White House has New Muslim American Community Liaison

By Kainoelani Lee

Rabat – The White House recently welcomed their new community liaison under the Office of Public Engagement, Zaki Barzinji, former Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for Gov. Terry McAuliffe, according to The Huffington Post.

Barzinji plans to reach out to Muslim Americans, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Hindus working to ensure that the communities are represented at a federal level.

“A big part of this role is making sure the national conversation about these communities is not framed through a single lens, but covers the full range of issues that Muslims and other Americans face,” Barzinji, 27, said in a statement to The Huffington Post.

Previously, Barzinji served as a liaison to the Virginia Asian Advisory Board, directed outrach to Arabic American, Asian American and Pacific American communities for McAuliffe’s 2013 campaign, and was the former president of Muslim Youth of North America.

Barzinji’s new role consists of coordinating public speaking engagements for the Obama Administration in Muslim American communities, ensuring that Muslim American communities are represented in the Administration’s work, and working to promote civic involvement within faith communities.

“I look forward to working hand in hand with my fellow Muslims and other communities of faith to build upon the policy priorities that this administration has worked tirelessly to promote over the past seven years,” he said.