Beirut – The Lebanese organization Adyan has awarded the 2025 Solidarity Award to Dr. Saad Salloum, President of Masarat Foundation, in recognition of his sustained efforts in defending religious minorities and marginalized communities in Iraq and the region, and for his prominent role in promoting the values of dialogue, diversity, and mutual recognition.
Dr. Salloum—researcher, academic, Professor of International Relations at Al-Mustansiriya University, and President of Masarat Foundation—has devoted more than two decades to highlighting communities that are not officially recognized among religious and ethnic minorities, through pioneering intellectual and community initiatives, including the Iraqi Council for Interfaith Dialogue and the Center for Monitoring and Countering Hate Speech.
Alongside his academic work, Salloum launched a podcast titled “Untold Stories,” through which he presents real-life stories about Iraq’s religious and cultural diversity, leveraging digital media to reach a wider youth audience and introduce narratives and experiences that have long remained unseen.
Salloum has authored more than 22 books addressing issues of diversity and the protection of minorities, many of which have been translated into several languages, including “Genocide in the Middle East” and “The Bitter Legacy.” He has also received multiple international awards, such as the Ibn Rushd Prize for Freedom of Thought, the German ZÊD Award, and the Stephanus Alliance International Award in Norway.
Winning the Adyan Solidarity Award is considered a culmination of a long intellectual and humanitarian journey, through which Salloum has sought to make diversity a bridge for coexistence rather than a cause of division.
