MedGlobal To Lead Major Interfaith Delegation on Syria Mission 

For Immediate Release: June 8, 2026

Media Contact: Lucy Carradine, West End Strategy Team, [email protected], 504-351-7635

CHICAGO – From June 11-19, an interfaith delegation of 19 Muslim, Christian, and Jewish faith leaders from the United States will travel to Syria on a humanitarian aid mission organized by Chicago-based MedGlobal’s Humanitarian Faith Initiative (HFI).

The HFI is an initiative by MedGlobal to engage diverse faith leaders in global crises and global health, recognizing the vital role they play in their communities and the urgent need for new coalitions based on new alignments to address global crises—including Syria, Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, the migrant crises, pandemics and outbreaks, and climate change. Two years ago, the HFI carried out a similar mission in Ukraine, reflecting this same interfaith commitment.

In partnership with Syrian Christians for Peace, the faith leaders will meet with Syrian faith counterparts in Damascus, Homs, and Aleppo; visit historic religious sites sacred to Muslims, Christians, and Jews; engage with public officials; contribute to ongoing peacebuilding and humanitarian efforts; and raise funds in support of impacted communities.

The delegation will be led by MedGlobal’s Syrian-American president and co-founder, Dr. Zaher Sahloul, former president of the Syrian American Medical Society. Participants will include Imam Mohamed Magid, Dr. Bob Roberts Jr., Rabbi David Saperstein, James Chen, Elyse Weiss, Dr. Mohammad Tajammul Hussain, Dr. Mahjabeen Hussain, Rania Irfan, Kareem Irfan, Marina Barq, Dr. Wael Al-Araj, Suzanne Akhras, Rev. Gregory Livingston, Imam Hassan Aly, Maroun Akiki, Rola Shalloub, Samer Shamma, and Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Ilyas. A full list of the delegates’ bios and affiliations can be found here.

MedGlobal has operated in Syria since 2017. Since the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime, the organization has worked intensively to support the full recovery of the Syrian healthcare system and the Syrian people. MedGlobal is leading the charge to provide mental health care for thousands of former detainees who are recuperating from years of captivity and inhumane treatment—and the delegation will travel to the Center for the Treatment of Torture Victims in Homs.

“This is an important interfaith and humanitarian mission by a group of diverse and influential faith leaders to a country that is recovering from a long conflict that impacted millions of people, witnessed crimes against humanity and war crimes, led to the displacement of half the population, destroyed the economy and created a global refugee crisis and rise of extremism,” said Dr. Zaher Sahloul, president and founder of MedGlobal. “The purpose of the visit is to connect American faith leaders with their Syrian counterparts, engage with citizen diplomacy, visit historic religious sites—as Syria has some of the oldest Christian, Jewish, and Muslim holy sites in the world, including the only villages that speak Aramaic—support peacebuilding and rebuilding of the country, and meet with Syrian officials and faith leaders and listen to their concerns, then bring that back to our faith communities and policy officials.”

Dr. Bob Roberts Jr., a globally recognized peacemaker, bridge-builder, and the founding pastor of NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas said, “Evangelicals have a long history of standing with the suffering, and in Syria, we see a nation that has endured unspeakable brutality, displacement, and the systematic destruction of its Christian heartland. As followers of Christ, we are called to be peacemakers, not just spectators. This delegation is a tangible expression of that calling—walking alongside our Syrian brothers and sisters, regardless of their denomination, visiting the living stones of some of the oldest Christian communities on earth, and advocating for religious freedom and rebuilding for all. I am going to listen, to learn, and to return with a mandate for the American church to engage in a new alignment of faith-based diplomacy and humanitarian witness in Syria and beyond.”

The Humanitarian Faith Initiative affirms a collective interfaith commitment to stand in solidarity with victims of war and disaster, to recognize that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, to reject the segregation of moral concerns, to uplift the role of faith in building civilian resilience, to support peacebuilding in crisis-affected regions, and to strengthen interfaith collaboration. It is grounded in MedGlobal’s long-standing humanitarian work in disaster zones and war-torn countries, guided by the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

MedGlobal is a humanitarian nonprofit organization that provides emergency response and health programs to build resilience among vulnerable communities around the world. The organization’s health programs support victims of crisis and conflict, refugees, internally displaced persons, and marginalized communities in disaster-affected and low-resource settings.