Alhaji Rasheed Abubakar, Muslim News Publisher, said Ayyub is a fearless, dogged and committed journalist who has been at the forefront of advocating the rights of Muslims, especially the girl child, who have been denied access to education due to the ruthless hijab ban in many parts of India
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – A newspaper based in Nigeria has selected prominent journalist and The Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub the Global Muslim Media Person of the Year 2021 for being the voice of the voiceless and the oppressed Muslims in India.
In a press statement released on Saturday in Lagos, Alhaji Rasheed Abubakar, Muslim News Publisher, said Ayyub is a fearless, dogged and committed journalist. She has been at the forefront of advocating the rights of Muslims, especially the girl child, who have been denied access to education due to the ruthless hijab ban in many parts of India.
“Rana has been victimised, harassed, and reviled on several occasions by armed gangs and government agents for speaking up, using the power of the pen on different platforms, including social media to expose the persecutors and oppressors of over 200 million Muslim minority in India, calling on the international community and nations to stop the Narendra Modi-led government and his extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” noted Abubakar.
Muslim News, a publication of Rawshield PR Media, described itself as the one which gives “special media attention and coverage to important people and events in the life of Muslims that do not gain mainstream media attention, and to change the media narrative of blaming Islam and Muslims for offences committed in its lofty name”.
Talking further about Ayyub, Abubakar said, “She also speaks against the oppression and persecution of Indian Muslims on account of their faith, bringing to light many cases of assaults, including vandalisation of Muslim property and their places of worship, many of which would have gone unnoticed, if not for her efforts. We believe that she doesn’t do all these to be loved or rewarded but we at Muslim News Nigeria are doing this to appreciate and spur her to do more for Islam, Muslims and humanity in general, in line with our mantra of celebrating Muslim achievers.”
The Emir of Qatar, Thamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani, was named Global Muslim Personality of the Year while Bank ABC Islamic CEO Hammad wins Global Muslim Banking and Finance Person of the Year 2021 and Pakistani-American lawyer, Rabia Chaudry emerged as Global Muslim Legal Person of the Year 2021.