Muhammad Shahid Raza, a Muslim faith leader will be bestowed with an honour at the University of Leicester, for his outstanding work for bridging communities together by building understanding between them.
Raza, who is the head Imam at Leicester Central Mosque, will be awarded the honorary degree of Doctors of Law, at a ceremony at De Montfort Hall, on Thursday 21st January 2016.
The cleric and teacher was born and educated in Eastern India, and became the head Imam at the Islamic Centre in Leicester, in 1978. He has spent most of his life working with Muslim community groups, as well as on intra-faith relations on a national and international level.
The Imam shared, “I have always strived to instil in my students a desire to achieve academically and integrate themselves as valuable members and contributors to society. I am delighted to note that many of my former students have gone on to graduate from this university and, of those, many are now working in this city as civil servants, teachers and doctors or owners of small businesses. For this reasons, I reflect on this award fondly and I hope it will further inspire the young Muslims of Leicester.”
His remarkable achievements also include an OBE he received in the 2008 New year's Honours list for services to the Muslim community in Leicester.
The coordinating chaplain for the University of Leicester, Dr Stephen Foster said, “Muhammad Shahid Raza has been a hugely influential figure in our city and county as a leading Muslim cleric and teacher over a period approaching 40 years. In terms of Interfaith dialogue over that period, again his influence has been profound... The University of Leicester honours him this week, and rightly and gratefully so.”
