Siddhesh Joshi (Editor)

Husna Ahmad

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Native name
  
হুশরা পারভিন আহমেদ

Name
  
Husna Ahmad

Occupation
  
Humanitarian, writer

Ethnicity
  
Bengali

Nationality
  
British


Full Name
  
Husna Parvin Ahmad

Born
  
28 June 1964 (age 59) (
1964-06-28
)
Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)

Residence
  
Barnet, London, England

Alma mater
  
School of Oriental and African Studies

Education
  
SOAS, University of London

Poverty: Mobilising Institutions, Governments & Faith Communities – Development Dialogue EP 07


Husna Parvin Ahmad, OBE (Bengali: হুশরা পারভিন আহমেদ; born 28 June 1964) is a Bangladeshi-born British humanitarian and writer. She is Secretary-General at World Muslim Leadership Forum. She was chief executive officer of the Faith Regen Foundation, she sits on the Advisory Board of East London Mosque and previously sat on the Department for Work and Pensions' Ethnic Minority Advisory Group (EMAG).

Contents

Early life

Ahmad was born in Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and moved to the United Kingdom at the age of four. She has a PhD in Environmental Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Career

From June 2006 to March 2013, Ahmad was CEO of Faith Regen Foundation. She was a member of Faith Regen Foundation's staff since its inception in October 2001 and has previously held the position of director of operations.

With a strong background in research she is a board member of SPH Housing Association and sits on the Black and Minority Ethnic Review Forum (BMERF) of the Government Office for London (GOL) and is a trustee of the Muslim think tank the Centre for Muslim Affairs.

She is the co-chair of Faiths and Beliefs in Further Education, a national independent inter-faith charity working with the learning and skills sector, faith and local communities and national and local faith/belief based groups. She is also on the Women's Committee of the MCEC Palmers Green Mosque. She is a steering committee member of the RLLP (Religious Literacy in Leadership Programme) in Higher Education under the auspices of Goldsmiths University and the University of York. She is a national and international speaker on faith and regeneration, peace building, women's issues and climate change.

Ahmad sits on the Advisory Board of East London Mosque. Shas held the role of Deputy chief executive of the Forum against Islamophobia and Racism and was a principal officer in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. She previously sat on the Department for Work and Pensions' Ethnic Minority Advisory Group (EMAG). She is also on the Community Development Forum of the London Health Commission. She has been appointed co-chair of the National Council of Faiths and Beliefs in Further Education, a national independent inter-faith charity working with the learning and skills sector, faith and local communities and national and local faith/belief based groups.

In March 2005, Ahmad was on the judging panel for The Muslim News Awards for Excellence. In 2008, she was a member of a Ministerial Working Group on Child Poverty in London. She is a national and international speaker on faith and regeneration, peace building and women's issues.

In June 2012, Ahmad was appointed the secretary general of the World Muslim Leadership Forum. She has been made a national council member of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

In 2011, she co-authored The Green Guide For Hajj, with EcoMuslim consultant Omar Faruk, the book encourages ecologically sustainable practices among Hajj pilgrims and promotes the role Muslims can play in protecting nature. In 2012, she wrote Islam and Water, the story of Hajjar second wife of the Islamic prophet Ibrahim, in particular her search for water, which is commemorated every year in the Hajj. Both books were commissioned by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, Ahmad won the Organisation Ethnic award from the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners. The awards are open to black and minority ethnic women who start or run a business.

In April 2010, she received an Ambassador for Peace award from the Universal Peace Federation. In 2010, she was also appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for her services to disadvantaged people for work promoting social justice with disadvantaged communities.

Personal life

Ahmad lives in Cricklewood, London with her husband, Saif Uddin Ahmad, who is CEO of Al-Khair Foundation and founder of MADE in Europe. She has six children (born between 1983 and 2005).

References

Husna Ahmad Wikipedia