RICK LOVE AWARD 2022 RECIPIENTS

 Dr. Rick Love, the late Founder and President of Peace Catalyst International, dreamed of mobilizing people around the globe into a peacebuilding movement. Everyone who knew him knew this was his passion and that he worked tirelessly toward it. He founded Peace Catalyst because of that dream and dedicated the last ten years of his life to peacebuilding, courageously crossing social, political, and ideological divides and inviting others to do the same. He did so because of his Jesus-centered approach to all of life.

To honor Rick’s legacy, to further his vision, and to raise up more peacebuilders like him, Peace Catalyst has established the Rick Love Peace Awards and is proud to present the very first recipients. These prestigious awards honor those who creatively cross divides to build peace, exhibiting the same character and courage displayed by Rick.

• RICK LOVE PEACE AWARDS
  Rick was deeply concerned about the deteriorating narratives surrounding Muslims in the United States and globally, and to honor his work and passion, as well as the roots of Peace Catalyst International, two awards are presented to outstanding individuals working specifically among Christians and Muslims.

• RICK LOVE YOUNG INNOVATORS IN PEACEBUILDING AWARDS
  Rick cared deeply about young people and wanted a new generation of peacebuilders to be raised up after him. We therefore present two awards to young people to jumpstart their work and provide them with a path to living out peace in the way modeled by Rick.

MIROSLAV VOLF | Rick Love Peace Award

Miroslav Volf is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and the Founder and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. He was educated in his native Croatia, the United States, and Germany, earning doctoral and post-doctoral degrees (with highest honors) from the University of Tübingen, Germany. He has written or edited more than 20 books and over 100 scholarly articles, and his work has been featured in the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Christian Century, Sojourners, and many other outlets. His most significant books include Exclusion and Embrace (1996; Revised edition, 2019), winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion and one of Christianity Today’s 100 most important religious books of the 20th century; Allah: A Christian Response (2011), on whether Muslims and Christians have a common God; A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good (2011); Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World (2016), and For the Life of the World: Theology that Makes a Difference (2019), co-authored with Matthew Croasmun.

HURUNNESSA FARIAD | Rick Love Peace Award

Hurunnessa Fariad is Director of Outreach for Multi-Faith Neighbor’s Network. Ms. Fariad is also Head of Outreach at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS Center). Ms. Fariad is the Secretary of the Board of Directors at Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Leadership Circle for One America Movement, Member of the Fairfax County Faith and Equity Committee, Board member at Lutheran Social Services National Capital Area, Board member at American Muslim Institution and involved with many other faith-based organizations. Ms. Fariad is the founder & Music Director of America's first Mosque Youth Choir, The ADAMS BEAT Choir. Ms. Fariad is the founder and co-host of the Sister Act Podcast along with co-hosts Dr. Sabrina Dent and Rabbi Susan Shankman. Conversations centered around shame, stigma, women's rights, social justice issues, and how our faiths address these topics.

HALEEMAH AHMAD | Young Innovators Award

Haleemah Oladamade Ahmad, a social development professional with over 10 years of experience working and volunteering in the development sector, is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Acres of Peace, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals and communities to live a prosperous life and promoting a just and peaceful society. Passionate about personal and community development, peacebuilding, gender justice and upholding the rights of women as well as integral human development, Haleemah has acquired extensive experience executing peacebuilding and human capacity-building programs for projects funded by the US Embassy in Nigeria, the EU delegation in Nigeria, UNFPA, MacArthur Foundation, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and the Carter Center, amongst others.

Haleemah is also a Senior Research Associate and Facilitator with the Da’wah Institute (DIN); where over the last seven years she and her team have researched and analyzed over 200 religious arguments used in recruitment into violent extremist groups. They have also developed alternative and counter-narratives to these arguments and have trained over 800 Imams, women religious leaders, and youth leaders in using these counter-narratives to strengthen resilience against violent extremism in their communities. This includes the publishing of the book Muslim Relations with Christians, Jews and Others in 2018, which responds to 50 faith-based arguments raised by some Muslims to justify aggression against people of other faiths.

Haleemah is a Fellow of the Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace (COFP) and is a Master of Global Affairs candidate at the University of Notre Dame, USA, specializing in International Peace Studies.

ALEXANDER JOHN PAUL LUTZ | Young Innovators Award

Alexander John Paul Lutz is a student at Mercer University majoring in International Affairs, Political Science, and History. In his studies, Alexander has focused on the role of religion in matters of war and peace and has authored papers on related topics—all of which he presented at conferences this past year in the hope that they might soon be ready for publication. He is also involved in a number of student organizations, serving as a member of the Undergraduate Honor Council and as the President of Bears Engaged Across Religions, Mercer International Affairs Organization, and the Mercer Mock Conference Association. Beyond Mercer, Alexander has interned with the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and Churches for Middle East Peace.

Influenced by his Quaker faith tradition and his experiences working alongside Muslim community leaders in Tbilisi, Adjara, and Kvemo Kartli to advance the cause of religious tolerance in the Republic of Georgia, Alexander has decided to pursue a future in peacebuilding. Since his return from Georgia, Alexander has worked to invigorate grassroots peacebuilding efforts in his community, beginning with the revival of a student organization designed to foster interfaith dialogue at Mercer University.

After graduation, Alexander plans to serve in the Peace Corps before pursuing his MA and PhD in International Relations. Ultimately, he hopes to be able to build a career in academia or at a think tank. No matter where his future leads him, Alexander is confident that he will play a part in helping to make the world a better place as a peacebuilder.