Amjad Bashir, Defected Yorkshire UKIP MEP has been in the spotlight as of late with his suspension from UKIP and joining of the Conservative party.
Bashir was believed to have been a Respect council candidate in Bradford’s 2012 elections before he was de-selected over reputational issues. However Bashir has denied that he ever had anything to do with the Respect party.
The recent revelation to come about is that Bashir has been nominated as a finalist for the ‘Politician of the year’ award in the 3rd annual British Muslim Awards. Other finalists in the category include; Mohammed Asghar (South Wales), Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham), Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton), Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), Sadiq Khan (Tooting), Sajjad Karim (Blackburn).
The British Muslim Awards are presented by Al Rayan Bank, formerly known as Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB). And they recognise a wide range of achievements which cover various aspects of society including business, charity, sport, arts and culture and much more. The evening reflects upon the significant role that Britain’s Muslims have in society.
Commenting on the nominations, Sultan Choudhury, Chief Executive Officer, Al Rayan Bank, said, “The British Muslim Awards provide an ideal platform for Muslims throughout the United Kingdom to showcase their achievements. Today’s announcement boasts an impressive list of finalists and provides recognition to a wide range of individuals and organisations for their outstanding contribution to their sector. Al Rayan Bank is proud to support the event.”
Irfan Younis, CEO at event organisers Oceanic Consulting, said “The Muslim community has been making huge contributions to a better United Kingdom and these awards are a reflection of some of the work that goes unrecognised. There are some truly inspirational individuals, businesses and organisations in all of our categories, and we would like to congratulate all of the finalists who continuously thrive to excel, making worthy contenders.”
There are twenty two awards to be presented on the night and the finalists are:
Muslim in the Community
Muslim Women’s Network (Birmingham)
Mile End Community Project (London)
Ali Khan (Roshni, Glasgow)
Noori Bibi (Jawaab, London)
Adil Hadi (Birmingham City Council, Birmingham)
Muslim Women’s Council (Bradford)
Better Community Business Network (London)
Arts & Cultural Awareness
Tabinda Kauser Ishaq (London College of Fashion, London)
Samuir Rahman (House of Calligraphy, London)
Shahida Rahman (Perfect Publishers, Cambridge)
Abdullah Shariff (Spoken Word Poet, Yarlet)
Milton Keynes Islamic Arts & Culture (Milton Keynes)
Sisters Magazine (London)
Waseem M Aslam (Author, Newcastle)
Young Achiever of the Year
Aysha Boshor (Aysha Academy Trust, Bedfordshire)
Ayan Qureshi (Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, Birmingham)
Zain Awan (Creative Consultant, London)
Enaam Ahmed (Enaam Motor Sport, London)
Shahid Khan (Naughty Boy, Watford)
Hamzah Hafesji (Islamic Help, Birmingham)
Sara Khan (Inspire, Bradford)
Charity of the Year
Penny Appeal (Wakefield)
Orphans in Need (London)
Lady Fatimah Trust (Buckinghamshire)
Islamic Relief (London)
Nour Domestic Violence (London)
Human Appeal (Manchester)
Islamic Help (Birmingham)
Responsible Media of the Year
Muslims News (Harrow)
Nour TV (Birmingham)
Islam Channel (London)
Peace TV (London)
British Muslim TV (Wakefield, Yorkshire)
Channel 4 (London)
Huffington Post (London)
Religious Advocate of the Year
Imam Asim Hafiz (UK Ministry of Defence, London)
Hamza Andreas Tzortzis (London)
Qari Mohammed Asim (Leeds Makkah Mosque, Leeds)
Imam Shahid Raza (Leicester Central Mosque, Leicester)
Molana Rayan Mahmud (Iqra TV, London)
Imam Irfan Chisti (Light of Islam Academy, Rochdale)
Qari Noman Yousef (Harem Academy, Coventry)
Muslim Woman of the Year
Amirah Foundation (Birmingham)
Amenakin (Leicester)
Myira Khan (Leicester)
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (Wakefield)
Mehmuda Mian (Windsor)
Rimla Akhtar (London)
