Mohammed Amin, born in Pakistan, has lived in the UK since 1952.
Despite illiterate parents, Amin graduated in Mathematics from Clare College, Cambridge and obtained a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, with distinction, from Leeds University. After a year teaching, in 1977 he became a Chartered Accountant, after coming fifth nationally in the PE1 examination out of over 4,000 candidates. In 1978 he qualified as a Chartered Tax Advisor with an examination distinction. In 1995 he became an Associate Member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. His Chartered Institute of Taxation Fellowship thesis received the medal for the best thesis submitted in 1999.
Amin was the first Muslim admitted to the Price Waterhouse partnership in the UK. For six years he served as an elected member of PwC’s 15-person Supervisory Board, responsible for overseeing PwC’s management. He also served as PwC’s UK Head of Islamic Finance.
In retirement, Amin focuses on building a cohesive society in the UK. In April 2016 he gave the second Annual Religious Freedom Lecture of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society UK and Ireland Chapter: “One Muslim’s Perspective on Religious Freedom.” To support former members of the Armed Forces, Amin has been a member of the Royal British Legion since 2008.
He is Co-Chair of the Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester and Chairman of the Islam & Liberty Network.
For his community work, Clare College designated him Alumnus of the Year 2014. In June 2016 he was awarded an MBE for services to Community Cohesion and Inter-Faith Relations in Greater Manchester. For more information on Amin visit his website www.mohammedamin.com
The Trustees have been chosen for their skills, knowledge and integrity and serve unpaid. They take all important decisions collectively and are legally responsible for ensuring that the Trust operates in accordance with the law, safeguards its money, and fulfils its mission.
Mak Chishty retired in 2017 as a Commander at New Scotland Yard after 32 years of exemplary service in policing and was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) in 2009 for Distinguished Police Service.
As a Chief Police Officer, Mak was a Commander at New Scotland Yard where he was assigned command responsibility for the North and West London areas leading circa 6,000 officers. It was in this role that he was entrusted to lead Scotland Yard’s response to the community following the riots, which gripped London in August 2011.
He is noted for his skill and experience in working with communities to rebuild trust and confidence and in 2014, he was appointed by the Commissioner of Police to lead on community relations, working at the intersection of counter-terrorism, counter-extremism, security and public order operations across London. He provided national leadership on sectarian extremism, violent extremism, and radicalism at a time of high risk and was commended by the Head of Counter Terrorism for the U.K.
In March 2018 the President of Pakistan awarded Mak the national honour of Sitar-I Imitiaz for security and protection for Pakistan and Global Peace.
Post-retirement Mak has become a prominent media commentator on policing and security issues whilst also providing executive advice to nation states on security, protection, and community policing matters.
Air Marshal Martin ‘Sammy’ Sampson is currently serving as the UK Defence Senior Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Having joined the Royal Air Force as a fast jet pilot he has served extensively overseas in operational, training, advisory and commercial roles. Through the past decade he has lived and worked in Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
His current role sees him travelling weekly to the MENA region, engaging at Ministerial and Head of State level to support and maintain strategic relationships.
He has held leadership and management roles at all ranks and has a long-held passion for supporting the Muslim community within todays armed forces. He is currently the Armed Forces Muslim Champion.
Lady Sheikh was born in Nairobi, Kenya and came to the UK in 1967 as a teenager.
After completing her studies in London, she trained as a Chartered Certified Accountant before joining the BBC for seven years. After that, she worked for Yugotours rising to the position of Assistant Chief Accountant.
She was an adviser to Lord Sheikh in his work when he was the majority shareholder of the insurance brokerage Camberford Law plc (now Camberford Law Ltd), which employed over 200 people. She also ran and managed Lord Sheikh’s Parliamentary Office and staff.
For many years Lady Sheikh has been an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Conservative Muslim Forum, a grouping within the Conservative Party.
She is passionate about the education and empowerment of women, helping orphans in poverty in the third world, promoting interfaith relations and environmental issues.
She is also a Trustee of the Sheikh Abdullah Foundation which she founded with Lord Sheikh. She is also Patron of the charity Orphans in Need and a Champion for Roko Cancer Charitable Trust. She is a member of the RSPCA, RSPB, National Trust and supports the Gorilla Organisation, wildlife charities and the WWF. Shortly after Lord Sheikh’s death, she was elected as a trustee of the National Muslim War Memorial Trust.
Kawsar Zaman was elected as the Alderman for Bishopsgate in the City of London in September 2022. He is the youngest serving member of the Court of Aldermen, and the first from a British Bangladeshi background.
Kawsar grew up in a Council Estate in the East End of London. As the youngest of seven siblings, he went to his local state comprehensive and was the first in his family to go to university. He graduated with a First in Law from the London School of Economics (2HC Scholar), before completing the BCL at Oxford University (OCIS Scholar), and then the LLM at Harvard Law School (Fulbright Scholar).
By profession, Kawsar is a practising Barrister at No5 Barristers’ Chambers specialising in Public, Regulatory and Employment Law. Additionally, he is a Visiting Lecturer in Law at the University of Law and a Guest Teacher in Law at the London School of Economics. He is also a former solicitor at ‘Magic Circle’ law firms Clifford Chance LLP and Allen & Overy LLP, where he specialised in financial services regulatory law.
He holds various appointments including as a Trustee of the Wembley National Stadium Trust and a Governor at Morpeth Secondary School. In 2020, he founded the ‘Take the COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign’ to encourage vaccine uptake amongst BAME communities and was praised in Parliament.
He is an Honorary Member of the Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the British Army and one of the oldest military units in the world.
Kawsar has been the recipient of numerous community awards including: The Channel S Community Award for contributions to the British Bangladeshi community; Muslim News Malcolm X Young Person’s Award for Excellence; and was voted the ‘People’s Choice’ for the British Bangladeshi Power & Inspiration 100. In 2009, he served as a Global Fellow of the Prime Minister.
For many years, Lord Sheikh was passionate about the need to commemorate Muslims who had fought for the Crown. He took the initiative of pulling together the initial trustees and incoporating The National Muslim War Memorial Trust as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. He gave both his money and very large amounts of time to NMWMT, and was working to take it forward throughout the time before his sudden death, serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees since inception.
We have created a special page to pay tribute to him.
Here we acknowledge the distinguished individuals who have previously given generously of their time to make the work of the Trust possible.
Lord (Alistair) Lexden OBE is a Conservative peer and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords. He contributed to Conservative Party policy as Deputy Director of the Conservative Research Department during the Thatcher and Major years.
He worked on behalf some 1,300 independent schools (where around 500,000 children are educated) as General Secretary of the Independent Schools Council when Labour was in power after 1997.
Throughout his career he has written and lectured on modern British history. A series of debates in the House of Lords marking the centenary of the First World War fostered his interest in the magnificent and indispensable Muslim contribution to victory in that searing conflict, and to Britain’s military achievements more generally.
Full information about his parliamentary and historical work can be found on his website www.alistairlexden.org.uk
Charles Fattorini retired from the British Army in April 2018 as a Major General, having gained considerable experience in international, diplomatic, ministerial and head of state engagement. His last appointment was on secondment to the Sultanate of Oman as a security and defence advisor and head of the UK military mission.
He has held numerous leadership roles and has broad managerial experience within both the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office having served in Pakistan, East Africa and the Middle East. His is a Trustee of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, a member of the Anglo-Omani Society, and of the Pakistan Society.
Help us to achieve our goal of having a permanent memorial to those Muslims who have fought and served during times of war.
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