2 Africans Among 2019 International Religious Freedom Award Recipients

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo poses for a photo with the 2019 International Religious Freedom Award Recipients (L to R) William Warda, Pascale Warda, Ivanir dos Santos, Mohamed Yosaif Abdalrahan and Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud 

Photo: U.S. State Department

Office of the Spokesperson
Department of State
Washington, DC
July 16, 2019

On July 17, Secretary Pompeo will host the State Department’s first-ever International Religious Freedom Awards ceremony to honor extraordinary advocates of religious freedom from around the world at 6:00 p.m.

The full biographies of the 2019 awardees can be found here and their names are listed below:

• Mohamed Yosaif Abdalrahan of Sudan has worked tirelessly to defend the rights of Sudan’s religious minorities, both in his legal casework and through public advocacy.
• Imam Abubakar Abdullahi of Nigeria selflessly risked his own life to save members of another religious community, who would have likely been killed without his intervention.
• Ivanir dos Santos of Brazil worked exhaustively to support interfaith dialogue, combat discrimination, and create mechanisms for the protection of vulnerable groups.
• William and Pascale Warda of Iraq have devoted their lives to advancing religious freedom and other human rights causes in Iraq.
• Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud of Cyprus has fully committed herself to working with religious leaders, faith-based organizations, and religious communities on a broad range of issues, including religious freedom. She is also one of the architects and facilitators of an unprecedented peacebuilding initiative in Cyprus known as the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process under the Auspices of the Embassy of Sweden based in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Mohamed Yosaif Abdalrahan
Sudanese Human Rights Activist
Sudan

Mohamed Yosaif Abdalrahan is a human rights lawyer at the Sudanese Human Rights Initiative (SHRI).  He has worked tirelessly to defend the rights of Sudan’s religious minorities, both in his legal casework and through public advocacy.  At SHRI, Mohamed leads and develops advocacy campaigns to strengthen legal protections for minority religious communities and to end the government’s property confiscations targeting religious minorities.  He has organized trainings on human rights and journalism, women’s rights, and rights awareness for young Sudanese citizens. Through his legal practice, he has defended minority religious leaders targeted for arrest on specious charges following government interference in their activities.  A member of Sudan’s Muslim majority, Mohamed has become a trusted ally of minority communities and has helped them navigate the country’s complex judicial system, deploying his strong technical knowledge in international human rights law and Sudanese constitutional law, and his outstanding dedication to use the law as a force for good. Mohamed’s tireless defense of religious minorities in Sudan is evidence of his work as a true champion of religious freedom.

Imam Abubakar Abdullahi
Faith leader
Nigeria

Imam Abubakar Abdullahi selflessly risked his own life to save members of another religious community, who would have likely been killed without his intervention.  On June 23, 2018, ethnic Fulani herdsmen, who are predominantly Muslim, launched coordinated attacks on 10 villages in Barkin Ladi, killing hundreds of ethnic Berom farmers, who are predominantly Christian.  As Imam Abdullahi was finishing midday prayers, he and his congregation heard gunshots and went outside to see members of the town’s Christian community fleeing.  Instinctively, the Imam ushered 262 Christians into the mosque and his home next to the mosque.  The Imam then went outside to confront the gunmen and he refused to allow them to enter, pleading with them to spare the Christians inside, even offering to sacrifice his life for theirs.  Although the gunmen killed 84 people in Nghar village that day, Imam Abdullahi’s actions saved the lives of hundreds more.  Born in Bauchi State around 1936, the Imam has lived in Nghar for 60 years and led the Muslim community through the mosque, which was built on land provided by the Christian community.  Imam Abdullahi’s courage in the face of imminent danger and his history of outreach across religious divides demonstrates his lifelong commitment to promoting interfaith understanding and peace.