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= Arafat Ashwad Islam = Arafat Ashwad Islam (Bengali: আরাফাত আশওয়াদ ইসলাম), also known as Arafat A Islam, is a businessman, politician, and philanthropist. Arafat is the managing director of Acorp Limited, which owns the Bangladesh franchise of the American pest management company Orkin. He is also a member of the executive committee of the Gulshan Society and sits on the governing board of the Anu Memorial Foundation. Additionally, Arafat is a member of the Bangladesh Awami League, the oldest political party in Bangladesh.

Early life and family
Arafat was born on November 15, 1984, in the Lalmatia suburb of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His father, A J M Enamul Islam, is a businessman and the secretary general of the Commonwealth Society of Bangladesh, while his mother, Fatima Zohra Islam, is a retired schoolteacher. Arafat is the nephew of A M Nurul Islam (Anu), a politician and bureaucrat who served as the private secretary to the former prime minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and also was the president of the U.S. chapter of the Awami League.

Education and business career
Arafat has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and is currently the managing director and shareholder of Acorp Limited, a Bangladesh-based company that provides commodity trading, consultancy, and commercial services. He actively represents the company in different trade and commerce professional organizations, such as the AmCham in Bangladesh, the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Bangladesh Indenting Agents’ Association.

Philanthropy
Arafat is a member of the Gulshan Society executive committee for the 2022-2024 term, elected as the Convenor for Zone-6. He sits on the Cultural and Lake Management and Environment subcommittees of the Gulshan Society. Furthermore, he is a founding member and secretary of the governing board of the Anu Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on education, the environment, and digital innovation. The foundation was established to honor the legacy of his uncle, A M Nurul Islam (Anu).

Political career
Arafat became a member of the Bangladesh Awami League through its Gulshan Thana Unit in 2019. In 2023, he made an unsuccessful bid to become the party's candidate for the Dhaka-17 by-election after the passing of the Member of Parliament Akbar Hossain Pathan (Farooque).

Publications
Arafat has authored a research thesis paper titled "Transition from Autocracy to Democracy: How it Affected Bangladesh's Economy?" for his bachelor's degree in economics. The research was published in the International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research. He has also written several op-eds in two of the most circulated English dailies, The Daily Star and New Age, on contemporary socioeconomic and political issues, including many promoting the ideals of the Bangladesh Awami League.

Awards
For his contribution to business and social work, Arafat has received the Mahatma Gandhi International Peace Award (2023) from the India-Bangladesh Cultural Council and the Desher Daak Personality Award (2023) from the weekly Desher Daak.