Joe Biden nominates Indian-American Rashad Hussain as first Muslim religious freedom ambassador
Washington: US President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American attorney Rashad Hussain as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, the first Muslim to be nominated to the key position, according to the White House.
Hussain, 41, is currently Director for Partnerships and Global Engagement at the National Security Council.
Today's announcement underscores the President's commitment to build an Administration that looks like America and reflects people of all faiths. Hussain is the first Muslim to be nominated to serve as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, the White House said in a statement on Friday.
He previously served as Senior Counsel at the Department of Justice's National Security Division. During the Obama administration, he served as US Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), US Special Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications and Deputy Associate White House Counsel.
In his roles as envoy, Hussain worked with multilateral organisations such as the OIC and the UN, foreign governments and civil society organisations to expand partnerships in education, entrepreneurship, health, international security, science and technology and other areas.
He also spearheaded efforts on countering antisemitism and protecting religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Hussain worked on the House Judiciary Committee, serving as a judicial law clerk.
Hussain received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal, and Master's degrees in Public Administration (Kennedy School of Government) and Arabic and Islamic Studies from Harvard University.
He has also taught as Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown Law Center and the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. He speaks Urdu, Arabic and Spanish.
President Biden also nominated Pakistani-American Khizr Khan as Commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
According to the White House, Deborah Lipstadt has been nominated as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism with the Rank of Ambassador and Sharon Kleinbaum as USCIRF Commissioner.
Lipstadt is a renowned scholar of the Holocaust and antisemitism, the White House said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Woman 'gang-raped', thrown out of car in Faridabad; 2 held
Faridabad (PTI): A 25-year-old married woman was allegedly gang-raped in a moving van here and later thrown onto the road, sustaining serious head injuries, police said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred late Monday after the two accused offered her a lift while she was waiting for transport, according to the complaint lodged by the woman's sister.
The duo, who hail from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and are currently living in Faridabad, has been arrested, police said.
The woman, who was staying at her parents' house due to a marital discord, had gone to her friend's house in Sector 23 on Monday evening, and while returning late at night, she was offered a lift by the accused, police said.
Instead of taking her to her destination, the duo drove towards Gurugram and raped her inside the car, police said.
"The woman was driven around through the night and thrown out of the car near Raja Chowk at around 3 am, leaving her with serious injuries," a police officer said.
The woman managed to call her sister, who reached the spot and took her to a hospital.
"We have nabbed the accused and are questioning them. A test identification parade of the accused will be conducted soon," Yashpal Yadav, the spokesperson of Faridabad police, said.
