Nonie Darwish

Human rights activist Nonie Darwish was born and raised as a Muslim in Egypt and Gaza living under sharia. Her father headed the Egyptian military intelligence in Gaza in the 1950s and led Fedayeen operations against Israel under Egyptian president Nasser. Educated at the American University in Cairo, she emigrated to the United States with her husband, converted to Christianity, and worked as a journalist at the Middle East News Agency. She founded ArabsForIsrael.com in 1984, to promote understanding, peace, and support for Israel. She also cofounded in 2009 FormerMuslimsUnited.org, which stands for freedom of religion and civil rights of former Muslims. She was featured in the documentary film Obsession and was recently nominated for the Train Foundation′s Civil Courage Prize.