Immigrating to the United States from Cairo, Egypt at age four, Dalia Mogahed is a pioneering, award-winning American researcher and respected thought leader about Muslim life and Muslim communities around the world. She is an outspoken and ardent supporter of free speech and is a frequent expert commentator in global media outlets and international forums.
Co-author of the book “Who Speaks For Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think,” Mogahed accounted for the perspective of more than 90% of the world’s Muslim community in the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind. Her research and leadership have shaped diversity and cross-cultural understanding in school districts, colleges, and universities, in law enforcement agencies, and in community service organizations.
In 2020, Mogahed spoke out about France and its hypocrisy for refusing to ban cartoons depicting our Prophet (peace be upon him), noting the caricatures were “the equivalent of the N-word” or “blackface.” Equating the caricatures to racial slurs, she called out the targeting of a vulnerable and often demonized community.
Her research and commentary have influenced public policy for nearly two decades. Through her early work as the chair of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and her current role as director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, Mogahed advised the Obama Administration’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, providing expert perspective about U.S. engagement with Muslim communities.
She has been recognized repeatedly as one of the most influential Arab women in the world, as well as one of the 500 most influential Muslims. Ashoka: Innovators for the Public named Mogahed the Arab World’s Social Innovator of the Year in 2010. In 2019, Mogahed was recognized in a list of “200 people who best embody the spirit and work of Frederick Douglass, one of the most influential figures in history” by the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives and the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University in collaboration with The Guardian.