Obama picks Indian American as special envoy to world Muslim group

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has appointed Rashad Hussein, an Indian-American Muslim as a special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the 57-nation organization that calls itself the “collective voice of the Muslim world.”

Announcing the new envoy, Obama described Hussein, who has been a deputy associate White House counsel, as “an accomplished lawyer and a close and trusted member of my White House staff.”

Obama made the announcement Saturday in a video message to the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar. He said he made the move to broaden the outreach strategy toward the Muslim world he laid out last year in Cairo.

“Rashad has played a key role in developing the partnerships I called for in Cairo. And as a hafiz of the Quran, he is a respected member of the American Muslim community, and I thank him for carrying forward this important work,” Obama said.

Hussain has served as a trial attorney at the US Department of Justice, a law clerk on the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and an editor of the Yale Law Journal. He posted a message on the White House blog saying he is “honoured and humbled” by the appointment.

“I am committed to deepening the partnerships that he (Obama) outlined in his visionary address last summer. I look forward to updating you on the Administration’s efforts in these areas over the coming months,” he said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be speaking Sunday at the 7th annual forum and Obama took the opportunity Saturday to laud the event and reiterate what he calls the “new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world” - a relationship that he says has been marred by “misunderstanding and mistrust.”

Obama said his administration has held thousands of events with students, civil society groups, faith leaders and entrepreneurs, including Clinton’s “landmark” visit to Pakistan.

“And I look forward to continuing the dialogue during my visit to Indonesia next month. This dialogue has helped us turn many of the initiatives I outlined in Cairo into action,” the president said.

“None of this will be easy. Fully realising the new beginning we envision will take a long-term commitment. But we have begun.”