Four people will be honored tonight for their contributions toward advancing
religious liberty around the world, across the U.S. and in Virginia.
Recipients of 2007 First Freedom Awards from the Council for America's First
Freedom will be:
Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. secretary of state, for distinguished
service. She also has been chairwoman of the National Democratic Institute for
International Affairs. This is the first year the award has been given.
Abdelfattah Amor, former United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of
reli- gion or belief, for international service. He also has been president of
the UNESCO human-rights jury.
Kevin "Seamus" Hasson, founder and chairman of the Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty, for national service. The fund is an interfaith, public-interest law
firm that protects the free expression of all religious traditions.
Azizah Y. al-Hibri, professor of law at the University of Richmond's T.C.
Williams School of Law, for Virginia service. She also is editor of "Hypatia: A
Journal of Feminist Philosophy" and founder and president of KARAMAH: Muslim
Women Lawyers for Human Rights.
The awards, to be presented at an invitation-only dinner at The Jefferson
Hotel, commemorate the anniversary of the nation's first law guaranteeing
religious liberty. -- Alberta Lindsey
