Interfaith Alliance Brings on Maggie Siddiqi '16 to Broaden Connections

Maggie Siddiqi ‘16 launched her consultancy practice in January of this year with the Interfaith Alliance as her inaugural client.

Led by the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, the alliance “is a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all.” 

Appointed as a Senior Fellow, Maggie will lead a new body of work, deepening and broadening partnerships across the American religious organizational landscape. 

Maggie considers her MA in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations and Graduate Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy degrees from HIU pivotal in her career and formation as a faith-based advocate for social change. “Many courses helped me learn a lot about faith-based engagement in the public square, including on matters of public policy, and also understanding community dynamics and how to apply that specifically to my community,” she said. 

Her call to advocacy is rooted in her Baptist upbringing. “My parents raised me with this idea that all of the policy issues we cared about were an expression of our faith,” she said. “We were taught to care for the poor, that we should advocate for social services for the poor; that because we were taught to wage peace, for example, we should march in the streets when the war in Iraq was starting.” 

So, when Maggie started her BA in Religion at Wesleyan University, she was one of those justice-oriented kids. That expression of her faith remained just as important to her after her conversion to Islam during her sophomore year.

In one of those college years, when she interned at Capitol Hill for a member of Congress, Maggie discovered something important. “There were thousands, if not millions, of people just like me, all across the country, who are also motivated by their faiths to engage in activism to make the world a better place.” She would return to her religion classes and realize she could influence public policy to challenge injustices through a faith-based lens. “That was it for me.”

Later, under the Biden Administration, Maggie served as senior adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Education on religious freedom issues, including antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the separation of church and state. She also implemented the U.S. Department of Education's efforts on these issues and reported to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Before that, she was Senior Director of the Religion and Faith team at the Center for American Progress, where she designed and implemented its policy agenda on religious freedom, including all related research, policy analysis, advocacy, and communications. She also served as Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives at the El-Hibri Foundation, a $60M private foundation. In this role, she supported the foundation's strategic shift to focus on domestic efforts advancing the inclusion of American Muslim communities.

With an impressive background in political strategy, public relations, strategic planning, and nonprofit management for diverse faith communities, Maggie has positioned herself as a respected leader in the interfaith movement.

Congratulations, Maggie!