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20 April 2018

The Muslim Council of Britain today mourns the passing of Judge Khurshid Drabu CBE, a pillar of the organisation and the Muslim community. To Him We Belong and to Him we Return.

Khurshid Drabu was one of the UK’s most influential and senior Muslim activists. He served as the Muslim Council of Britain’s Constitutional Advisor and chair of its legal committee. As constitutional advisor, Judge Drabu oversaw the democratic processes of the MCB, and guided successive leaderships on a range of issues. He was a servant of the Muslim community, having also been involved in the establishment of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board and serving on the boards of several organisations, including the Joseph Interfaith Foundation.

Leading the tributes, Harun Khan, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said: “Judge Khurshid Drabu has been the bedrock of the Muslim Council of Britain. As our constitutional advisor, Judge Drabu has ensured that the organisation remains a democratic body accountable to its affiliates. My predecessors and I have benefitted from his wise counsel on countless occasions. He has a lifetime of public service behind him. He campaign for equal rights for minorities, and then for Muslim communities. And he was an advocate for the common good, serving on interfaith bodies and seeking understanding between communities. He was a role model, mentor and pioneer, being one the first Muslims to serve as a judge. It is by the grace of Allah that Judge Drabu passes away just as the Muslim Council of Britain begins to celebrate its twentieth year. I know how keen he was to attend. I hope his legacy lives on in the MCB for the next twenty years. My condolences and heartfelt wishes go to his wife, Dr Reefat Drabu, and his children and grandchildren.”

PROFILE

Born in Srinagar, Kashmir, Khurshid Drabu came to the United Kingdom in 1971 following distinguished achievements as a student in Humanities and Law in India. He was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1977.

In the eighties he became well known for his expertise in Immigration Law and in 1986 he became the Deputy Director of UK Immigrants Advisory Service (The UKIAS) – govt aided voluntary body with remit to advise and represent immigrants with rights of appeal under the Immigration Acts.

In 1990 he joined the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) as its first Deputy Legal Director. Amongst his responsibilities was carrying out a review of the Race Relations Act 1976 and it was under his watch that the CRE brought attention to the glaring inadequacy of protection for followers of faiths from unfair discrimination.

In 1996 he was appointed to the Immigration Judiciary. He became the Vice President of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal in 2000 and served as Senior Immigration Judge until 2007 when he took early retirement. He then worked as a Fee Paid Judge at the Upper Tribunal in the Asylum and Immigration Chamber.

Khurshid Drabu had extensive judicial experience in other jurisdictions – 13 years as a Justice of the Peace and 12 years as President of the Mental Health Review Tribunal.

One of the founders of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the largest national Muslim umbrella body working for the common good, Khurshid served it for fifteen years as its Advisor on Legal and Constitutional Affairs as well as its Election Commissioner.

In 2007 together with a small group of people he developed and gave shape to Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) for promoting good governance in mosques through a scheme of self- regulation. It is a national non- sectarian advisory body with no role in matters of theology but committed to promoting community cohesion. He continued to serve MINAB as its Special Advisor.

He was the Muslim Advisor to the Ministry of Defence, having first been appointed in 2002.

He was a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Middlesex, London.

Khurshid Drabu was awarded the honour of Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2010 by HM the Queen.

April 20, 2018 in Community Stories, Press Releases
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