Lord and Lady Sheikh are patrons of Orphans in Need and attended their fundraising event. At this event the charity was raising funds to build a new orphanage in Srinagar, India. The charity carries out work for people of all religions and racial groups.
Lord and Lady Sheikh hosted an afternoon tea in the House of Lords for Global One 2015 which is chaired by Dr. Husna Ahmad. The guests included the Director of the UAE government’s Salma Relief Mr Abdelouahab Souhane, the CEO of NZ Awqaf Mr Benyounis Hussain and Mr Nedal Juma of New Zealand Trade Enterprise. This new relief project, Salma Relief is named after Salma, the first Emirati woman nurse who served for more than 50 years to save people’s lives in the UAE. Salma Project’s aim is to ensure high quality, 100% halal meat packages reaching the victims of natural disasters and wars or conflicts in a timely manner.
Lord Sheikh hosted a Conference for the Association for African Owned Enterprises which is chaired by Mr Washington Kapapiro. The Association organised the second of four events for the African Business Safari and looked at promoting business between West Africa and UK. Lord Sheikh was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at a Gala dinner organised by the Association previously. Lord Sheikh is very keen to promote more business between United Kingdom and Africa.
Lord and Lady Sheikh met with the Venerable Master Chin Kung, the Buddhist Monk and Teacher at the House of Lords. Lord Sheikh is very keen to interact with leaders of all religious groups.
Lord Sheikh attended and spoke at the Networking Dinner to launch the 5th Asian Curry Awards 2015. The dinner was organised by Mr Yawar Khan the Chairman of Asian Catering Federation (ACF) and Asian Curry Awards (ACA). Lord Sheikh talked about the considerable contributions made by the Bangladeshi Caterers to the British Economy and the fact that chicken Tikka Masala has now replaced fish and chips as the nations favourite dish.
Lord & Lady Sheikh attended the Independence and National Day reception of Bangladesh. In the photograph we His Excellency for Bangladesh and also the His Excellency the High Commissioner of Brunei. At the event Lord Sheikh was asked together with the other VIP guests to cut the cake celebrating Independence Day.
Lord Sheikh hosted an event in The House of Lords on The Righteous Muslims – Recognising the courage of Muslims who saved Jewish lives during the Holocaust.
Lord Sheikh mentioned that at Vad Vashem which is the official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, honours nearly 25,000 righteous persons and over 70 Muslims have been added to this list. He said that throughout history there has been a bond linking the Jews and the Muslims together and we must always appreciate this and continue with this bond, there are many commonalities between the Jewish and the Islamic faiths. Lord Sheikh said he believed in interfaith dialogue and was a Patron of several Muslim and non-Muslim charities.
Lord Sheikh emphasised that when he was growing up in Uganda one of his closest friend was a Jewish boy whose family came from Cochin in India. He also said that it is written in the Holy Quran that if anyone kills a person it would be as if he killed all mankind: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved all of humanity. This is very similar to what is written in the Talmud which is: if you save one life, it is as if you have saved the world. There is anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic practices in UK and elsewhere and we must get together to combat these actions.
The other speakers were Lord Stone, Rabbi Natan Levy, the Board of Deputies Interfaith and Social Action consultant, Fiyaz Mughal, Director of Faith Matters.
Lord Sheikh was a keynote speaker and a VIP Guest at the Annual Dinner organised by the Chinese Information and Advice Centre in Chinatown. Lord Sheikh commended the dedicated volunteers and community groups who give up their spare time selflessly to make a huge difference in the Chinese community. He mentioned that issues affecting the Chinese community are wide ranging, from domestic violence or homelessness, to issues surrounding immigration and asylum. Lord Sheikh commended CIAC on providing help, information and support on these issues.
Lord Sheikh made a keynote speech at the First Forum of Imams in the UK at the Islamic Cultural Centre. The audience comprised of Imams and leaders of mosques and Muslim centres from across the country. In his speech Lord Sheikh mentioned that Islam has been criticised in several quarters and that in combating this criticism we must be pro-active and reactive and take positive steps as a community.
Lord Sheikh also mentioned a number of problems which Muslims face including the issues of radicalisation, identity crisis, education standards, empowerment of women, deprivation, low property ownership, grooming by the Muslims, high population of Muslims in prison, Islamic method of slaughter and a lack of integration.
Lord Sheikh mentioned the fact that the true principles of Islam are not fully understood and appreciated by everyone and he outlined a number of ideas whereby the Imams and heads of mosques can play a greater role in explaining Islamic principles and dispel misunderstandings.