Best at Sport
Qasim Niaz (Blackburn)
Ambreen Sadiq (Yorkshire)
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
Samera Ashraf (Edinburgh)
Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire)
Ateeq Javid (Warwickshire)
Ali Al Hasbi (Wigan)
Services to Medicine
Professor Alimudin Zumla (London)
Dr Syed Nayyer Abidi (Manchester)
Dr Mohammad Saqib Anwar (Leicester)
Dean Dentists (Surrey)
Dr Mohammed Jawad (London)
Dr Nadia Khalid (London)
Professor Aziz Sheikh (Edinburgh)
Services to Media
Yasmin Khatun (Islam Channel, London)
Sameena Ali Khan (ITV Central, Birmingham)
Noreen Khan (BBC Asian Network, Birmingham)
Faisal Islam (Sky, London)
Mishal Husain (BBC, London)
Nina Hossain (ITV, London)
Rageh Omaar (ITV, London)
Services to Education
Al Isharah (London)
Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad Dean (Cambridge Muslim College, Cambridge)
Shahed Ahmed Battiwala (Elmhurst Primary, London)
Sofina Aktar Motin Islam (Stanton Bridge, Coventry)
Zaidah Ahmed (Rotherham Borough Council, Rotherham)
Professor Iram Siraj (University of London, London)
Ashfaq Chowdhury (Association of Muslim Schools, Birmingham)
Services to Science & Engineering
Hamid Ghafur Mughal (Cambridge)
Jawed Siddiqui (Sheffield)
Saeed Vaseghi (Uxbridge)
Muslim Engineers Network (UK)
Ehsan Masood (London)
Zaha Hadid (London)
Farid Khan (Manchester)
Services to Law
Tariq Sadiq (St Philips Chambers, Birmingham)
Forz Khan (The Chambers of F Khan, London)
Atif Hanif (Allen Overy, London)
Farmida Bi (Norton Rose Fulbright, London)
Badr Al-Hasan (Dome Advisory, London)
Bilkis Mahmood (Blackstone Law, Leeds)
Shehneela Ahmed (Platinum FA, London)
Services Creativity & Technology
Air 21 (Birmingham)
Muslim & Single (London)
Remit One (London)
Book Friends Forever (Cardiff)
Hussain Architectural Design (Burnley)
Uzma Asghar (Success Coach & Trainer, Birmingham)
Sabirul Islam (Inspire1million, Stratford)
Civil/Third Sector Servant of the Year
Saleh Saeed (DEC, London)
Yasmin Shabir (HMRC, West Yorkshire)
Salim Sidat (Blackburn Council, Blackburn)
Hasan Bakhshi (Nesta, London)
Syed Mizan Rahman (Cabinet Office, London)
Salim Mitha (HMRC, Liverpool)
Wasim Mir (Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London)
Services to Finance & Accounting
Moorad Choudhry (RBS, London)
Nadeem Ahmed (Hentons, Leeds)
Mohammed Khan (PWC, London)
Gaffar Khalid (London)
Islamic Finance Council (London)
Faizal Karbani (Simply Sharia, Middlesex)
Mohamed Iqbal Asaria (Afkar Consulting Ltd, London)
Politician of the Year
Mohammed Asghar (South Wales)
Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham)
Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton)
Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove)
Sadiq Khan (Tooting)
Sajjad Karim (Blackburn)
Amjad Bashir (Yorkshire)
Businesswoman of the Year
Farzana Baduel (Curzon PR, London)
Henna Riaz (360 Royalty Audit, Manchester)
Nabila Sadiq (Marlin Hawk, London)
Pinky Lilani (Spice Magic, London)
Shaheen Uni (Mrs Unis, Edinburgh)
Ruzwana Bashir (Peek.com, Rochdale)
Saira Khan (TV Personality, London)
Businessman of the Year
Asif Aziz (Criterion Capital, London)
Iqbal Ahmed (Seamark, Manchester)
Aref Karim (Quality Capital Management, London)
Saleem Asaria (Cambian Group, UK)
James Caan (Entrepreneur, London)
Shahid Azeem (Arcom IT,Surrey)
Farouq Sheikh (CareTech Holdings Plc, Hertfordshire)
Entrepreneur of the Year
Shazia Saleem (IEat Foods, London)
Syed Ahmed (SAVORTEX, London)
Shade 7 Publishing (London)
Noman Khawaja (Twickenham)
Ammar Mirza (ABC, Newcastle)
Zaynab Mirza (ZaynaB, London)
Business of the Year
CK Foods (Hull)
Tubzee (Halifax)
Quiz Clothing (Glasgow)
Karali LTD (Burger King, London)
Euro Quality Lambs (Shropshire)
KCB Bakeries (Bradford)
Haji Baba (Hounslow, London)
Spirit of Britain
Anas Sarwar (MP, Glasgow)
Mosaic Network (London)
Active Change Foundation (London)
Waqar Azmi (Waterhouse Consulting Group, Birmingham)
Shavanah Taj (PCS Wales Secretary, Cardiff)
Sughra Ahmed (Islamic Society of Britain, Cambridge)
Mirza Waqas Ahmad (Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, London)
