Imam Adam Kelwick said the email wasn’t just for him but his community
A Liverpool chaplain said he was “pleasantly surprised” after opening an unexpected email. Adam Kelwick, the leader of the historic Abdullah Quilliam Mosque, off West Derby Road, learnt he was shortlisted for a prestigious accolade after he got a notification on his phone.
The 42-year-old from Toxteth is up for the Most Impactful Imam award at the British Beacon Mosque Awards 2024. His nomination comes on the back of his humanitarian and community work, including his dedication to aid work in crisis zones like Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Somalia and his impactful interfaith outreach.
Imam Adam told the ECHO: “It was a surprise when I opened the email, but it was a lovely surprise. I wasn’t aware I was going to be nominated, but I was pleasantly surprised.
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“I feel embarrassed when I’m nominated as an individual for these kinds of things. This nomination celebrates the community and not just me as a person because, ultimately, it was a community response.”
The awards, established by Faith Associates UK in 2018, are held annually to highlight the outstanding and inspirational initiatives of mosques across the UK and recognise the role mosques play in delivering exceptional services.
Faith Associates was established as a non-theological consultancy to meet the needs of ethnic minority faith-based communities. It works in a culturally sensitive, multidisciplinary way to provide research, training, advice, and guidance to influence the challenges faced by communities.
Adam was instrumental in the de-escalation of the summer race riots and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. He said: “Many people in the community had my back; they were behind me, and they supported what I wanted to do. It’s not just an award for me.
“It’s an award for the mosque, the hundreds of people who came out to counter-protest and even for those who came out to protest and eventually became our friends and visited the mosque the week after. It’s an award fir everyone who wanted peace for the city.
“We were threatened with hostility, but my main priority was to quell that hostility. But after that, after all the emotion, passion, and hate had settled, I saw it as an opportunity to start building bridges, and that’s what we did. We’re still building bridges to this day and we’ve seen some amazing things come out of it.”
The judges of the Most Impactful Imam category will be looking for commendations relating to management competence in organising events, programmes, and services, working with different communities, and sharing their expertise, approachability and integrity.
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With an expected attendance of 500 guests, the awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 23, in Greater Manchester, where the winners of all categories will be announced.
The Beacon Mosque Awards Director Shaukat Warraich said: “Their hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed. Following this summer’s riots and attacks against Mosques, this year’s awards have an important significance.
“Thousands of people have nominated and voted for their mosque to be recognised. It is essential that we honour the dedication of mosque volunteers and the police who support them”.
