the Home Office Working Group to take a lead role in the National Holocaust Memorial Day. Amran has for the past ten years worked voluntarily within the community; during the disturbances of 1995 in his hometown of Bradford, he was at the forefront of conflict resolution. At the age of 26 he was the youngest person to have received an honorary doctorate, which was awarded to him for his work with disadvantaged young people in the Bradford area, his community work, and his contribution to race relations.

Yaser Mir is a senior lecturer in community engagement at the University of Central Lancashire, and lives in Newcastle-under-Lyme. He is a senior support worker with the Metropolitan police, working to facilitate deeper mutual understanding between the police and Muslim communities. Previously as a community engagement worker, he developed a number of health and social care projects focusing on drug prevention, going on to work with the Home Office on the same issue; during this time he worked with Muslim prisoners and prison staff, and played a key role in presenting the importance of faith-based approaches to tackling the issues of crime and drugs in Muslim communities.

The North London Muslim Community Centre (NLMCC) is a pioneering civic and social association providing innovative services to the people of Hackney and outlying areas. Founded in 1980, the Centre has so far given birth the North London Muslim Housing Association, the largest of its kind in the British Muslim community, and the Council of Indian Muslims (UK), the most active advocacy group for British Indian Muslims. Funded by the Borough of Hackney, NLMCC provides an Advisory service, youth club, mental health projects, social clubs for the youth and elderly, and library facilities, as well as internet access and free training courses. The Centre has also been pivotal in local inter-faith work by facilitating a Jewish-Muslim forum in an area that has a high concentration of both Muslims and Jews.

Community Relations

Maqsood Ahmed is an advisor to the Department of Communities, but is best known for his extensive work in prison chaplaincy. In 1999, Ahmed was appointed as special advisor to Her Majesty’s Prison Service on all Muslim issues, for which he was awarded an OBE in 2003. For four years Ahmed struggled to change the Church of England-led chaplaincy into a multi-faith one. As an advisor he had the responsibility of appointing Imams to the Prison Service. Prior to that Maqsood Ahmed worked for Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, and was the Director of Kirklees Racial Equality Council. Now living in Leicester, he is currently a member of various strategic steering committees and groups. He is Senior Advisor on the Muslim Communities both at the Home Office and Department of Communities & Local Government.

As a community and race relations officer for Greater Manchester Police, Afzal Iqbal has launched a number of pioneering initiatives to tackle issues including hate crime, stop and search, forced marriage, and police relations with the community. Iqbal set up the Manchester Metropolitan Division’s Masjid Forum last year to help the police tackle issues that affect the Muslim community: the first of its kind for the Greater Manchester Police. Iqbal has directed an initiative to educate police officers about the effects of stop-and-search on the community. He is currently delivering training sessions to the Greater Manchester Police on the issue of hate crime; and to encourage hate crime reporting, he is planning to set up a series of third party reporting centres.

The Islam-is-Peace campaign is part of a bold and major nationwide advertising initiative that aims to convey the positive message of Islam and the dynamic and meaningful contributions Muslims make to British society. The need for a proactive campaign was particularly urgent after the 600% rise in hate crime against British Muslims following 7/7, and the failed Glasgow and London attacks. Run completely by volunteers who come from all walks of life, the campaign began after the 7/7 attacks when a group of friends were prompted to fundraise and place a full-page advert bearing the slogan “Not in our name” in national broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, reaching a readership of over eight million. The Islam-is-Peace campaign advertised the slogan “Islam is Peace/Proud to be a British Muslim” on one hundred London buses, and in a thousand London tube carriages.

Creativity in Islamic thought

Dr Mohammed Akram Nadwi, is an Islamic scholar and Muhaddith who specialises in
the study of the narrators of Hadith (tradition of the Prophet). An Oxford fellow, Dr Nadwi has written over twenty-five books in Arabic in the fields of Hadith, jurisprudence and Islamic biography. He has discovered a long lost tradition of Muslim women teaching the Qur’an, transmitting Hadith and even practicing as jurists, setting Islamic laws. He has published a book on the jurisprudence of Imam Abu Hanifah, which is the first of its kind to place the teachings of the Hanafi School of jurisprudence alongside the historical evidence used to extrapolate them.

