Newsmaker

Every Friday, we choose an alum who has been making headlines—for better or for worse.
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Rashad Hussain ’07JD

By the staff | 3:22pm February 19 2010

Rashad Hussain ’07JD comes from a family of doctors. Now, President Barack Obama is calling on this young Indian American lawyer to help heal US relations with the Muslim world. Obama announced at the US-Islamic World Forum meeting on February 13 that he is appointing the Texas-raised Hussain as special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference, which represents more than 50 Muslim nations.

A deputy associate White House counsel focusing in part on national security, Hussain also has a master’s in Arabic and Islamic studies from Harvard. He’s a practicing Muslim and, according to Obama, “a hafiz of the Quran,” or one who has memorized the Islamic holy book. Indian Muslims see the appointment “as vindication of their plural and moderate ethos by the Obama administration,” the Times of India says, while the D.C.-based Muslim Public Affairs Council calls Hussain “a shining example of what Muslim Americans can do: serve as peacemakers based on President Obama’s goal to seek ‘mutual interest and mutual respect.’”

Filed under Law School, milestones, appointed, religion
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