The US State Department’s first-ever International Religious Freedom Awards ceremony to honor extraordinary advocates of religious freedom from around the world was held on July 17, All Africa reported.

According to the State Department’s page that Trump’s administration honored a Muslim Imam from Nigeria. It seems completely contradictory for an Islamophobic racist to honor a Muslim from an African nation.

In fact, the list of this year’s honorees for the International Religious Freedom is quite diverse: Muslims, people of color, and women.

This is the first year that the U.S. State Department has issued the International Religious Freedom Award. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hosted the awards ceremony on July 17, where he handed out the inaugural award to 5 worthy recipients.

There were two African beneficiaries of the US government award: Nigerian Imam Abubakar Abdullahi and Sudanese human rights laywer Mohamed Yosaif Abdalrahan.

Imam Abubakar Abdullahi,a faith leader from Nigeria, was one of the ones who received an award, for risking his life during June 2018 clashes that targeted predominantly Christian communities when he hid hundreds of people fleeing the attacks inside his mosque and home.

Imam Abubakar Abdullahi selflessly risked his own life to save members of another religious community, who would have likely been killed without his intervention, PJ Media reported.

On June 23, 2018, ethnic Fulani herdsmen, who are predominantly Muslim, launched coordinated attacks on 10 villages in Barkin Ladi, killing hundreds of ethnic Berom farmers, who are predominantly Christian.

As Imam Abdullahi was finishing midday prayers, he and his congregation heard gunshots and went outside to see members of the town’s Christian community fleeing. Instinctively, the Imam ushered 262 Christians into the mosque and his home next to the mosque.

The Imam then went outside to confront the gunmen and he refused to allow them to enter, pleading with them to spare the Christians inside, even offering to sacrifice his life for theirs. Although the gunmen killed 84 people in Nghar village that day, Imam Abdullahi’s actions saved the lives of hundreds more.

Born in Bauchi State around 1936, the Imam has lived in Nghar for 60 years and led the Muslim community through the mosque, which was built on land provided by the Christian community.

Imam Abdullahi’s courage in the face of imminent danger and his history of outreach across religious divides demonstrates his lifelong commitment to promoting interfaith understanding and peace.