Sada Cumber, Ismaili Muslim
the new envoy to OIC.
Congratulations to Mr. Sada Cumber for his appointment as a special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Countries. Thanks to Jason Embry for writing such a fine piece (appended below). Indeed, I was gunning for that position and had sent a note to the state department about it. I am pleased to see Mr. Sada Cumber has been appointed. He is he right guy. At least in his last days, the President has done some thing right, it is a good decision and Sada will deliver results. When Barak takes over the office, Sada certainly can change the false perception that the same President had manufactured ”they hate us” without any substantiation and no Journalist ever asking him to prove.
Our country needs a person who can unite the nation together, and bring the people from every race, ethnicity, nationality, culture and faiths together to rededicate our pledge in one nation under God with liberty and Justice.
One nation is a concept where we learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 301 Million of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. Barak will be a catalyst to realize the American vision of one nation under God.
Mike Ghouse
# # #
Bush taps Austin man to reach out to Muslim world
Cumber’s new post is announced in Oval Office.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/nation/02/28/0228bushmuslim.html
By Jason Embry
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, February 28, 2008
WASHINGTON — President Bush tapped Austin technology executive Sada Cumber on Wednesday to represent the United States to Muslims around the world.
Cumber, chairman of SozoTek Inc., an imaging technology company based in Austin, was named presidential envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which comprises 57 Muslim countries.
“The core of his mission,” Bush said in announcing the appointment, “is to explain to the Islamic world that America is a friend — is a friend of freedom, is a friend of peace, that we value religion.”
Cumber, a native of Pakistan, is the first U.S. envoy to the organization. He has founded six companies in 25 years. He was previously CEO of Psionic Technologies Inc., an Internet security software company that Cisco Systems Inc. acquired in 2002, and he’s active in the Ismaili Muslim community in Austin.
Bush said part of Cumber’s role will be to correct misperceptions about the United States. “A lot of people love America, don’t get me wrong,” Bush said. “After all, there’s a lot of people trying to come here because of what we stand for. But we’ve got work to do in certain areas.”
Cumber did not speak during his brief appearance with Bush, other than to thank the president.
Gov. Rick Perry has in recent years appointed Cumber to the Texas Economic Development Corp. and to an advisory committee for the Emerging Technology Fund, which awards grants and supports research that can turn into jobs in some technology fields. He also served on the board and executive committee of the 2006 World Congress on Information Technology and several advisory councils at the University of Texas.
Austinite and longtime Bush aide Karen Hughes, who as an undersecretary of state oversaw a global public relations mission to help engender good will toward the United States, said she had advocated the creation of the envoy post.
“This organization brings together all the Islamic countries in the world, and so I felt it was important that we have a high-level presidential representative to that organization,” Hughes said. “I believe Sada is a perfect choice because he combines an immigrant’s love of his adopted country, America, with a knowledge of his home country, Pakistan.”
jembry@statesman.com; (202) 887-8329
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Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916
www.MikeGhouse.net
www.FoundationforPluralism.com
www.WorldMuslimCongress.com