Arsalan Iftikhar

Arsalan Iftikhar is an American international human rights lawyer, media commentator, and author known for his work on Islamophobia, civil liberties, and religious freedom. He is the author of "Fear of a Muslim Planet: Global Islamophobia in the New World Order" and "SCAPEGOATS: How Islamophobia Helps Our Enemies & Threatens Our Freedoms." "Fear of a Muslim Planet" examines the global spread of Islamophobia, beginning with the Christchurch mosque attacks and addressing its ideological roots, including the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. The book critiques the normalization of anti-Muslim sentiment and highlights anti-Muslim policies and violence worldwide.

Iftikhar earned his undergraduate degree and Juris Doctor from Washington University in St. Louis, specializing in international human rights law. He is licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C. and served as National Legal Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations during the George W. Bush administration, focusing on civil rights advocacy for Muslim Americans. He received the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from Washington University School of Law. Iftikhar is the founder of the GeoMuslim Institute, a nonprofit global watchdog group dedicated to challenging anti-Muslim bigotry and promoting human rights.

Iftikhar served as a research faculty member at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, writing about Islamophobia as a Senior Fellow for The Bridge Initiative. He is a national advisory board member for the John C. Danforth Center for Religion & Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. He has also served as an adjunct professor of religious studies at DePaul University and is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association and Reporters Without Borders. Iftikhar contributed to "Taking Back Islam," which received the Wilbur Communications Award for Religion Book of the Year.

For more than seven years, Iftikhar was a regular weekly contributor on the Barbershop segment for the National Public Radio show "Tell Me More with Michel Martin." One of his opinion editorials was named by CNN as one of the top "100 CNN Op-Eds That Tell The Story of the 2010s." His media interviews have appeared in major news outlets, including CNN, BBC World News, Al-Jazeera English, "The TODAY Show," NPR, Fox News, MSNBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, TIME, Newsweek, The Economist, and NBC News "Meet The Press." The French Ambassador to the United States selected Iftikhar for the Personnalités d'Avenir World Leader Program in Paris, sponsored by the French Foreign Ministry.

Iftikhar has delivered keynote speeches and guest lectures at institutions including Harvard University, Stanford University, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, Cornell University, the U.S. State Department International Speakers Program, and The Aspen Ideas Festival. He addresses issues of media bias and the double standards faced by Muslim public figures, including recounting a widely publicized CNN interview in which he was asked if he supported ISIS, despite his career in international human rights law and his condemnation of terrorism. Iftikhar is recognized for engaging in conversations on civil rights, religious identity, and global justice.