WELSH MUSLIM WINS 2012 YOUNG ACHIEVER AWARD

        Swansea, 29 Rabiul Awwal 1434/ 9 February 2013 (ONI/MINA) – A young Swansea Muslim solicitor has won the prestigious award young achiever of the year at the British Muslim Awards in recognition for her efforts to maintain her British and Muslim values throughout her educational and professional life in the legal field.
       “I felt honored and surprised to have been shortlisted as a finalist and honestly did not expect to receive the Award,” Mamuna Farooq, a solicitor at the Swansea-based law firm Douglas-Jones Mercer in Wales, told The Asian Image on Friday, February 8.
      “I would like to congratulate the fellow finalists, especially in the Young Achiever category,”
        Mamuna, 27, was the youngest award winner at the ceremony in which over 10,000 nominations were received across the UK.
       As an active member of the Muslim community in Swansea from a young age, Mamuna has been dreaming of using her professional qualifications to help ‘give back’ to the community.
       Working in a field that has very few Muslim females, she was nominated for the award in recognition to her efforts in maintaining her British and Muslim values throughout her educational and professional life.
       She is one of the first Solicitors in Wales to offer a bespoke service of drafting and advising Muslim clients on Islamic Wills.
      “To say I was excited when I unexpectedly heard my name called out is an understatement,” Mamuna said.
      “I feel extremely fortunate to have been named as a finalist and then a winner at the first British Muslim Awards alongside public figures, individuals and businesses whom I admire and respect.
       “To be told I’m regarded as a role model for younger Muslims is a true honor”.
        The British Muslim Awards are meant to recognize a wide range of achievements which cover various aspects of society including business, charity, sport, arts and culture.
       The ceremony will be one of celebration, reflecting the significant role that Britain’s Muslim have in society.
       The first year of the Awards aims to have over 500 present from across the British genre and intend to be a yearly celebration.

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Role Model

        The young Muslim’s achievement was praised by non-Muslim colleagues as well.
        “To say that Mamuna exceeds the expectations of solicitors in our firm would be an understatement,” Jonathan Powell, Director at Douglas-Jones Mercer Solicitors (DJM Solicitors), said.
       “Her dedication and professionalism have resulted in a level of service given to clients, which is second to none.”
        Mamuna joined DJM Solicitors, a Legal 500 firm, in 2008 as a Trainee Solicitor and was retained by the firm upon qualification in 2010 joining the Wills, Estate & Trusts team.
         She now specializes in all areas of Private Client law. Britain is home to a Muslim community of nearly 2.5 million. In 2011, think-tank Demo found that Muslims in the United Kingdom are more patriotic than the rest of population.
        Responding to the statement “I am proud to be a British citizen”, 83% of Muslims said they are proud of being British. The percentage came higher than average across the population which scored only 79%.
        A recent report by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex revealed that the Muslim minority in Britain is more likely consider themselves British than their white counterparts. (T/P014/E1)

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Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)