Sajjad Haider Karim is a Member of the European Parliament for North West England. Elected on 4 June 2004, Karim became the first British Muslim in the European Parliament. Sajjad H Karim is one of nine MEPs representing the North West of England.
There are five counties that fall within this area: Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria.
Since his election, Sajjad has been working tirelessly to promote the interests and opinions of his constituents on a European platform; in particular, giving voice to the ethnic minority communities of the region.
Amongst other issues Sajjad has been an outspoken critic of the British government's anti-terror legislation.
"The current government came to power after promising so much to the British people and secured an almost block vote from the Muslim communities. It is now that very community that is being targeted by the biased and discriminatory legislation that Tony Blair's' government has introduced. The Muslims living in Europe are the victims of such institutionalised Islamophobia. They are viewed as traitors to the cause by extremists and their own governments are targeting them all as potential terrorists. This is not healthy for Europe or for the UK and must be addressed immediately."
"It is high time that those who claim to represent the interests of their constituents from elected Parliamentary positions do actually speak out to defend hard working British Muslims in areas such as Blackburn, Rochdale, Pendle, Oldham, Bolton, Bury and Manchester where Muslims are being unfairly targeted."
Married to Zahida, a teacher, Sajjad has a son, Bilal, and a daughter, Rabia.
He is one of the faces of modern Britain and was named a High Flyer of British politics by The Times newspaper in its 'Who's Who' 2005.
"It is wonderful to have my achievements recognised in this way and it is also good news for the whole of the North West. The credit goes to Pendle Liberal Democrats where I received my grounding in politics. Such recognition will help immensely in my work, especially for the people of the North West."
Sajjad serves on the:
Committee on International Trade, MEMBER
Committee on Foreign Affairs, SUBSTITUTE
Committee on Regional Development, SUBSTITUTE
Subcommittee on Human Rights, MEMBER
Delegation for relations with the Gulf States, including Yemen, MEMBER
Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), SUBSTITUTE
Courtsey: http://www.sajjadkarim.org.uk
Sajjad Karim is the only member of the European Parliament who is of Pakistani origin. Born on July 11, 1970 in Britain, he was elected to the European Parliament in June 2004 at the age of 34 as a liberal democrat representing North West England. He is a voting member of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee.