US President Barack Obama on Saturday named a White House lawyer as his special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), part of his continuing effort to repair strained US relations with the world’s Muslims.
Obama announced Rashad Hussain’s appointment during a videotaped address to the 7th US-Islamic World Forum meeting in Doha, Qatar.
As his liaison to the OIC, the president said Hussain would continue working to repair US-Islamic relations and develop the types of partnerships Obama called for when he addressed the Muslim world during a speech last year in Cairo.
US relations with the Muslim world became strained after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the video address, Obama said he called in Cairo for the US and Muslims to start anew “based on mutual interest and mutual respect” because the relationship had “slipped into a cycle of misunderstanding and mistrust that can lead to conflict rather than cooperation.”
Obama recounted efforts by his administration to foster partnerships with Muslims on education, economic development, global health and science and technology. He touched on the plan to remove all US combat troops from Iraq by the end of August, and his administration’s efforts to return Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table to jump-start stalled peace talks.
Obama also announced a summit on entrepreneurship in April with Muslim entrepreneurs from around the world.
He said Hussain’s goal as special envoy to the OIC will be to deepen existing partnerships and develop others. The OIC represents nearly 60 Muslim states and promotes Muslim solidarity in social and political affairs.
Hussain is a deputy associate counsel to Obama who focuses on national security, new media, and science and technology issues. He also has worked with the national security staff to help repair US-Muslim relations.
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