LONDON, 13 April — British Prime Minister Tony Blair commended the achievements of Muslims, both as individuals and as a community, while speaking as the guest of honor at the second annual “Muslim News Award for Excellence” ceremony held at the Savoy Hotel in Central London. The ceremony was attended by more than 400 politicians, ambassadors, religious leaders and community activists.
He praised Islam’s stress on family values, collective concerns and social justice, but admitted that the government needed to do more to deal with the social isolation from which the community still suffers.
The recent Home Office report on religious discrimination prepared by the University of Derby “shows the distance we still have to go,” he said and hoped that “all the main political parties believe in a multicultural and multiracial society. We will not tolerate in our society racism, prejudice or discrimination of any kind.”
The event was organized to highlight the achievement and positive contribution made by Muslims in Britain. “The event is an opportunity not only to acknowledge achievement and promote excellence within the Muslim community and highlight its contribution to the British society, but also identify the role models of tomorrow,” said the Editor of the Muslim News, Ahmad Varsi.
Varsi noted that to the present government goes the credit of selecting the first Muslim for a parliamentary seat, and appointing three Muslim peers as well as Muslim advisers to the Home Office.
“I think one of the most exciting aspects of the world we live in today, is that we should see the fact that we have different faiths and different cultures in our community today not as a source of weakness, not as a source of conflict, not as a source of division, but on the contrary, as a source of strength, as a source of unity, as a source of understanding,” said Blair, who presented the Alija Izetbegovic Award for good citizenship to the Chairman of Muslim Aid, and the former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Iqbal Sacranie, who was recently decorated by the Queen with the OBE Award.
Congratulating the Muslim News for organizing such an event, Sacranie said: “This award is a recognition of those who work for the sake of Allah.”
The Awards for Excellence were instituted in 13 categories ranging from science, enterprise, arts, creativity in Islamic thought, good citizenship, media and sports to children’s welfare.
The first “Awards for Excellence” was launched last year by the Muslim News to mark the 10th anniversary of the monthly newspaper, which has sought to provide the Muslims in Britain with a distinctive voice. Each award has been named after a Muslim figure renowned for excellence in a particular field.
