vailsymposium

Mohammed Al Samawi is an interfaith activist, a refugee from Yemen, and the author of the best-selling autobiography “The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of Coming To America.” Mohammed’s personal journey led him from harboring a deep suspicion of other faiths to becoming a peace advocate. His path to interfaith work ultimately saved his life when four American strangers helped rescue him from extremist groups in Yemen seven years ago.

Mohammed remains committed to the exchange of core values that define our religious traditions while also combating extremism and stereotypes. He hopes to advance this work through his non-profit interfaith organization, Abrahamic House, to build sustainable interfaith learning and action across Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Baha’i communities by fostering an environment of learning, respect and social change.

Amblin Entertainment, Steven Spielberg, La La Land producer Marc Platt, and Josh Singer, Academy Award winner for best original screenplay for Spotlight, are developing the movie “The Fox Hunt,” based on Mohammed’s autobiography. Mohammed was covered by People Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC, and C-SPAN among others. He has also received accolades such as the Daniel Pearl Award from the Anti-Defamation League for fighting antisemitism and the Medal of Honor from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.