IT was a defining moment in the relationship between Muslims and Jews in Bradford and it made headlines around the world.

“Bradford synagogue saved by city’s Muslims” wrote the Muslim Observer; “Muslims help save UK synagogue” declared The American Conservative; one German broadcaster went so far as to describe it as “The Miracle of Bradford.”

They referred to a shining example of cross-cultural co-operation, when the secretary of a Bradford mosque organised a fundraising effort in 2013 to help save the city’s last remaining synagogue from closure. The Grade II-listed, 132-year-old building was leaking and damaged and the congregation, which could not afford the repairs, would have been forced to worship in Leeds. Zulfi Karim, now general secretary of Bradford Council for Mosques, who helped rally the Muslim community to raise funds to secure the synagogue’s future, said at the time: “It makes me proud we can protect our neighbours and at the same time preserve an important part of Bradford's cultural heritage."

Those who know Mr Karim would say the initiative was typical of a man who has developed a reputation for selfless generosity, support for community relations and, above all, a belief in Bradford, its people and its future.

Whether this specific campaign had any direct bearing, we know not, but Mr Karim’s determination to promote the best of his home city has certainly helped lead to his appointment, announced yesterday in the London Gazette, as a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. There is, though, something fitting in the fact one of the other three new deputies unveiled is Dr Edward Ziff OBE (brother of the man who ran the former Apperley Bridge-based Barratts shoes), who is a leading light in the Jewish community in Leeds. Mr Karim said: “I have spent many years working in the region’s cities and I am passionate about genuinely integrating communities and creating social understanding. I have first-hand appreciation of multi-cultural issues and I want to reach diverse communities on their terms and help build bridges between them.”

The 51-year-old, however, would not want his faith and his passion for a fair and just society to be all that defines him. Born and bred in Manningham, he is also fiercely proud of the entrepreneurial skills that have made him a successful businessman and adviser to local and regional authorities. “My appointment as a deputy lieutenant is a huge honour,” he said. “I’m immensely proud to be asked to take on the role and I’m still struggling to take in the fact that the son of an immigrant textile worker, born and raised in the inner city, could be asked to help the Lord Lieutenant in his or her role representing the Queen. It’s very humbling but it also sends a positive message that one’s origin should not be a barrier to success in the UK. One can remain true to one’s identity but at the same time be able to contribute on a bigger and wider stage celebrating the best that this society has to offer.”

After studying marketing at Huddersfield College and, later, Bradford Management Centre, Mr Karim established himself as an events organiser, a role in which he brought the world’s biggest film-industry awards, run by the India International Film Academy, to Bradford and helped draw a worldwide audience of more than 400 million people.

That led to consultant roles with Bradford Urban Regeneration, helping to connect areas such as Manningham to the Will Alsop Masterplan, and Bradford Council’s regeneration department. He also worked with the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and served as a non-executive director of the Yorkshire Tourist Board. A winner of numerous awards for his voluntary and community relations contributions, Mr Karim, who is a founding director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film, is also a former governor of Leeds City College.

In 2009, his love of food, culture and community drew him to launch the first World Curry Festival in Bradford, drawing in top chefs and food experts from across the globe. Mr Karim said: “If there’s one thing that brings all cultures together it’s food – people may follow different religions, or hold conflicting political views, but talk about food and they’ll have something to say to each other!”

Last year he went one step further and launched his own restaurant, Curryosity, in Saltaire, where he specialises in meals personally-sourced authentic recipes from pre-partition India. The father-of-two is extremely proud of what he’s created there but it comes a poor second to his wife, Saira Ali, who works in a senior landscape design and conservation role at Bradford Council, his son, Kesser, an inner-city school teacher, and daughter, Aisha, who is currently at university. “Bradford is our family home and we are all thoroughly immersed in its culture and its potential,” said Mr Karim. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else and I hope that my new appointment will help me to spread the word about what a great place it is to live and work in. I really feel this isn’t just an honour for me, it’s an honour for the whole city and I will do my best to show people how proud I am of Bradford and West Yorkshire.”