A certificate will be presented and it will read:
“ The Center for Pluralism presents the
Award of Pluralist 2020 Presented to
Name of the individual
For your outstanding contributions in making the world a better place by standing up for the religious freedom and human rights of fellow humans of any faith – and with a bias towards none at the 17th Annual Holocaust and Genocides event on January 23, 2022.
______________________________________________
The Pluralists for 2022
- Walter Ruby
- Ajit Sahi
- Dr. Maqsood Chaudhary
- Greg Mitchell
Walter Ruby
Walter Ruby is a veteran activist in Muslim-Jewish relations. From 2008-to 2017, he served as Muslim-Jewish Relations Director at the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; organizing hundreds of ‘twinning’ events; bringing together thousands of Jews and Muslims in over 30 countries on five continents. Ruby presently serves as president of Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together (JAMAAT), a grassroots community of Muslim, Jewish and Interfaith activists in Greater Washington.
Ruby is the co-author with Muslim-American writer Sabeeha Rehman or a book entitled We Refuse To Be Enemies: How Muslims and Jews Can Make Peace, One Friendship At A Time published in April 2021 by Arcade Publishers. Ruby has worked as a reporter and commentator for more than 40 years, mainly for American Jewish and Israeli publications. His articles and op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and other media.
Ajit Sahi
Ajit sahi is a veteran Indian American civil rights activist and journalist with over 35 years of experience in the fields of human rights, civil and political liberties, religious freedom and investigative journalism. He serves as the Advocacy Director of the Indian American Muslim Council and is based in Washington, D.C.”
He regularly briefs members of the US Congress and officials of the United States government, including at the United States department of state. Sahi has also testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights commission of the US House of Representatives. He also leads and coordinates a large coalition of civil rights and faith based and non-faith organizations. He has been at the forefront of building an overarching narrative about the persecution of minorities in India, connecting premier global organizations such as Amnesty international and Human Rights Watch to this advocacy. He works actively with Genocide Watch, USCIRF His pioneering work as an investigative reporter in India established the large-scale corruption in Indian police that led to the incarceration of thousands of innocent Muslims over decades in false and fabricated cases of terrorism.
Dr. Maqsood Chaudhary
Greg Mitchell
Greg Mitchell serves as the Managing Co-Chair of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable in Washington, D.C. Chris Seiple of the Institute for Global Engagement co-founded the Roundtable and continues to serve as the Founding Co-Chair.
Most recently, we were instrumental in getting several pieces of legislation passed into law, including:
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act: The bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 23, 2016, and became Public Law No: 114-328.
The Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act: The bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 16, 2016, and became Public Law No: 114-281.
Prior to this work, we were instrumental in getting several international religious freedom bills passed and signed into law. See our results.
As convener of the Roundtable, the founder of the Firm continually works with participants of all faiths and none—always in informal groups of organizations and individuals who are scholars, religious leaders, human rights advocates and practitioners—to engage the U.S. government and urge its leaders to make religious freedom a higher priority in foreign policy and national security; and to directly engage authoritarian governments that are restricting religion, and urge them to improve their laws in order to secure the rights of all.
Greg inspires me, and I connect with him, indeed, I have stood up for everyone from Atheist to Zoroastrians. www.StandingupforOthers.com