Mohamed Elsanousi

Executive Director

Washington, DC

Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi is the Executive Director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, a global coalition that connects grassroots peacebuilders with international stakeholders to strengthen collective efforts toward sustainable peace. He also currently serves as a Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Previously, Dr. Elsanousi was the Director of Interfaith and Government Relations at the Islamic Society of North America. He served on the U.S. Department of State’s Working Group on Religion and Foreign Policy, where he contributed key recommendations to the Secretary of State and the Federal Advisory Commission to enhance collaboration between the U.S. government, civil society, and religious actors. He also played a leading role in developing the standards and protocols for protecting the rights of Christian, Jewish, and other religious minorities in Muslim-majority contexts—an effort that culminated in the landmark Marrakech Declaration, one of the most recognized Islamic theological documents in support of religious freedom.

Dr. Elsanousi is the founder of Faiths4Vaccines, a national campaign mobilizing faith leaders and communities to support the Biden Administration’s goals of equitable vaccine distribution and combating vaccine hesitancy. He is a founding executive committee member of the Shoulder-to-Shoulder Campaign, and was recently appointed to the UN Security Council’s Nongovernmental Organization Working Group. He also co-chairs the Multifaith Advisory Council to the UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development.

In addition to these roles, Dr. Elsanousi serves on the boards of several interfaith and civic organizations, including the Religious Leadership and Civic Engagement Project at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the Center for Interreligious Dialogue at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in law, a master’s in law, and a doctorate in law and society from Indiana University’s School of Law.