Dr Salman Sayyid is a university Research Fellow in Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonialism at Leeds University. He has challenged dominant methodologies in Western scholarship with regards to the East-West paradigm, and how it impacts on culture and politics. His book, A Fundamental Fear: Euro-centrism and the Emergence of Islamism has been described as “theoretically innovative”, showing “how Islam can only be understood in the context of its relation with Eurocentrism.” Other reviewers have described Sayyid’s work as making “a welcome attempt to reframe the uses of the term ‘Islam’ within intellectual discourses” and as taking “a fresh look at how Islam has reached its much maligned status”.

Tasneem Zahra uses religious teachings to engender transformations in deprived and violent teenagers in Birmingham. Gaining experience from her first job at the forensic department of the West Midland Police, she also draws on her two years spent studying in the city of Qum, Iran, and has been teaching Qur’anic Arabic for nearly two decades. Since the age of fifteen years, Tasneem Zahra has been one of the pioneers of her local mosque Madrasah.

Education

Dr Usama Hassan is currently a senior lecturer in computing science at Middlesex University, a lecturer at the Greenwich Royal Observatory, and the director of the UK Islamic Astronomy group. In a professional capacity, he has worked on the development of an automatic number-plate recognition system that is now deployed in the UK. He has committed the entire Qur’an to memory, and has an ijazah, or a certificate of authority, to transmit the Hadith collections of Bukhari and Muslim. He has served as a voluntary Imam, preacher and Arabic teacher at various mosques in London and Cambridge for the past 18 years; and has also published numerous translations, including a translation of Tolerance within Islam by Ibn Taymiyyah. He has recently been appointed Director of the City Circle.

Jafar Mirza is the first Asian and Muslim chairman of the board of governors for a Further Education college in the UK. In recognition of his work, representing Cambridge Regional College and raising its image, the board of governors and executives honoured Mirza by naming a new building after him, which was officially opened by the Duke of York in 2004. Mirza was appointed to the Governor Advisory Group, a national group which is responsible for advising the Government on the governance issues relating to Further Education colleges. In 2003, Mirza became the governor of Anglia Ruskin University, and in 2006, was awarded an OBE for Services to Further Education.

Firdous Qazi is a staunch and active volunteer of the Iqra School in Brixton, encompassing all aspects of the school’s work from working with teachers, building maintenance, having transformed the school’s brickyard into a verdant play area for the children. Ms Qazi had previously worked with two other schools to help them gain grant-maintained status, and is currently volunteering with the same commitment and hard work to achieve this goal for Iqra School.

Science, Engineering and Technology

After obtaining a PhD in Neuroscience from University College London, Dr Afia B Ali received a Wellcome International Prize Traveling Fellowship to work at the University of Paris, and obtained further scholarships to work in research at Oxford University. Dr Ali received a New Investigators Award from the Medical Research Council for her work at the London school of Pharmacy, which secured her a tenured position at the university, where she is now based. Dr Ali’s research has a direct relevance to human neuropathology and the design of drugs to treat such disorders as depression and anxiety.

Dr Namir Hassan, from Greenford, Middlesex, holds a senior position at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, in the Department of Gene Expression and Protein Biochemistry, and is actively involved in their research around drugs and toxicology. He previously worked as a research scientist at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. In 2005, he was awarded an Exceptional Science award by GlaxoSmithKline for his contribution, through outstanding science, to building a great pipeline for the company.

Professor Sapuan Salit is currently a visiting academic at Bradford University, and is Professor of Composite Materials, University Putra Malaysia. To date he has authored more than four hundred publications. He was a guest editor on the American Journal of Applied Sciences, and is the regional editor for the Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment, Finland, as well as an editorial board member for the International Journal of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He is listed in Who’s Who, and was awarded a certificate of excellence from Science Publications, New York. He has three inventions currently awaiting registration as Malaysian patents.

Enterprise

MyAdhan.com is leading the way in Islamic mobile downloads. It originally started off as a service providing prayer and fasting times to mobile phones in the UK. This core service has now been expanded to include mobile phone wallpapers and backgrounds, MP3 Qur’an and Adhan downloads, Hadith and Qur’anic Tafsir, a mosque locator, Islamic event information, and a service which allows you to donate to charity from your phone. The TXT2Donate service is being piloted to allow people to donate conveniently to the charity of their choice.

