2017 Goldziher Prize Winners

Joshua Seftel
Fillmmaker and Director
“The Secret Life of Muslims”

“The Secret Life of Muslims” is a multiplatform series of short nonfiction films that reveals the lives of American Muslims through their careers, talents and accomplishments. Seftel’s award-winning productions have covered issues such as Romanian orphans (“Lost and Found,” 1991), the rights of senior citizens (“Old Warrior,” 1994), political intrigue (“Taking on the Kennedys,” 1996), air-quality issues (“Breaking the Mold,” 2003) and commercial interests that drive war (“War, Inc.,” 2008). His work has appeared on HBO, NPR and Showtime.

Samuel Freedman
Columnist, New York Times
Selection of columns, 2010-16

Samuel Freedman’s prize-winning selection of columns in The New York Times chronicle American Muslims, emphasizing the normal, productive lives of these citizens, and pushing back against Islamophobia. Freedman, a staff reporter for The Times from 1981 to 1987, wrote the column “On Religion” from 2006 through 2016. From 2004 through 2008, he wrote the column “On Education” which won first prize in the Education Writers Association’s annual competition. He was also a regular columnist on American Jewish issues for the The Jerusalem Post from 2005 through 2009.

Robin Wright
Contributor, The New Yorker
“Muslim Heroes, Writers, Artists and an Athlete in America”

“Muslim Heroes, Writers, Artists and an Athlete in America” is a series of five articles in The New Yorker that reflects the rich and many-sided contributions of Muslims to the American experience. Wright has been a contributor to The New Yorker since 1988. A former correspondent for The Washington Post, CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, and The Sunday Times of London, she has reported from more than 140 countries. She is currently a joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.