Religion Communicators Council Confirms Remziya Suleyman to Keynote Annual Convention

The Religion Communicators Council will hold its 85th annual convention in 2014 in Nashville, TN and has just announced that the opening address will be delivered by Remziya Suleyman of the American Center for Outreach.

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) is the longest running interfaith communications organization in the country. As such, it holds a commitment to communicating truth and instilling faith values. So it is only fitting that for its opening address, a Muslim woman will give her perspective on the interrelation of religions and the role of religious communication in public advocacy.

Remziya Suleyman has agreed to speak at the RCC convention and deliver the opening address. A native of Kurdistan, Suleyman has called the United States her home since 1991. She holds a Masters in Public Administration and certificate in Nonprofit Management from Tennessee State University. She is known for her political activism on immigration issues, interfaith organizing, and her work in the Kurdish community to raise awareness on the Kurdish genocide. She has spoken to diverse audiences on Kurdistan and its people, her own experience as a refugee and a Muslim woman, and on life in her community after September 11.

Suleyman’s organizing and advocacy was highlighted in the recent New York Times article “The 9/11 Decade: Young Muslims Coming of Age.” In 2012, she was voted one of the top inspirational Muslim women in the United States by MBMuslima’s 40 under 40. Recently, she was named one of “13 Tennessee Newsmakers to Watch in 2013 by the Tennessean,  “13 Progressive Faith Leaders to Watch in 2013″ by the Center for American Progress and highlighted by the Nashville Scene in their 2013 People Issue. She is the former Policy Coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and currently is Director of Policy and Administration for the American Center for Outreach.

“She is perfect for the opening address,” says Rev. Brian Fesler who chairs the planning committee for the 2014 convention, “She is a woman of faith who is always on the front lines, communicating what she believes with integrity and conviction.”

The April 2014 conference will celebrate the 85th anniversary of the RCC. It is open to members and others involved in religious communication on a professional or academic level.

The Religion Communicators Council, founded in 1929, is an interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and electronic communication, marketing and in public relations. Members of the RCC come from many different religions and backgrounds including Baha’i, Baptist, Jewish, Methodist, Mormon, Muslim and Scientology among others.

For more information, visit religioncommunicators.org.