Saaf Pure Skincare, based in Leeds, was created in 2004, to meet the need for organic skincare that is suitable for use by Muslims. Dr Mah Hussain-Gambles used her background in formulation development to set up the world’s first organic-certified and Halal-certified skincare range manufactured in the UK. Halal in this sense means more than just alcohol and pork free: it also means natural ingredients which do not harm the environment. The range is therefore made from 100% biodegradable materials, including its recyclable packaging which is sustainably sourced. The ingredients used in its range are also Cruelty Free and Vegan; and the company policy dictates that 10% of all proceeds go to charity.

Tahira Foods was set up over fourteen years ago when Halal food was only available from local butchers. The London-based company is now recognised within the UK and European Food Industries as the number one Halal food brand. It has an extensive distribution network that extends into the European market, and is now a major supplier to the UK market, with all supermarkets stocking a range. With Muslims today having a variety of different demands, Tahira is always revising and improving its products whilst maintaining its reputation as a trusted and authentic source of Halal food.

Health

Dr Fatima Asma Husain is a Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from Buckinghamshire, and has carried out specialised work in the field of reproductive endocrinology and sub-fertility. Volunteering with health screening programmes in various mosques, she uses her skills and position as a woman to provide guidance on the health problems faced by fellow community members. She was recently appointed as Lead for Clinical Governance in Gynaecology: and also belongs to various organisations such as Imamia Medics International, which runs a voluntary Hajj camp to provide medical assistance. She lectures on medical issues which affect Muslims, from both a medical and Islamic point of view, and has authored various publications on the topic of Muslims and health.

20 years ago Abdur-Rasheed Patel took up weight training and within one year, became the first British Muslim powerlifting champion. He set up his own home-made gym and trained boys and men from the Muslim community, later buying a renowned local gym, which is now run by members of the local Muslim community. Abdur-Rasheed is the West Midlands Representative of The British Drug Free Powerlifting Association, and has changed the Association’s dress code rules for women lifters from Muslim nations, making it the only sports federation to comply with these religious edicts. At present Abdur-Rasheed holds one world record, has broken the British record 9 times, and is on course to set a new European and 3 new British records in October.

The World Federation of KSIMC is a charity based in Greater London to promote the Muslim maxim of furthering “the material and spiritual well-being of humanity.” One of the ways it is doing this is through promoting health awareness worldwide. In East Africa, the World Federation is raising awareness around the importance of Thalassaemia screening, and has helped with the purchase of screening equipment, and the training of screening technicians. In addition it has set up primary care facilities, including six eye clinics throughout the developing world, and has sponsored the installation of hand pipe borings for Muslim communities in the villages of Bihar, India.

International Relations

Dr Sahib Alhakim is the head of the Organisation of Human Rights in Iraq, which he established in 1982. A qualified dentist by profession, and living in Surrey, he is also a member of various other NGOs, and has participated in many international conferences on human rights. He published his first book entitled The Communist and Islam when he was just 17 years old, and has published numerous others since then, including two enormous volumes in 2003, which document the atrocities perpetrated against women and religious leaders in Iraq. During his campaigns for human rights, Dr Alhakim met various international figures, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pope John Paul II, who awarded him with a medal of recognition.

Cageprisoners is a London-based organisation that was set up in response to the erosion of liberties in the aftermath of 9/11. It’s is a non-sectarian, Islamic human rights website that exists solely to raise awareness of the plight of the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, and other detainees held as part of the War on Terror. It has the backing of both Muslim and non-Muslim lawyers, activists, former detainees, families of prisoners and academics. The primary activities of the website are to educate, campaign, provide support and motivation. They are currently campaigning for the repatriation of Guantánamo Bay detainees, and for other prisoners to be treated within the civilised norms of justice. They also offer an emotional and financial support network to the families of detainees.

Dr Abduljalil Sajid, from East Sussex, is at the forefront of interfaith dialogue and religious harmony in the UK and around the world. Currently the Chairman of the Muslim Council for Religious and Racial Harmony UK, he is a founding member of many interfaith organisations, including the Jews Christians and Muslims Standing Conference in Europe, the Islamophobia Commission and the Three-Faiths Forum. He also chairs many others, including Religions for Peace UK, and the UK chapter of the World Conference of Religion and Peace. He has served on the Muslim Council of Britain’s Central Working Committee. As well as being a member of a plethora of faith and interfaith organisations, Dr Sajid advises organisations on race, multiculturalism and religious issues.

