British Pakistani activist gets best citizen award for community service

LONDON: A British Pakistani religious scholar originally from Karachi has been awarded the prestigious British Citizen Award (BCA) at the Palace of Westminster for the community services, mainly dedicating his life to tackling the knife crimes across the Midlands from the platform of Dawat-e-Islami.

The honour recognises Syed Muhammad Faisal Sami’s voluntary contributions to the community around Birmingham over the past 20 years, impacting thousands of lives both nationally within the UK and internationally. Syed Muhammad Faisal Sami received the coveted BCA Medal of Honour for Services to the Community (BCAc), alongside a Certificate of Honour.

Last year, the West Midlands Police had given the Outstanding Citizen Awards to Sami for dedicating his life to tackling knife crimes in the region and hailed him as a community champion.

Syed Muhammad Faisal Sami said: “Our initiatives have included campaigns to raise awareness about knife crime, County Lines, drug abuse, nitrous oxide, fly-tipping, and speeding. These campaigns have been crucial in reducing crime and promoting community safety. In addition to our social advocacy, we established a prison rehabilitation team, working to support and reintegrate former inmates into society from the platform of Dawat-e-Islami. Our commitment to environmental issues has led to the planting of thousands of trees and increased awareness about climate change.”

“We have also provided humanitarian relief for global disasters, including the Pakistan floods, earthquakes in Turkey, Syria, and Morocco, the cyclone in Tanzania, and aid relief for the people of Palestine. Our effective response has been invaluable in aiding affected populations,” he said

“Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, we introduced daily national initiatives to engage the public and to provide much-needed support during lockdowns. We established food banks to assist individuals and families facing economic hardships and set up well-being call centres to signpost callers to emergency help and governmental departments. We were also instrumental in the facilitation of an emergency morgue, opened in Birmingham, to deal with burial rites and to help the bereaved families who lost their loved ones to Covid-19.”

The activist and scholar added: “I dedicate this prestigious award to the founder of Dawat-e-Islami Maulana Ilyas Qadiri and to all those volunteers who support the organisation. In his acceptance speech, Sami expressed his gratitude and emphasised the collective effort behind his achievements. “This recognition is not just for me but for all the volunteers and supporters of Dawat-e-Islami who have worked tirelessly alongside me. Our collective efforts have made a difference, and I hope this award inspires more people to contribute to their communities.”

The West Midlands Police said last year in a statement: “Winner of the Outstanding Citizen category, Sami, stood out for the impact he has made not just in the West Midlands, but nationally and globally. As a volunteer of Dawat-e-Islami UK for the last 17 years, Sami has spearheaded campaigns to tackle a range of issues including knife crime, drugs, speeding, gang culture, county lines, fly-tipping, theft and nitrous oxide. He is recognised as a true community champion and has inspired and supported thousands of people to bring a positive change in their lives.”