One of the many objectives of the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) Youth Awards 2008 held in January was to acknowledge the achievements of exceptional young people of Leicestershire. They become an example to all of us to strive and show the dedication and hard work that we must all commit to, in order to have a cohesive and stable society. The FMO also sought to celebrate the incredibly positive achievements that are missed or ignored by the media which seems so obsessed with fi nding negative and damaging stories.

Suleman Nagdi, spokesperson from the Federation said: “The FMO Youth Awards highlighted the true landscape of the contribution made by the Muslim community. We have so much to be proud of and I am absolutely delighted that these awards have drawn attention to such important contributions. It was also an inspiration for all people and demonstrated that we are can achieve excellence and in so doing receive the validation from others”.

Mr Nagdi further added “This award ceremony is a powerful testimony that we the Muslim community of Leicestershire are proud of our youth and their positive contributions to society at large. It was evident on the night that it was the young people’s religious understanding that motivated them to achieve what they did. Islam does not exist in isolation; it shapes positively on our young people’s fundamental view of the nature of human life and how it should be lived. My heartfelt congratulation goes to all the winners and runner ups and we look forward to next year’s event”.

Abdulkarim Gheewala, Chairman of the FMO said “In the current environment of all round negativism, this was an opportunity to refocus attention on achievements and contributions that our young people are making. There is so much to celebrate to induce the positive thinking this event is a start in that direction. The response of young people was tremendous and the large presence of young people of both genders and range of abilities is a testimony to that.

FMO youth committee has successfully demonstrated by this event that when trusted with responsibility they can deliver what the young people want and what the young people want to see happening. I am proud of all of them. I am committed to make such event an important Annual occasion for our youth.”

Riyaz Laher, FMO Youth Chair/ Awards Co-ordinator said “I am lost for words really I could never have imagined the event would go so well; I thank Mosaic and the Leicester City Council in particular for their trust and support in turning what was just an idea only a few months ago into something quite special.

Sir Peter Soulsby MP who also attended said; “This event will celebrate the incredibly positive achievements that are missed or ignored by the media that seems so obsessed with fi nding negative and damaging stories. The Muslim Community in Leicester and Leicestershire has so much to be proud of and I am absolutely delighted that these awards will begin to pick out and commemorate what is being done by young people in particular, but above all else my congratulations to the FMO for this excellent initiative and, particularly, my congratulations to the well-deserved award winners.”