Press Release

04/02/2018 Washington, D.C. (Religious Freedom Institute) — At an event here today, the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) announced the launch of its Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team. Each of the Religious Freedom Institute’s five action teamsadvances religious freedom in a particular issue area or region of the world. The Islam and Religious Freedom Action team is directed by Jennifer S. Bryson. It focuses on exploring and supporting religious freedom from within the traditions of Islam.

Religious Freedom Institute President Thomas Farr stated, “Our Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team will greatly expand the Institute’s ability to promote religious freedom for all people. By focusing on support for religious freedom from within Islam’s own traditions, we will assist diverse Muslim leaders and communities domestically and abroad in developing their own understandings of and protections for this fundamental human right. Jennifer Bryson has spent nearly a decade developing her expertise and relationships on Islam and religious freedom and is ideally suited to lead this team.”

Jennifer Bryson has been studying religious freedom from within the traditions of Islam and working with Muslims who support religious freedom since 2009. She has a Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic studies from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University, an M.A. in History from Yale, and a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford. She is currently studying religious freedom in international human rights at the Newseum Institute’s Religious Freedom Center in Washington, D.C.

Jennifer Bryson stated: “The Religious Freedom Institute’s commitment to developing support for religious freedom ‘on the ground’ in hotspot countries and regions around the world, as well as supporting religious freedom in the West, make it the perfect home for the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team. Our work is a long-term project. We envision a world in which Muslims support and are protected by religious freedom. Our team’s essential efforts include making Muslim-authored research and multimedia on religious freedom more widely available and accessible, especially to Muslims.”

The Islam and Religious Freedom Action team includes Research and Program Associate Ismail Royer, Program Associate Kareem McDonald, and Atlas Corps Fellow Mehdi Mejri. IslamRFI.org features research and publications by Islamic scholars and other Muslim experts on religious freedom. Many of these are provided in Arabic and multiple other languages.

Media Contact:
Jeremy P. Barker
media@religiousfreedominstitute.org
202-838-7734
www.religiousfreedominstitute.org

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The Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) works to secure religious freedom for everyone, everywhere. The RFI is a non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, D.C.