Shaarik (Rik) Zafar to date has had quite the public service powerbroker trail from Texas to Washington DC. Today, he is John Kerry’s ‘go-to’ point person for Muslim outreach, at home and globally.
Zafar is a man with the keys to all the doors…appears to be the access and policy keys.
Born in Texas and gaining a law degree he moved on to being the Deputy Chief of Homeland, Cyber and Countering Violent Extremism Group for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Counter-terrorism Center and even the Director of Engagement on the White House National Security Staff. Add in being the Senior Policy Advisor at the DHS Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and now the State Department’s Special Representative to Muslim Communities, and we have a man on a mission, some of which are not in America’s best interest.
While at DHS, Zafar established a TSA policy for head coverings for Muslims.
He recently moderated a panel discussion of prominent Muslim women who are authors, bloggers, and Hollywood types to tell their stories where plans are in process for a well…propaganda movie or documentary it seems.
When he joined the State Department, he participated in a United Nations Displacement of Religious Minorities session where ‘government and civil society can better support members of religious minorities displaced by violent persecution around the world, including aiding in resettlement efforts, ensuring the security and rights of members of religious faiths, and promoting societal and governmental respect for religious freedom.’
Then there was the post 9/11 DHS mission by Zafar.
Zafar served as the Special Counsel for Post 9/11 National Origin Discrimination at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he led DOJ’s Initiative to Combat Post 9/11 Discriminatory Backlash. As Special Counsel, his duties included: (1) coordinating the investigation of hate crimes, employment discrimination, and other unlawful forms of national origin and religious discrimination; (2) conducting outreach to vulnerable communities to provide them information about Federal civil rights protections; and (3) advising the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights on issues affecting the American Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian communities. In September 2005, he delivered a speech on “Improving the Effectiveness of Law Enforcement in Preventing and Combating Hate Crimes” at the Second OSCE Meeting of Police Experts in Vienna, Austria.
Hillary Clinton created this position at the State Department and it has had two leaders assigned to head the division that has a multi-track mission.
WaPo in part: Zafar’s predecessor, Farah Pandith, had held the job since it was created by then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2009 and focused on building initiatives with young Muslims around the world.
But his to-do list is daunting. His goals chart for the office includes developing a plan to combat Shia-Sunni sectarian violence and trying to discourage American foreign fighters from traveling to conflict areas. This week alone, two American Muslims were reportedly killed in Syria fighting for the extremist Islamic State group.
Zafar says he will focus primarily on “pushing open doors” — on matters where cooperation is likely. Two of the State faith office’s top priorities are climate change and entrepreneurship. Another priority (which Pandith focused on as well) is promoting “the creative economy” in Muslim communities overseas, helping them powerfully tell stories through film or art that may help further U.S. foreign policy goals.
Zafar will be in Los Angeles in a few weeks to meet with filmmakers who can help storytellers abroad.
The white board in his office where he brainstorms is topped with cultural themes: “sports, Hollywood.”
