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Less than a week before Omar Mateen walked into an Orlando gay club and killed or wounded more than 100 people, the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) submitted its Countering Violent Extremism report to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson. The report instructs the DHS not to use any language that might be “disrespectful” to Muslims, including (but not limited to) the words “jihad,” “sharia” and “takfir.” The report was crafted by an HSAC subcommittee that Secretary Johnson created in November 2015. The head of that subcommittee, Farah Pandith, was appointed by Johnson in May 2015. The subcommittee...

SNIPPET - quote: Obama's Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism speaks out against "Islamophobia" If Hannah Rosenthal really wants to end "Islamophobia," here is an easy way. She can call upon Muslims to: 1. Focus their indignation on Muslims committing violent acts in the name of Islam, not on non-Muslims reporting on those acts. 2. Renounce definitively not just "terrorism," but any intention to replace the U.S. Constitution (or the constitutions of any non-Muslim state) with Sharia even by peaceful means. In line with this, clarify what is meant by their condemnations of the killing of innocent people by...

Farah Pandith sworn in as US special representative to Muslim communitiesPTI 16 September 2009, 01:58pm IST WASHINGTON: Farah Pandith, an Indian-American, has been formally sworn in as the first US Special Representative to Muslim communities as part of the Obama administration's efforts to reach out to the Islamic world. At a ceremony held at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department, Farah's mother held the Quran on which she took the oath administered by secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. 41-year-old Pandith, whose family migrated from Jammu and Kashmir in the late 1960s, is the first Special Representative...

Farah Anwar Pandith Special Representative to Muslim Communities Washington, DC ### MR. WOOD: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome. Sorry for the delay. I think you all know we had some technical difficulties. I’m very pleased to have with us today Special Representative to Muslim Countries [1] Farah Pandith. And Ms. Pandith’s going to brief you on her new position and the Administration’s efforts to create opportunities for dialogue with Muslims around the world. So I’m going to turn it over to her in just a second. I just wanted to ask, before asking your questions, if you could identify yourselves and...

Obama names envoy to Muslim communities By Silla Brush Posted: 06/27/09 01:18 PM [ET] The Obama administration on Friday named America's first ever special representative to Muslim communities. President Obama has made reaching out to the Muslim world a key part of his foreign policy and he traveled to Cairo earlier in June year to give a major speech in which he cited the Koran and emphasized commonalities between America and Islam. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday named Farah Pandith as the United States Special Representative to Muslim Communiites. Pandit is expected to engage with Muslims around the...

US appoints envoy to Muslim world Mrs Clinton said Ms Pandith brought 'years of experience' to the role The US State Department has appointed its first Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Farah Pandith would play a leading role in US efforts to "engage Muslims around the world". She said Ms Pandith, who was born in Indian-administered Kashmir, would bring years of experience to the role. The appointment is part of President Barack Obama's attempts to improve relations with the Muslim world. Mrs Clinton said Ms Pandith "sees her personal experience as an illustration of...