Sunday 15th May 2011, following the successful completion of the South England portion of the MQI NEC UK National Tour the North England leg has commenced with the same momentum, energy and conviction. Starting with Bradford the NEC (National Executive Council) will be touring around the north of England meeting the voluntary workers of the regional centres and branches of MQI UK.
Shaykh Muhammad Afzal Saeedi was joined by Moazzam Raza (Vice President of MQI NEC UK, North England), Seerat Ali Khan Qadri (Secretary Welfare MQI NEC UK), Adnan Sohail, Project Manager for MWF (Minhaj Welfare Foundation) UK and Europe, and Shahid Janjua (Deputy Media Secretary, MQI NEC UK).
The delegation was welcomed by Minhaj-ul-Quran International Bradford’s LEC (local executive committee) and MWL (Minhaj Women's League). The resident MQI Scholar, Hafiz Muhammad Abdul Saeed hosted the meeting as facilitated by MQI Bradford and introduced the delegation to the attendees at the meeting.
The meeting started with recitation of the Holy Quran and Nasheeds by Ijaz Ahmed Qadri, further to which Shaykh Muhammad Afzal Saeedi gave an introductory breifing on the meeting and relayed congratulations to MQI Bradford for the exemplary work of MQI being carried out in the city. He appreciated the efforts of all the forums working within MQI Bradford for their tireless efforts and sacrifices in helping make the Qaid Day 2011 and Grand Mawlid-un-Nabi S.A.W 2011 outstanding and exemplary Conferences. Particular appreciation was relayed for the exceptional hospitality rendered for our European guests during the two events. There was no doubt that the bar had been raised by MQI Bradford and records broken in terms of the quality and scales of the events that were held and the leading role that MQI Bradford played in the organisation of these NEC initiated events.
Hafiz Muhammad Abdul Saeed and Rizwan Rehman (President, MQI Bradford) were then invited to give the NEC delegation an introduction on the local activities. The breadth and depth of activities for all ages was extensive and demonstrated a well-structured and organised branch of MQI, one which was an example for other UK based branches.
Some of the achievements of MQI Bradford are listed below:
■ ~500 students taught at MQI Bradford
■ flexible and accommodating hours to suit all ages
■ Exclusive provision of a Halaqah Durood room which has been solely funded by the local MWL
■ 300 Halaqah Durood units setup by MWL
■ Monthly and weekly gatherings held for local community
■ £130,000 raised for Pakistan floods appeal last year - awarded Welfare World Champions award for 2010.
■ Effective collaboration with MYL-UL events
Further to the reports from the forums, Shaykh Muhammad Afzal Saeedi gave a motivational talk to the attendees of the gathering. The motivational talk was followed by Question and Answers, which also allowed the attendees to suggest proposals for further MQI work and improvements as well as raise any concerns they had so that they could be offered support by the NEC.
MWF Project Manager, Adnan Sohail, provided an update of MWF UK activities to the audience and informed them of key events and dates for the forthcoming year and provided details of welfare campaigns that MQI Bradford's support and contribution would be required in.
Seerat Ali Khan Secretary Welfare, MQI NEC UK gave a motivational briefing about MWF's work in Pakistan and other countries. He requested members to support Minhaj Welfare Foundation to maximise donations in 2011. He informed the audience that they have been given target by MWF to increase the donation by 25-50% in 2011, than what they achieved in 2011. Being a local resident he also expressed his admiration and appreciation of the local welfare work done by MQI Bradford.
As the last session of the meeting Moazzam Raza, Vice President for North England MQI NEC UK gave a briefing about the purpose and importance of re-organisation within our local committees. He gave a briefing on the re-organisation process and how to complete the re-organisation process following the policy guidelines. The NEC panel which was led by Shaykh Muhammad Afzal Saeedi went through the re-organisation process. Thereafter, the new structure for MQI Bradford’s LEC and MWL was announced by Shaykh Muhammad Afzal Saeedi. As the regional Vice President, Moazzam Raza also appreciated and commended the exemplary work done by MQI Bradford, and encouraged the branch to boast its achievements and report their projects and activities through all available mediums, in particular through the national website www.minhajuk.org.
Hafiz Muhammad Abdul Saeed and thanked MQI NEC UK's delegation on behalf of Minhaj-ul-Quran International (Bradford) and its Members for their valuable time and making the visit to Bradford. The programme was concluded by supplication led by Shaykh Muhammad Afzal Saeedi.
