The US Department of State held a ceremony, Wednesday 3 September, to "honour the appointment of Special Representative to Muslim Communities Shaarik Zafar" as mentioned on its website.

The special representative is to drive the Secretary of State’s agenda on issues that have impacted Muslim communities around the world. The position will also underscore the important role all faith communities can play in promoting pluralism and countering hateful ideologies. 

"Those who killed Foley and Sotloff do not represent the real face of Islam" stated Secretary of State John Kerry in his speech during the ceremony Wednesday, “the real face of Islam is peaceful.”

The Islamic State (IS) had released a video on 19 August showing the beheading of James Foley, an American journalist abducted in Syria in late 2012. Foley was killed by a masked man who, in the video, said that his murder was a response to US operations against IS in northern Iraq. American journalist Steven Sotloff also appeared in the video with the threat that he was next, should the US continue its strikes against IS. This past Tuesday, IS released a video beheading Sotloff’ before his death the journalist stated – in a message seemingly scripted by his captors – that he is paying the price for US operations in Iraq.

“The face of Islam is not the nihilists who know only how to destroy,” Kerry said. He went on adding that “it’s not masked cowards whose actions are an ugly insult to the peaceful religion that they violate every single day with their barbarity, and whose fundamental principles they insult with their actions.” The real face of Islam, he countered, is "a peaceful religion based on the dignity of all human beings. It’s one where Muslim communities are leading the fight against poverty. It’s one where Muslim communities are providing basic healthcare and emergency assistance on the front lines of some of our most devastating humanitarian crises. It is one where Muslim communities are advocating for universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the most basic freedom to practice one’s faith openly and freely. America’s faith communities, including American Muslims, are sources of strength for all of us. They’re an essential part of our national fabric, and we are committed to deepening our partnerships with them".

The US Secretary of State took a moment to explain Zafar's mission; "We’re making these efforts to unite religious communities a core mission here at the State Department. That’s what Shaarik is leading as our Special Representative to Muslim Communities".

Kerry concluded that "It's a delusion to think that anyone can just retreat to their own safe space, not when people of all faiths are migrating and mingling as never before in history. The reality is that our faiths and our fates are inextricably linked, and that is profoundly why we must do this now, because they are linked.”