Speaking to The Muslim Weekly, Suleman Nagdi MBE, Chairman of MBCOL said "I am honoured to accept the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award on behalf of our organisation. This Award recognises the vital role played by the ‘unsung heroes’ of the voluntary and community world and emphasises the importance of recognising volunteers and their work. This award, acknowledges the Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire, its work has championed social welfare issues affecting all communities and is just recognition for shaping the future of our existing burial and bereavement services. It has taken the lead in delivering a range of philanthropic programmes, as well as encouraging a spirit of volunteerism and community service".
MBCOL was founded on August 24, 1994. In October 1995, MBCOL signed a legal agreement with Leicester City Council which gave MBCOL authority to carry out burials seven days a week at the Saffron Hill Cemetery in Leicester. The organisation is now a registered charity and a Limited Company by Guarantee.
The MBCOL acts on behalf of the needs and requirements of the Muslim community in Leicestershire with regards to the procedures and practices relating to the internment of the deceased. It also seeks to provide information, help and assistance to every member of the community relating to internment and to liaise with other relevant organisations to enable the Muslim community to access suitable internment services and practices.
In assessing nominations, the Local Panels and The Queen's Golden Jubilee Award Committee consider whether nominated groups meet a particular need, provide community-focused voluntary activities of a very high quality; have generated a high level of goodwill and respect amongst those they serve and the community as a whole, have evolved locally and are locally run, and have a proven track record of active involvement in the community.
MBCOL has also been involved with consultation programmes with local and central governmental departments in relation to the coroners, death registration, burial grounds and other matters related to death. It has been involved in consultations with the Home Office on the future of burial grounds together with meetings with other groups and government agencies both locally, nationally and also at the European level. The work of MBCOL has been regarded as a good model that can and should be adopted in other parts of the country.
Nagdi added, "I believe that this approach of self-help is the only way we will be able to consistently show our commitment to society at large and make a meaningful contribution over the long term. Now that MBCOL has shown itself to be a model of best practice in terms of community service delivery, we are exploring possibilities with new and existing partners which will provide impetus to our vision to scale up our current operations, into a centralised project…This award is proper validation for our work in the future years ahead…We thank God for what has been achieved over the last 12 years and look forward to positively impacting the lives of thousands of people in need in the years that lie ahead".
The Muslim Weekly - Thursday, 18th October 2007