Legal Advisor

Faizal Essat F.Inst.L.Ex

Faizal is in the fortunate position of having over 15 years experience as Head of Legal in Industry. He has also been Head of the Litigation section at the Leicestershire County Council and many years working at law firms. Faizal was formerly an Equity Partner at Anderson Solicitors. He is now an associate director of the East Midlands regional law firm DBS Law Limited.

Areas of work expertise include: large value complex personal injury cases, buy commercial disputes, cost intellectual property rights, vialis 40mg trademark registrations and related disputes.

Faizal’s legal experience greatly benefits MBCOL as he is able to see the picture from both sides. He was a key figure during MBCOL’s contractual negotiations with the local authority and in the drafting of the organisations Constitution during its early years. Faizal continues to provide his expert legal advice to the Board of MBCOL and is a vital member of the organisations advisory panel.

He has received national awards for his pro-bono and voluntary work in the community and works with many organisations in the voluntary sector.

He has received national awards for his pro-bono and voluntary work in the community and works with many organisations in the voluntary sector within Leicester and across the East Midland.

Faizal has lectured on the ILEX course and has run revision sessions for students for several years. He was Chairman of the Leicestershire branch of ILEX in 1998 and 2000 and is currently a Non-Executive Board Member for ILEX Professional Standards Ltd.

Advisor

Rabiha Hanan

Rabiha, a Pharmacist by training, holds an MA in Muslim Community Studies, with a specialisation on gender issues. She is co-Director of the Community Relations Initiative, a consultancy which works on research, educational and practical projects aiming to bring communities together. She is Vice Chair of the local SACRE and was on the implementation team leading to the formation of the national Christian-Muslim Forum. She has previously been President of the Leicester branch of the Islamic Society of Britain (2001-2005). Rabiha is married, has three children and lives in Leicester. She is currently acting as a Consultant to the Muslim Burial Council of Leicester.

Advisor

Zubeda Gangat

Zubeda is an active member of the Community and has been involved with supporting several organisations local and other over many years. This includes Ansaar who runs a day care centre for young adults with learning disabilities.

Zubeda has over fourteen years of experience in adult education and is currently working for the University Hospitals of Leicester as an IT Trainer. She has celebrated 25 years working for the Trust.

Zubeda currently represents the FMO and MBCOL on the Service Equality Panel for the University Hospitals of Leicester dealing with issues such as communication, cultural awareness, ethnic menu, urgent body release and language support for patients amongst other things.

Zubeda is currently working with Rik Basra to promote his campaign within the Muslim community. The campaign works to increase understanding of the blood cancers and encourages informed registration onto the Anthony Nolan stem cell register. This is done in the organisation of specific donor registration events within communities and/or the signposting of potential donors to on-line donor registration.

She has served Mayflower Primary School as a community Governor for several years. Zubeda is very passionate about Health and therefore is lead for Health and Social welfare committee at the FMO

Main Funeral Arranger

Adam Y Sabat

Adam Y Sabat came to the UK from Burma in 1969. He was schooled locally and eventually joined the family Continental Foods business in Highfields. He is currently self employed running a textile waste recycling business.

Adam was one of the key members to help establish Islamic the Education Trust – Masjid Al-Falah where he currently holds the office of Secretary. He was also a key member of the Federation of Muslim Organisations (Leicester) where he was the office of assistant secretary, member and Assistant Secretary of the Indian Muslim Association and a member of the C.W.C of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).

A long time member of MBCOL and was the former Secretary,  Adam is also one of the most experienced in facilitating burials. He is also pivotal in MBCOL’s community training program. Adam is very popular and well known within the various community organisations as well as the general Muslim community in general. He has sincere community spirit and is always keen to help others, sacrificing much of his personal time for the betterment of others.

MBCOL PATRON

Suleman Nagdi MBE DL

Patron / Executive Consultant to the Board of Directors

Suleman Nagdi MBE DL is a community advocate with extensive experience in the business and management sectors. He was awarded the MBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2002 in recognition for his long years of service to local communities relating to regional and national issues. His knowledge and experience of the diverse community and national issues over the last thirty years has made him invaluable in securing service provisions for the community ranging from, multi-faith prayer rooms in private and public organisations, dietary needs in hospitals and prisons and the establishing and training of chaplaincies in the health, educational and prisons settings. In 2008, he was appointed as Her Majesty’s Deputy Lieutenant.

Suleman is one of the founder member of the Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire (MBCOL) and now serves as its Patron. From the inception of MBCOL he was involved in establishing a historic legal agreement with Leicester City Council and others which provided for the delivery of faith sensitive and timely funeral provisions. He has also provided guidance and opinions to many government consultations like, Burial Space Strategy consultation report –
House of Lords inquiry into the issues raised by the European Commission Communication: Organ donation and transplantation – Statutory Duty for Doctors and Other Public Personnel to Report Deaths to the Coroner – Burial Law & Policy in the 21st Century – Virtual Autopsy, MR/CT scanning.  Suleman has authored a pioneering book titled ‘Discovering through Death – Beliefs and Practices’. This landmark work is universally recognised as a definitive practice guide in hospitals and other settings.

Suleman is also a longstanding spokesperson and Public Relations Officer for the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO). He regularly contributes to the print media and appears often on local, national and international TV and radio. He has provided community consultancy work to the Police, Home Office, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Dept. International Development, the Charity Commission and various other statutory authorities.

Suleman has many strategic roles in the community. He is a life member of the Leicester Council of Faiths and held the position of Chair of the Leicestershire Inter Faith Forum, Faith Leaders Forum and many other dialogue groups involving Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews. This has made him versatile in his approach to faith, regeneration and community diplomacy.

Suleman also plays a pivotal role in the area of criminal justice, law & order and related matters. He has served as a Magistrate on the Leicester Bench. He was a trustee of Futures Unlocked, an organisation involved in the rehabilitation of young prisoners. He also served as a Governor on the Board of the East Midlands Community Contact Unit which supports people deemed at risk of radicalisation. Suleman is the recipient of the National Police Award and continues to mentor vulnerable young people in secure training centres.

In 2012 Suleman gave written evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. His evidence formed part of the Inquiry’s official record on recommendations for a more effective policy and regulation that supports the integrity and freedom of the press while encouraging the highest ethical standards.

His unique strength of character and a selfless attitude in the service of others has driven him into taking a role of being an advocate with those in society that often need a voice. His exemplary conduct shows his commitment to serving unconditionally the needs of others. He has, and continues to play a key role in community matters locally, nationally and internationally.