 |
| .................................... |
 Diary >> Affan Chowdhry The New Statesman suffers from historical amnesia The Height of Opulence in Abu Dhabi Where the wine flows like lassi Q in the News Iran's mystery DJ Women slipping thru’ the gaps >> Samira Ahmed The Rock Star and the Mullah >> Fareena Alam "A modern day hippie in search of love" >> Abdul-Rehman Malik Handing Victory to the Terrorists >> Shami Chakrabarti and Megan Addis Who is Sania Mirza? >> Siraj Wahab Democracy Inside Out: The Case of Egypt >> Louay Safi Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years >> Isla Rosser-Owen Raising Aspirations >> Raihan Alfaradhi Bleedin' Islamophobia >> Yakoub Islam Disappeared in America The Muslim Blogosphere >> Shahed Amanullah Blogger's Manifesto >> Haroon Moghul The politics of common purpose >> Ian McCartney Waking up to Progressive Muslims >> Nazim Baksh The Shariah Firestorm in Canada >> Faisal Kutty Renewing Our Faith in Common Ground >> James Abdulaziz Brown Hafiz Gulammohammed Bora >> Fuad Nahdi Chicken Soup for the Muslim Soul >> Sana Khatib Mourning the Unknown >> Abu Anon Youssou N'Dour wins world music award Fun times for Oxbridge Muslim Alumni Deenport Mania Book views |
.. |
Raising
Aspirations Page 44 Raihan
Alfaradhi reports on the 2005 Muslim Student Awards and finds
British Muslim university students making their mark despite the odds. In fact, there are a great number of Muslim students who are achieving excellence in their studies and making a positive contribution to campus life as Muslims. These silent success stories need to be celebrated - the Muslim Student Awards intend to do just that. The Awards were launched in 2002, with various award categories, covering all aspects of university academic and campus life, aiming to acknowledge, reward and encourage Muslim student achievement. This year, the packed auditorium at Queen Mary University watched intently at the proceedings with presenters of awards including Danny Williams, International Boxing Heavyweight Champion and Kat Fletcher, President of NUS. ISOCs cater for the needs of the Muslim students, as well as present the message of Islam to others on campus. To recognise this role of the ISOCs, the 2004 Muslim Student Awards saw the introduction of a new award: Islamic Society of the Year. This year’s winners represent some remarkable accomplishments. www.muslimstudentawards.com ******** Academic excellence Imad Ahmed: Imad achieved 11 A* in his GCSEs. In English, he was amongst the top five in the country. In his first year of A-Levels, he took exams in 11 modules and achieved 4 As in Physics, Economics, English, and Maths. Imad has been offered a place at the prestigious Oxford University to study English Language & Literature. He has taken this year out to study Arabic Language at SOAS. Arzoo Ahmed: Arzoo juggles a wide range of extra-curricular activities, while achieving 9A*s and 3As for GCSEs the 4As at A-Level. She has won numerous awards and national competitions, while maintaining a steady presence at Islamic study circles. She has been offered a place in the Physics faculty at Oxford University. ******** Extra-curricular activities Amran Hussain: Amran has obtained the New Years Day Parade Honours Award, The Windrush Achievement Award, Diana Memorial Award, and Civic Citizenship Award and has recently been nominated for the UK Honours Award. These awards were made to him for his service to others and for his academic achievements. Amran has been offered the Morehead Scholarship, usually awarded to potential nobel Peace prize nominees, to read Medicine at a private university in America. This year, he intends to travel to the University of Um Qurra in Mecca to study the shariah and Arabic for six weeks. Rumana Habeeb: In the arena of NUS and its 82 year history, only two Muslims have ever been elected onto the national committee. Rumana was elected onto the NUS Executive and put onto the NUS Steering Committee. Her election victory gained her more than 365 votes in a conference of 1,100 delegates. ******** Contribution to college life Emran Islam: The Oxford University Islamic Society faced virtual extinction 15 months ago. However, over the months it has grown to one of the most active societies in Oxford. This is largely down to the dedication, charisma and vision of its President, Emran. He has given the Oxford ISoc a much needed sense of community and brotherhood and has made the ISoc open to all. He has managed this while enjoying newly-married life and studying for a Masters in Arabic and Modern Middle Eastern studies. Shaheen Haque: 22 year old Shaheen Haque is a medical student who has been pivotal in the formation of the Islamic Circles Supplementary School (ICSS), which works to improve the educational standards of Muslim children in Newham. Shaheen has been a founding member of the Association of Muslim Governors, where she is dedicated to helping to recruit more Muslims into a School Governor role. She was also a member of the recent Islamic Relief Fashion Show team which raised money for Sudan. ******** Sport and recreation Mohammed Rahim: Mohammed used to Play Football for Watford FC. He quit the club to pursue his passion for long distance running. He has represented Great Britain for the U21s and now runs for them in national and international tournaments. He was recently selected for the European Cross Country Championships. He has been instrumental at the Stanmore Muslim Youth Community and is the longest serving coach for Stanmore Football Club. Rimla Akhtar: Rimla represented the Hertfordshire lacrosse and cricket teams, the East of England lacrosse squad, and her university football team. In 2001, she represented her country at the 3rd Women’s Games in Tehran. She is currently preparing for the 2005 Muslim Women’s Games. She is currently the President at Imperial College Islamic Society’s women’s section, with special emphasis on sport and health. ******** Muslim student of the year: Iqbal Nasim: Iqbal gained 13 A*s at GCSE, and 5As in A levels. He received the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and was the highest ranking cadet in his school. He also set up a youth sports group with funding from the local council. Along with his family, he publishes the An-Noor newsletter, distributed to all local mosques. He is currently the president of Cambridge ISoc. ******** Islamic Society of the year: Leicester University: Raised over £3000 for the National One Day Fast. Organised an Islam Awareness Week, which had record turnouts with more non-Muslims than Muslims. Lobbied for halal food and purpose built wudu facilities, provided by the university. Held many events in conjunction with FOSIS, MAB and Friends of Al Aqsa. Organised the Inter ISOC quiz 2004. |