Muslim Life Program

The Muslim Life Program has established an annual Muslim Visionaries Award to honor individuals who have dedicated themselves to the noble service of faith and humanity. It is intended, through this award, to highlight Muslim men and women who are inspired by their faith to work for a future that is based on peace, mutual respect, and cooperation between all people. These individuals offer a vision of Islam and a vision for the Muslim community that is rooted in the highest ideals of human goodness. Their work is shaping our present world and offers a hopeful future for generations to come.

We are pleased and honored to present our first 2010 Muslim Visionaries Award to Mr. Rashad Hussain for his outstanding contributions as a public servant and intellectual to the values of this award.

We are pleased and honored to present this year's 2011 2010 Muslim Visionaries Award to Dr. Ingrid Mattson for her outstanding contributions as a public servant and intellectual to the values of this award.

Dr. Ingrid Mattson is Director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations and Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, CT.  

Dr. Mattson earned her Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago in 1999.  Her research is focused on Islamic law and society; among her articles are studies on slavery, poverty and Islamic legal theory.  

Dr. Mattson was born in Canada, where she studied Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Ontario (B.A. ’87).  From 1987-1988 she lived in Pakistan where she worked with Afghan refugee women.  In 2001 she was elected Vice-President of ISNA and in 2006 she was elected President of the organization. Dr. Mattson is the first convert to Islam and the first female to lead the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

She is the author of "The Story of the Qur'an".

President Barack Obama announced the appointment of Rashad Hussain as
Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on
February 13, 2010. The OIC is comprised of 56 nations and is the
second largest international body after the UN.

In his role as Special Envoy to the OIC, Mr. Hussain seeks to deepen
and expand the partnerships that the United States has pursued with
Muslims around the world. He advised the Administration on issues
related to Islam, traveled to Muslim countries and international
conferences, and has met with foreign leaders and Muslims around the
world.

Mr. Hussain has also served as Deputy Associate Counsel to President
Obama, focusing on national security, new media, and science and
technology issues. Mr. Hussain worked with the National Security Staff
in developing and pursuing the New Beginning that President Obama
outlined in his June 2009 address in Cairo, Egypt. Before joining the
White House, Mr. Hussain was a member of the legal staff for the
Presidential Transition Team.

Mr. Hussain previously served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S.
Department of Justice. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hussain was a
legislative assistant on the House Judiciary Committee, where he
focused on national security-related issues.

Mr. Hussain received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as
an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Upon graduation, he served as a Law
Clerk to Damon J. Keith on the U.S. Court of Appeals. Mr. Hussain also
earned his Master’s degrees in Public Administration (Kennedy School
of Government) and Arabic and Islamic Studies from Harvard University.
He attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. His academic writings have focused on national security,
constitutional law, and civil liberties.