John Graz Receives International Religious Freedom Award

October 10, 2013 is a day I will long remember.  At the fourth annual International Religious Liberty Award Dinner, hosted by the J Reuben Clark Law Society and the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, I was awarded the International Religious Liberty Award which is given annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to the promotion and preservation of religious freedom.

The program included an introduction by Professor Cole Durham and a tribute by Professor David Little.  Both are giants in the field of religious freedom and are long-time friends and members of the IRLA Panel of Experts. 

They were followed in the program by the presentation of the Award by Professor James R Rasband, Dean of the J Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.  I don’t think I have ever received so many kind words in so short a period of time.  I probably don’t deserve them all, but I will long remember them. 

Along with the recognition came a beautiful, hand-crafted work of art which I will treasure as long as I live.  It will remind me of the special evening and of those who do the work of the International Religious Liberty Association, its Panel of Experts, and its Board.  I was also pleased that ten IRLA Board members and friends were there to support me at the award ceremony. 

I share the honor of this award with all those who have been active in supporting the IRLA, to those who hold festivals of religious freedom, to those who organize congresses and symposiums, to those who fund and support the work of the IRLA.  I share the honor with my team, beginning with Dr Ganoune Diop, Attorney Dwayne Leslie, Office Manager Carol Rasmussen, and IRLA Specialist Gail Banner.  Of course, I share the honor, too, with IRLA President, Ambassador Robert Seiple, and the religious freedom scholars led by Professor Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes. 

The awards dinner held at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington DC concluded with the keynote address by former senator Gordon Smith who I first met in 1995.  It was a night to be remembered.

 -- Dr. John Graz, Secretary General, International Religious Liberty Association