President Obama announced Sunday the appointment of Rashad Hussain, a White House lawyer, to be his special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Obama made the announcement in a video conference to the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar. In his message, Obama called Hussain "an accomplished lawyer and a close and trusted member of my White House staff," who would strengthen his policy of outreach to the world's Muslims. Obama has made repairing US relations with the Islamic world an important element of his foreign policy, an effort highlighted by his call for a "new beginning" in a speech in Cairo last June. In the statement, Obama said Hussain has "played a key role in developing the partnerships I called for in Cairo," and would continue to do so in his new position. Obama noted that Hussain is a Hafiz of the Qur'an, someone who has memorised the holy Islamic text. The Organization of the Islamic Conference comprises 57 nations with a goal of promoting Muslim unity.