A little known detail about last month’s Extraordinary Islamic Solidarity Summit in Mecca was the presence of an American diplomat representing President Barack Obama to the 56-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The special summit, which met on August 14-15, 2012, was called by King Abdullah to take up crises, conflicts and serious issues affecting the Muslim world, including the situation in Syria and the challenge from Iran. Among the special observers at the two-day summit was Mr. Rashad Hussain, U.S. Special Envoy to the OIC since February 2010. Prior to his post as envoy he served in the White House as Deputy Associate Counsel to President Obama, focusing on “national security, new media, and science and technology issues,” according to his official biography. Hussain worked with the U.S. National Security Staff in developing the “New Beginning” dialogue between America and the Muslim world, outlined by President Obama’s 2009 Cairo address.
