Kashmiri-origin woman to be US special envoy to Muslim world

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jun 26 (PTI) The United States has appointed
Farah Pandith, a Kashmiri-origin Indian woman, to reach out to
the Muslim world, providing momentum to President Barack
Obama's efforts for a "new beginning" with the community.

Pandith's appointment was made early this week but the
State Department communications staff failed to make the key
nomination public.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters
Thursday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed
Pandith, a Muslim, as a Special Representative to Islamic
communities two days ago.

Kelly only released the information when journalists
asked him during the daily media briefing about reports that a
special representative for Muslim communities had been named.

"Yes," he said.

"She's actually a friend of mine. I worked with her very
closely in the European Bureau, Farah Pandith. She was a
special adviser for outreach to Muslim communities in Europe.
The secretary has appointed her to more of a global role,"
Kelly said.

In her capacity, Pandith would advance Clinton's efforts
to "engage with Muslims around the world on a people-to-people
and organisational level".

Pandith's appointment came three weeks after President
Barack Obama's historic speech in Egyptian capital Cairo to
Muslims across the world.

In his June 4 speech in Cairo to Muslims around the
world, Obama said he was seeking "a new beginning" between the
United States and Muslims "based on mutual interest and mutual
respect, and based upon the truth that America and Islam are
not exclusive and need not be in competition."

Pandith previously was an advisor on Muslim engagement
at the State Department, serving as a senior advisor to the
assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian
affairs.

She has also served on the National Security Council
as the coordinator for US policy on outreach to Muslims, and
worked at the US Agency for International Development on
assistance projects for Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian
Territories.

Pandith immigrated to the US with her parents from
Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, in 1969.

She told the Italian press agency Adnkronos in 2007
that she sees her personal experience as an illustration of
how Muslim immigrants to the United States can successfully
integrate themselves into American society.

Pandith said that along with the importance of
education, "I also learned... to balance pride in my cultural
heritage with a deep attachment to the values of America." PTI