Peterborough Muslim leader given top award by Archbishop of Canterbury

Abdul Choudhuri has been given the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation as part of the Lambeth Awards, given annually by The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby.

In total 32 awards were this year given to people from across the Church and beyond in fields including evangelism, the Religious life, safeguarding, ecumenism, theology and interfaith relations.

The recipients include people from New Zealand, Kenya and the USA, as well as a number of others in the UK and Ireland.

Mr Choudhuri, who is chairman of the Faizen e Madina Mosque and the Peterborough Joint Mosques Council, was given the award for outstanding work in the area of Interfaith Cooperation.

The award citation said: “He was involved with an Interfaith vigil on the steps of the cathedral in Peterborough in the wake of the attack on a mosque in New Zealand. Then, in response to the Easter day 2019 attacks on Christians in Sri Lanka, he was very instrumental in calling for another Vigil service to express Muslim solidarity with those Christians who had lost their lives.

“He is a very modest and unassuming gentleman but is genuinely committed to working together with members of other Faith communities. He is a keen supporter of everything done to bring people of different Faiths together and is usually the first to respond to the bishop’s invitation to Interfaith events.

“When the Archbishop of Canterbury visited the city in April 2019 it was Mr Choudhuri who invited him to visit the mosque and meet the Imam and various mosque officials.”

Archbishop Justin Welby said: “This is the fifth year of the Lambeth Awards, and I am constantly impressed and humbled by the work that recipients have accomplished, sometimes in the most challenging circumstances. Not all are followers of Jesus Christ, but all contribute through their faith to the mutual respect and maintenance of human dignity which are so vital to spiritual and social health.”