Closing Thoughts

Adam Soltani

Working day in and day out to advocate for religious freedoms for all Oklahomans and improve the lives of Muslims in the state, Adam Soltani is the executive director of CAIR – the Council on American-Islamic Relations. With a master’s degree in human relations with a certi cate in organizational diversity and development, along with a degree in sociology, Soltani is uniquely positioned to serve Oklahoma’s Muslim community in various capacities. Along with leading CAIR, Soltani serves as the chair of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches’ Religions United Committee; writes commentary for various news publications; is a regular speaker at Oklahoma universities; and is an adjunct instructor at OSU. Residing in OKC with his wife and two sons, Soltani has received numerous awards and recognition for his advocacy and management style. We caught up with him and got his thoughts on ...

... key lessons he’s learned.

e rst one is the importance of relationships. Whether maintaining good familial relationships, work relationships or friendships, we as human beings need one another more than we realize. ese human connections fuel and provide us with a sense of ful llment that you cannot get elsewhere. Secondly, I would emphasize the importance of following your passions. Too often, I witnessed my peers in college following the degree that would one day potentially net them the highest income. I, instead, followed my passions and took a path that no one in my family or social circle had previous to me.

... CAIR’s core mission.

I summarize all the e orts of CAIR Oklahoma into the following: We strive to improve the quality of life for Muslims in Oklahoma through advocating for better laws and protecting constitutional rights. By extension, CAIR Oklahoma is truly an advocate for religious freedom for all Oklahomans under the United States Constitution.

... his passion for building bridges.

I was raised in a multicultural, multi-faith home. Born in 1983 to a Shia Muslim father from Iran and a white Catholic mother from Olathe, Kan., the world I was introduced to was not ready to accept me for who I am. People constantly tried to t me into a box, but I was never white enough or brown enough – I existed with one foot in one world and one in another. I was typically labeled as ‘other.’ I felt marginalized my entire adolescent life, which led to a journey of self-exploration to nd my identity. I am so passionate about building bridges and encouraging diversity and religious education because I don’t want my children to go through the same experiences I had to go through just to be able to be myself. To know someone is to understand them, to understand them is to respect them, and to respect them is to have a sense of compassion for what they have been through in life.

... how he came to CAIR.

I was involved in CAIR Oklahoma from its founding in 2006. Lobna Hewedi recruited me as a board member while I was still in college as a youth representative. I was blessed to have the opportunity to assist in opening our rst o ce and hiring our rst sta member, until I stepped away from the board two years later to focus on settling down and starting my master’s degree. However, as is typical with nonpro t work, I never could step away, and continued to volunteer at CAIR events and even built the rst website for the organization from scratch in my spare time. In 2012, the position of executive director was posted. e thought to apply crossed my mind, but lacking con dence that I was t for the part, I ignored it – that was, until my predecessor Muneer Awad called me and convinced me that I made a good candidate and should apply.

Photo courtesy Adam Soltani

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...what he’s looking forward to.

I look forward to the day I can retire and spend all my time buried in books. I am a bit of a bookworm, but rarely get time to enjoy a good book and a cup of co ee in my line of work. But I cannot and will not retire until and unless I train the next generation of leaders to continue the ght of protecting our civil liberties in the United States. I hope that one day I will be able to observe with pride as I hand CAIR Oklahoma over to its next leader that will grow its capacity and in uence far beyond anything I ever imagined. It will be in that moment that I will be able to know I completed my mission in life.

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