The awards are judged by a scrupulously impartial and discerning panel, critical to the awards’ success. The panel of judges reflects a cross-section of perspectives, experiences, and expectations. Drawn from an array of professional backgrounds and ethnic origins, the judging members are distinguished by outstanding achievement in their respective fields and have thus been selected to recognise and reward excellence.
Abdul-Karim Abdullah is Lambeth’s community champion, working with young people across the borough to help them escape a life of violence and trauma. As a member of the London Muslim Community Forum, he has played a significant role in changing the approach to tackling violent crime facing young people. Abdul-Karim is the former chair of Lambeth’s Stop and Search Monitoring Board, the former chair of Lambeth’s Youth Violence Forum, and the chair of the Metropolitan Police’s Youth Independent Advisory Group. Abdul-Karim is also a visiting lecturer at Goldsmiths University on the applied social science community development and youth work course. A recipient of the National Diversity Award, both print and broadcast media have welcomed Abdul-Karim to provide his expert view on youth violence and criminality. He is a spoken word poet, producer of the documentary Road 2 Recovery, and previous winner of The Muslim News Alija Izetbegović Award for Good Citizenship.
Dr Glyn Robbins worked in housing for 30 years. He is now a researcher at the University of Sheffield and a lecturer at London Metropolitan University. In 2021, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship by the City University of New York and is a former visiting fellow at the LSE. His writing on housing and urban policy is widely published. In 2010, he helped form the United East End, an anti-racist community alliance in Tower Hamlets, where he lives. Glyn has also contributed to the 2009 report of the All-Party House of Commons Council Housing Group. Glyn’s doctorate was on ‘Mixed Use Property Development and its Place in UK Urban Policy’.
İpek Özerim MCIPR, is a PR consultant of Turkish Cypriot descent, whose 25-year career has seen her work with an array of clients in diverse sectors worldwide. She set up Prickly Pear Communications in 2006, a boutique agency that specialises in all things Turkish and has also gained a strong reputation for its expertise in the halal sector, supporting businesses in modest fashion, Islamic finance, and Sharia-compliant property. The agency also has extensive experience supporting civil society groups and human rights campaigns. Ipek herself is a well-known activist, who has been at the forefront of the campaign to end North Cyprus’ international isolation. In 2013, İpek launched T-VINE Magazine, an independent print and online publication that covers news, culture, and lifestyle from the world of Turks, while giving a voice to the UK’s half-a-million-strong Turkish community.
Najwa Jawahar is a multi-award-winning chartered structural engineer with over 11 years experience designing buildings ranging from single-storey to 45 plus storeys in residential, commercial, bus stations, refurbishment, and now working on the new state-of-the-art women’s and children’s hospital. Najwa works as an associate director at WSP within the property and buildings sector.
Her experience includes complex construction projects in London, Manchester, Leeds, and the surrounding areas. Najwa is passionate about engineering and design and believes nothing is impossible. Besides her technical work, she advocates for developing a truly diverse industry. She believes no culture, religion, or stereotypical norms can define an individual’s capability to perform and succeed To deal with this challenge, she partakes in several initiatives aimed at improving the image of the construction sector among the next generation, particularly women and people of ethnic minority origins.
Sadiya Ahmed is a freelance heritage consultant. In 2013, she founded the Everyday Muslim Heritage and Archive Initiative in response to a dearth of representation of the Muslim narrative in British archives, museums, and education. There are three archive collections consisting of oral history interviews, personal documents, photographs, and ephemera held at five archive depositories across London and the South-East. As well as a considerable resource of educational material, videos, and podcasts available on the Everyday Muslim website. She is currently developing a digital history map of Muslim history in Britain. In addition to her experience planning and managing heritage projects and fundraising, she has also negotiated collaborations and partnerships with museums, archives, academics, universities, artists, media, and community groups across Britain. Currently, she works with Oxford University, Cambridge University, the Barakat Trust, Leighton House, Proudly Muslim and Black, the Greater London Authority, and the Muslims in Britain Research Network on various heritage projects to amplify those histories that are absent or suppressed in the broader British history discourse.
