Convener of Judges :-
Rashid is the founder & CEO of CBHUK (The Council of British Hajjis), a multi-national award-winning charity he founded in 2006 and which continues to work at grass roots in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia in supporting British Muslims embarking on the pilgrimage to Makkah to perform Hajj & Umrah. He was listed as a ‘Trailblazer’ in the 2018 Muslim Power 100 List.
Yasmin Qureshi is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton South East in the May 2010 general election, and re-elected in 2015 and 2017.
She is currently the Shadow Minister for Justice since October 2016, and the founder and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hajj & Umrah.
Imran Hussain is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford East in the 2015 general election, and re-elected in 2017.
In 2016, Hussain was appointed Shadow Minister of State for International Development by Jeremy Corbyn.
In 2017, he was appointed Shadow Minister of State for Justice and is the Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hajj & Umrah.
Baroness Uddin is a life peer and community activist of Bangladeshi descent, being the first Muslim and second Asian woman to sit in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In 2009 she was included on the Guardian’s Muslim Women Power List for Britain. Uddin is the vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hajj & Umrah.
She has been a long campaigning for the increase of skills of Asian women living in Britain. In early 2008 she launched Change the Script which aims to bring women to the forefront of the public’s attention and challenge the prevailing mainstream stereotypes of Muslim women and depict a more accurate representation.
Hina is Chairperson of the Muslim Doctors Association and a GP with a portfolio career in public health, medical education and social research. She has led on a number of health promotion initiatives in the British Muslim community including pre-Hajj health checks. She is a consultant to several national and international academic, professional and third sector organisations on training and policy in health, education and inclusion.
Qurban Hussain, Baron Hussain of Luton is a politician and life peer and member of the House of Lords. He is also the Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hajj & Umrah.
Rabia Bhatti is an International Government Consultant specialising in strategy, engagement and communications. Rabia is also a Governor for the Buckinghamshire College Group, Panel Member of the Buckinghamshire Grants Panel and a Regional Board Member for ‘Remembering Srebenica’ Formerly one of the youngest elected female politicians in the UK, Rabia is a regular contributor on both TV and Press media.
Dr Makhdoom is the Regional Director at Muslim World League London Office (MWLLO) for over 10 years. Under his leadership, the MWLLO works towards serving the community and initiating constructive dialogue with various faith groups in the UK focusing on points of agreement. MWLLO is also engaged in forging unity among the Muslims. It respects other faiths and social groups by building bridges of understanding. He is highly knowledgeable in his field of business and, at the same time, is capable of quickly understanding his clients’ business models.
Imran Waris is a Director of Pak Travels Ltd, a family-run business in Birmingham, which has been successfully operating in the leisure and corporate travel market for over 50 years and having a key role in the Hajj and Umrah sector.
After graduating, he worked in the UK and abroad for a variety of organisations ranging from multi-nationals to his own entrepreneurial start-up in Spain, where he lived for three years.
Imran has played an active role with several charities including Sahara for Life, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the Acorns Children’s Hospice, ranging from organising fundraising events to having a seat on the Board of Trustees. He holds an MBA from the University of Nottingham Business School and is a magistrate on the Birmingham Bench.
Seán is Professor of the Anthropology of Islam at the University of Leeds. His research on the dynamics of Muslim communities in Britain has been supported by the AHRC, the British Academy and the ESRC. Seán is the auhtor of the first independent report on the way that Hajj-going is organisation in the UK. He is a former Chair and Co-Convenor of the Muslims in Britain Research Network. He is the current General Secretary of the British Association for Islamic Studies.
Abid Mahmood has been a barrister since 1992 and practices from No5 Chambers in London and Birmingham. He is also a part time Judge having been appointed in 2006. He sits as a Judge, a Recorder in the Crown Court, County Court and in the Upper Tribunal.
The Legal 500 refers to him as a leading barrister in four separate areas of law including in Public and Administrative Law, Immigration, Business Immigration and Court of Protection.
The Chambers UK Guide to the Bar for 2020 says, “Abid’s advocacy is quite beguiling. He is very impressive and persuasive on his feet and is almost able to ‘lull’ the court and the other parties into agreeing with him. He is also superb with lay clients and is able to pitch his advice in just the right way.”
He has successfully appeared at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in numerous cases.
Nadeem is the founder and CEO of Usoft Solutions and the founder of USI Money a fintech payment services provider based in the UK.
A formidable figure and entrepreneur, Nadeem is a key figure within the Hajj & Umrah industry as well as the tech world with over 20 years experience.
Stephen Head recently retired from Virgin Money where he was Chief Security Officer, his role included responsibility for all Cyber and Information security, as well as for Physical, Executive and Intellectual Property Security. Stephen is credited with the development and implementation of Virgin Money’s first fully integrated Security Strategy, approved by the Virgin Board in 2017.
Prior to this Stephen was the Commander at the City of London Police where he was the first police officer to be appointed as National Coordinator for Economic Crimes with the national responsibility for coordinating the country’s combined approach to combatting Economic Crime. During this time he became internationally recognised as one of the nation’s top experts in this field.
He is also credited with overseeing the creation and running of Europe’s first ever specialist Intellectual Property Crime Unit, a joint venture involving policing, the UK government and private sector specialists. While National Coordinator Stephen also fulfilled the role of Britain’s EU SPoC for EU related Fraud or Economic Crime.
He is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy at Quantico and has a degree in Criminology from Cambridge University.
Sir Iqbal Sacranie has been actively involved in voluntary capacity with community and charitable activities for the last four decades in the UK and overseas. His main interest has been to ensure that faith and ethnic communities are treated fairly, equally and given due recognition of their contribution to the society. A businessman, born in Malawi, arrived in the United Kingdom for further studies in 1969.
He was elected as the founding Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, a national umbrella and representative body of British Muslims. He was re elected in 2004 and completed his 4 years term in June 2006. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Council. He served his two four-year terms as Chairman of Muslim Aid and Trustee for over 25 years.
Hamdy El-Sawy is a qualified Egyptian Lawyer in the UK recognised by The Law Society.
Hamdy El-Sawy was born in 1944 in Cairo. Having completed a Business Diploma in 1961, Hamdy El-Sawy went on to join the National Bank of Egypt in 1962, where he worked in various departments.
In 1970 he graduated with a Law Degree from the University of Ain Shams in Cairo, and went on to obtain a postgraduate degree from the Department of Media Studies at Cairo University in 1974.
He moved to the UK in 1975, where he studied at the Institute of Bankers and undertook postgraduate studies at University College, London from where he obtained a diploma in the field of International Relations.
During this period of study, he gained work experience in hotel management and legal translation.
Throughout his career, he has actively participated in Muslim community affairs, and this motivated him in 1981 to establish El-Sawy Travel Ltd which was the first agency to organise Hajj packages from the UK.
He has traveled extensively throughout the world which has given him an excellent understanding of different cultures and traditions.
Finalist Interviews 21st – 25th October 2019
The winner of each category will be announced and presented with their award at The Hajj Awards ceremony at the Intercontinental Park Lane London on the evening of Tuesday 5th November 2019.