Peterborough faith leader’s pride at award from Archbishop of Canterbury

Abdul Choudhuri, chairman of Peterborough’s Faizan e Madina Mosque and the city’s Joint Mosques Council, has been awarded the The Hubert Walter Award for

Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation by The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby. He was given the award for his work with people of all faiths from across Peterborough.

MORE: Peterborough Muslim leader given top award by Archbishop of Canterbury

The awards are given to people from across the globe, and Mr Choudhuri was the only Muslim person to receive one of the prestigious awards.

Today he said: “It is a great honour that the Archbishop has given this award. I think it is the first time it has been given to a Muslim, most of the people are Christian.

“I have been working for nearly 50 years with the community, and many different faiths, so this honour is not just for me, but for the whole community.

“It shows Peterborough is a city about working together, with all different faiths coming together - we have not seen some of the issues with different faiths that other cities have. There is so much work done with different communities, the council, the constabulary. It shows how united our city is.”

Mr Choudhuri would normally be presented with the award at a ceremony at Lambeth Palace, but the event has had to be postponed.

He said: “It is disappointing not to be able to go to the palace, but something will be organised in the future.”