Mosaic

Entrepreneur Award

ULFAH ARTS - This organisation promotes the development and empowerment of Muslim women by actively engagement them in arts and media in Birmingham. Ulfah Arts has so far reached 30,000 women through innovative work with 150 artists. As a result of this success, major arts organisation from across Europe and the US are expressing an interest in partnering with Ulfah.

SOMALI DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (SDS) - This no-for-profit co-operative addresses the needs of Leicester's Somali community. Set up as a pilot in 2001, the programme now delivers development services for people of all faiths through numerous social enterprises offering routes into employment through learning and skills support.

MR ATIF ALI, CVBOOSTERS - As founder of CVBoosters Atif has built a social enterprise that provides financial personal development education for university students. By offering finance lectures, mock assessment centres, and a Certificate in Finance, CVBoosters affords students an engaging and insightful introduction into the world of finance.

MR SABIRUL ISLAM - Sabirul began a website design business, Veyron Technology, at the age of 14 and was awarded the Merrill Lunch Growing Up CEO award at Harvard University. Having written The World At Your Feet to inspire other young entrepreneurs, plans now include a board game and television series to accompany his book.

Science & Technology

MR IMRAN HAKIM - In 2007 Imran Hakim, a 29 year old UMIST graduate, optometrist, and young businessman, successfully persuaded the entrepreneurs of BBC's Dragon's Den to support his latest venture. The iTeddy, an interactive teddy bear with a computer in its tummy, is an innovative educational toy designed to help pre-school children learn as they play.

MR RANA ALI - Inventor and producer of Qiblasat, a handy, precision-made device that uses GPS to locate Qibla and give accurate prayer times anywhere in the world. With a laser direction indicator and discreet warning alarm five minutes before each prayer, this modern technology solves traditional Muslim concerns.

MS SOUMAYA MAUTHOOR - A physicist who completed a four year MSc Course at University College London, Soumaya has since studied a PhD at Imperial College, and has developed a specific interest in renewable energy and novel methods of generating solar electricity. At the same time she uses her French and Arabic language skills to translate information for charities.

Arts, Culture and Media

MS AMREEN PHUL - After studying the art of stucco carving in Fez, Amreen created work that has since been featured in Emel magazine. Amreen graduated from the Prince's School of Traditional Arts last year with an MA, and her career now includes bespoke commission, design consultation, teaching workshops and large-scale collaborations that illustrate the wide variety of traditional craft skills studied at the PSTA.

MR MUIZ ANWAR - Muiz is a freelance, non-traditional Arabic calligrapher from Manchester who attempts to lift the image of Islamic organisations, helping them communicate their efforts to reconnect with society more effectively. Muiz has also worked with the Muslim Youth Helpline and the British Muslim Heritage Centre, and has exhibited in the UK and as far afield as New York and Sri Lanka.

MRS ZARAH HUSSAIN - Zarah is an artist and artist-educator committed to engaging young people by working in the community through art, talks and presentations. Before her current exhibition commissioned by the Cartwright Hall Gallery in Bradford, she toured tor three years, exhibiting at nine galleries. Zarah has also worked with Tate Britain to organise a Symposium of Sufism and Islamic Art.

MISS HUMA QURESHI - A journalist for the Guardian and Observer newspapers, Huma is a rare female Muslim contributing to the new face of broadsheet media who shatters the usual stereotypes of Muslim women in an intelligent and eloquent style. She writes on topics including consumer affairs, property, finance, social and cultural commentary, and provides opinions that cause a stir among her readers and bloggers.

Community Leadership

BRITISH MUSLIM HERITAGE CENTRE (BMHC) - The BMHC is a unique new initiative, based in Manchester, developed to aid the community's movement towards progression, self-empowerment, and breaking down barriers between faiths. The BMHC runs seminars, open days and dinners for audiences including the police to mosque leaders, politicians and students.

MISS AZIZA AL-YASSIN - Aziza is the current chair of Noor Youth, and organisation than runs monthly seminars, conferences, discussions and social, religious and political events for Muslims. A medical student at KCL, with experience in journalism, she also sits on the Subcommittee of the Ahul Bayt society and has worked tirelessly to build understanding across many different groups.

MISS ATIFA SHAH - An active figure in her community, Atifa was elected Youth MP for Rochdale Borough in 2005. A student and founder of two businesses, Atifa successfully secured Beacon Status for healthy schools in Rochdale, created a behaviour policy for local high schools in 2006, chairs a Muslim advisory panel, and has inspired many others to become engaged in their own community leadership.

POSITIVE PROSPECTS - Positive Prospects is set up to provide educational opportunities to children and young people from a disadvantaged background. Positive Prospects key aim is to create opportunities for vulnerable young people, who are often seen as failure.

MUSLIM YOUTH HELPLINE (MYH) - MYH is a grassroots charity providing pioneering faith and culturally sensitive services to young Muslims, one third of the Muslim population being under 16 years old, allowing them to be listened to and heard by their contemporaries. Since 2001 MYH has responded to over 21,000 telephone enquiries, and reached over 7,000 young Muslims in prison.