Media

Emel Magazine is full-colour lifestyle glossy which celebrates contemporary British Muslim culture. The magazine has won acclaim for its all-encompassing fresh approach, covering everything from fashion to people’s stories, as well as topical features. The magazine was launched by Sarah Joseph in 2003, and was the first mainstream Muslim magazine in the UK to also target a non-Muslim readership, with its circulation now covering 30 countries. The London-based magazine was founded amidst the tensions that arose after 9/11. Ms Joseph, who was awarded an OBE for services to interfaith dialogue, is concerned to show a side of Islam that is often forgotten in the furore over terrorism.

Alan Johnston is a BBC journalist who was kidnapped in Gaza and held prisoner for 114 days. During the time of his kidnapping he was the only foreign reporter from a major Western media organisation to be based in the area. Johnston joined the BBC in 1991, and spent eight years as a correspondent in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Kabul when Afghanistan was still under the control of the Taliban. Johnston has covered major stories in Gaza, including Israel’s unilateral disengagement plan in 2005, the 2006 Hamas election victory, the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict, and the Palestinian factional violence of late 2006-2007. Johnston was awarded by Amnesty International for his radio reports on human rights in Gaza.

Abdul Sahib al-Shakiry, from London, set up Islamic Tourism Magazine in September 2001. Despite setting up his magazine amidst the fresh tension of 9/11, he was undeterred from his pioneering vision. The magazine is an English-Arabic tourism magazine that promotes culture and travel exhibitions not only in the Muslim world, but in Europe and Africa, in an attempt to build bridges between cultures. Today the magazine is also available in French and Spanish.

Sport

Amir Khan is the IBF inter-continental Light Welterweight Champion, the Commonwealth Lightweight Champion, and is ranked number six in the WBO World Lightweight rankings. Since winning a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic Games, he has won all fourteen of his fights. Besides Boxing, Khan has starred in a series of documentaries for Channel 4 called Amir Khan’s angry young men, which aimed to use the disciplines of boxing, coupled with family and faith values, to refocus the lives of troubled young men.

The UKIM West London Islamic Centre Boxing Club has been running a boxing gym from one of the rooms adjacent to the mosque for over ten years; which accommodates all ages, races and religions. In 2007, the centre provided a venue for the first ever Muslim Boxing exhibition held in the UK, an event attended by boxers from Muslim run gyms around the country.

Stanmore Football Club is a community run organisation that was established over ten years ago. It has received both local and national recognition for its sporting and educational projects, which provide activities for up to 200 children a week. The club competed with clubs nationwide to win an award from Umbro for recognition of its contribution to football at a grassroots level. The club has won numerous other awards, both locally and nationally, and as a result, has featured on national television, and in the local and national press.

Children

At the age of the 12, Mohammad Ayyub Asif is an accomplished reciter, or Qari’ of the Qur’an. He represents the UK in international competitions, has made an appearance at the Royal Albert Hall, and has appeared on television. At one event in Karachi he recited to a crowd of over 100,000. Mohammed was just 3 years old when he started reading the Qur’an, and was initially taught by his grandfather who is also a Qari’. Mohammed attends Harrow High school, is an avid football fan, and hopes to one day become a Qari’ like the legendary Egyptian reciter Muhammad Abdul Basit.

At the age of 9, Fatemah Ladak has been hailed as a mini international star, having produced many recordings promoting Islam through song and praises of the Prophet and his family. Born in Birmingham, and with Gujarati parents, Fatemah has mastered several foreign languages, and recites fluently in Urdu and Punjabi. She has traveled around the world to deliver her emotive psalmody to audiences in their hundreds.

9-year-old Abbas Haider Lalji is Birmingham born and bred, and has been reciting Islamic psalms for over three years. He recites fluently in Urdu and Punjabi, despite his mother tongue being Gujarati. He has travelled all over the UK to perform, and was invited last year to perform live for Islam Channel in front of millions of viewers.