Rice’s Boniuk Institute welcomes State Department officials

Rice’s Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance hosted Shaun Casey, the U.S. special representative for religion and global affairs, and his chief of staff in the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs, Rice alumna Liora Danan ’03, April 27 to explore collaborative opportunities on religious literacy and tolerance in global contexts. Rice faculty and the institute’s civil society partners were also included in the discussion. Casey and Danan had accompanied Secretary of State John Kerry to his April 26 speech at Rice. Established by Kerry in 2013, the office highlights religious dimensions of foreign policy and focuses on sustainable development, pluralism and human rights, and security efforts among faith-based and civil-society actors abroad.

Pictured (back row, from left): Casey; Bill Martin, the Chavanne Professor Emeritus of Religion and Public Policy at Rice; Farah Killidar, CEO of the World Affairs Council of Houston; Murad Ajani, president of the HH Aga Khan Council for Southwestern USA; and the Rev. Gregory Han, director of interfaith relations at Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston.

Front row, from left: Laura Johnson, associate director of the Boniuk Institute; David Johnson with the Religion in Public Life Program at Rice; Zahra Jamal, associate director of the Boniuk Institute; and Danan.

(Photo by Jeff Fitlow)