Sports Award

MR ADIL RASHID - Born in Bradford, Adil is the first British born Pakistani origin player to play first team cricket for Yorkshire Carnegie, and is considered the most talented young leg spinner in the country by ECB bowling coach David Parsons. In his second year of the first class innings Adil was presented with his cap by former England International Darren Gough.

MUSLIM WOMEN'S SPORTS FOUNDATION (MWSF) - Based in London the MWSF provides training sessions, tournaments and leagues catering for the religious sensitivities of participants through all-female environments, and focusing on the long term development of participants aged 16 - 35 who might otherwise have no access to such an opportunity as both sportswomen and individuals.

MR ASAD REHMAN - Now 17 years old, Asad won the go-karting 2006 UAE Junior Max Championship in his debut year, qualified for the Formula BMW Scholarship Program, finished top ten at the Canadian Grand Prix Support Race, and has complete his first season of competing in Formula BMW Europe. He has also during this time secured a place at university.

MR WASIM KHAN - Previously a professional cricketer, Wasim set up Khan Cricket in the Community in 2001 to provide coaching and mentoring for children in inner-city Birmingham and East London's predominantly Muslim communities. Head of Community Development at the Professional Cricket Association and Operations Director for Chance to Shine. Wasim's commitment to community cricket illustrates the important role that sport can play in supported young people in deprived areas.

Volunteer Award

FRIENDSHIP CAFE / GYMNATION - Run by volunteers and operating in a deprived area of Gloucester, Friendship Café / Gymnation pilots sports related activities such as archery and gymnastics for the whole community. Friendship Café is a social club for young and old, while Gymnation enables the community to partake in affordable physical activity.

MR MUJIBUL ISLAM - Chair of the youth committee for the MCB, Mujibul led many youth committee projects and was a founding member of the Muslim Students Award in 2001. He set up Food4Thought Study Project helping young Muslims achieve more in academia, and is a trustee and secretary of the Muslim Safety Forum.

FEDERATION OF MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS (FMO) - The FMO seeks to find intuitive ways to engage the young Muslim community of Leicester. The nationally acclaimed Youth Awards was launched, the first of its kind and a pioneering model for others to follow. With a community radio station, an anti-drugs initiative ‘Drugs3' has also been started to highlight the risks of drugs taking and dealing.

PC ASIF SADIQ - Founder of the Association of Muslim Police for the City of London Police, this is a support network and operational resource for Muslim staff to help them observe their faith and promote a wider understanding of Islam within the Police service. Asif was a finalist for the Police Officer of the Year Award.

MS GULISTAN AKSAHIN - Aged 15, Gulistan devotes her time to fundraising for the local children's hospice that provides respite care for her family, in addition to studying for nine GCSEs. With two severely handicapped siblings, she volunteers at Haven House Hospice and acts as interpreter between her parents and doctors during hospital visits.

Interfaith

NORTHAMPTON YOUTH FORUM (NYF) - Made up by representatives elected by young people, the NYF delivers the Money 4 Youth scheme in Northampton to encourage ideas for projects that bridge faith groups, and working with other faith organisations. The team is a mixed faith, mixed ethnicity, and mixed background group working towards a more open minded society.

COEXIST FOUNDATION - The Coexist organisation encourages and supports engagement between Jews, Christians and Muslims on an individual and community level through dialogue, education and research. Highlighting shared heritage between these faiths,Coexist promotes understanding of one another's teachings, traditions and practiceswhilst still celebrating their differences.

THREE FAITHS FORUM - A charity building lasting relationships and understanding between Muslims, Christians and Jews. Three Faiths Forum aims to create a society where religious and cultural differences can co-exist through empathy, respect and engagement by working with government, religious leaders, educators, "secular" organisations, students and other interfaith groups.

MUJU CREW - MUJU Crew promote respect and collaboration between Muslims and Jews through the use of weekly drama workshops that provides an artistic space for creative expression and exploring themes of personal interest. Run by Muslims and Jews aged 16 - 30, 2008 saw MUJU's first full day event of cross cultural artistic collaboration that drew more than 400 paying attendees.

International

FAIZAAN AHMED, HALIMA TRUST - Chair and Founder of the Halimah Trust. Set up following the murder of his sister Halima in Normanton, it is a non-profit organisation raising money for Third World and disaster-stricken countries. Funds have been raised releasing a charity single, online donations, and website sales of Halimah's art work featured on canvases and postcards.

ZAINAB WALIULLAH - Zainab spent time working with London Refugee Voice, was an intern at the international human rights organisation Waging Peace - Advocating for Darfur, has volunteered as an English teacher in Brunei, and joined Voluntary Services Overseas in the Philippines where she worked with Christians and Muslims alike.

ISLAMIC RELIEF - An international aid agency dedicated to alleviating the poverty and suffering of the world's poorest people, by responding to disasters and emergencies as well as promoting sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities, irrespective of race, religion or gender.