THE Muslim News Awards for Excellence take place next week. Rachel Crofts looks at how organisers of the event hope it will create positive Muslim role models and celebrate their contribution to British society.

FAMOUS sportsmen, businessmen and artists will join little-known community workers, teachers and carers for a glittering awards ceremony in the presence of the Prince of Wales next week.

The Muslim News Awards for Excellence will honour the efforts of members of the Islamic community in the UK and those of non-Muslims who have worked to improve race and cultural relations.

Stories of sporting excellence and financial acumen will be told alongside moving accounts of personal resilience and bravery.

Ahmed Versi, editor of The Muslim News, says the event celebrates positive Muslim role models and challenges the sea of negative attention often projected by the media.

"The event is an opportunity not only to acknowledge achievement and promote excellence within the Muslim community and highlight their contribution to the British society, but also identify the role models of tomorrow," he says.

Prince Charles will join more than 450 people, including those short-listed, ministers, politicians, ambassadors, religious leaders, journalists, community activists for the gala evening at London's Marriott Hotel on Wednesday.

This year's event, the third in the competition's history, will honour those who have promoted understanding and respect between Muslim and non-Muslim communities at a national or local level, and those who have increased health awareness among Muslims.

Categories also include excellence in arts, media, and community development, business, science, education, and sport.

Individuals who have shown courage and determination in securing rights for British Muslims and non-Muslims who have supported a Muslim cause, also receive recognition.

Some of those shortlisted include Shami Ahmed, the Manchester-based businessman behind the £75 million Joe Bloggs fashion empire and Nasa Khan, from Kingston, Surrey, who built up his business of mobile phone accessories from an initial investment of £2,000 to reach a turnover of £15 million.

Sportsmen who receive recognition for their efforts include the world-famous Naseem Hamed, the Sheffield boxer known to millions as Prince Naseem, and current International Boxing Organisation World Featherweight champion.

Cricketer Imran Khan's Cancer Appeal is also recognised for the work it does in raising money to offer free cancer treatment and conduct research into the disease in Lahore, Pakistan.

Ikram Butt, the first Asian to play rugby league for England also makes it to the shortlist. Butt represented England professionally at the European Championships in 1995, and played for the London Broncos and Huddersfield and Hunslet RLFC.

As a senior coach, and through his work with the "Tackle It" campaign, he is an exponent of the positive role of sport in areas where racial tensions run high. Working with Bradford Rugby League, he also helps youngsters in the Pakistani community to become involved in sport as a means of tackling disillusionment and exclusion.

The first Asian female to play rugby league for Great Britain also receives recognition. Through her involvement in various voluntary projects such as Impact and Keighley Asian Women's and Children's Centre in Yorkshire, Saima Hussain actively promotes the participation of young men and women in sports.

Capped several times by the England Badminton team, Aamir Ghaffar from Southall, Middlesex, uses his success as an opportunity to show young Muslims how direction and hard work can accomplish results. Currently ranked in the top 100, Ghaffar fasts when playing during Ramadan, to enhance self-control and willpower.

Educators too are honoured for their work in promoting cultural awareness and dispelling ethnic barriers. Muhammad Akram Khan-Cheema has over 30 years of experience in the British education system and has been instrumental in pushing back the barriers facing Muslim teachers.

Having taught at primary and secondary level, he rose to become chief inspector of schools in Bradford. As education consultant with the Association of Muslim Schools, Khan-Cheema also helped develop schemes to enable trainee teachers to bring Islam to the classroom.

The tragic story of Sameel and Asma Meer will touch parents everywhere. Their son, Ibrahim, suffered from a rare blood disorder and the couple, from south east London, campaigned to raise awareness among Asian and Muslim communities about the need to consider donation of blood, organs and bone marrow.

Working with the Anthony Nolan Trust, they launched a national campaign to find a bone marrow donor for Ibrahim, but the youngster passed away on May 24, 2002. Despite their grief, the couple continue to highlight the need for donors from the Muslim community.