Middle East

Documents & Texts from America.gov

26 June 2009
Secretary Clinton Appoints Farah Pandith to Head New Office of The United States Representative to Muslim Communities

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has asked Farah Pandith to head the new Office of the United States Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Special Representative Farah Pandith and her staff (S/SRMC) will be responsible for executing the Administration’s efforts to engage with Muslims around the world on a people-to-people and organizational level.

"I am pleased to announce the appointment of Farah Pandith to serve as Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Farah brings years of experience to the job, and she will play a leading role in our efforts to engage Muslims around the world," Secretary Clinton said.

Pandith was the senior adviser on Muslim engagement in the European and Eurasian region at the State Department. The position was created for the first time in the US history. Prior to the State Department, sh e served on the National Security Council at the White House where she worked on Muslim engagement and combating extremism. She worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development in the early 1990s and again in 2003. She also served in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2004.

Pandith, a Muslim, immigrated to the United States with her parents from Srinagar, India. She has said that she sees her personal experience as an illustration of how Muslim immigrants to the US can successfully integrate themselves into American society. She grew up in Massachusetts with a diversity of faiths, ethnicities and perspectives.

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