About Us

Our Name

Eshhad is the Arabic imperative for "witness" or "testify," which lies at the core of what we do. We document sectarianism against religious, cultural, and ethnic minorities in the Middle East. We conduct rigorous research. We provide direct legal services to displaced members of persecuted communities.

Vision Statement

A world where all people can freely believe and practice their faith and cultural traditions protected by the rule of law, and free from discrimination and persecution.

Mission Statement

Eshhad advances the protection of religious, ethnic, and cultural minorities in the Middle East and North Africa through documentation, research, and legal advocacy.

Our History

Founded in 2013, Eshhad began as an effort to systematically document sectarian attacks against religious minorities in Egypt through open-source investigation. Over the next several years, the project expanded to Iraq and Syria, documenting more than 700 incidents and becoming one of the first structured, publicly accessible databases dedicated to sectarian violence in the region.

Today, Eshhad is building on that foundation by combining documentation with legal protection. In addition to maintaining and expanding its research, Eshhad now provides immigration legal services, expert country conditions research, and policy analysis to help protect vulnerable minority communities.

Our Founder

Amira Mikhail is the founder and executive director of Eshhad. She is an immigration attorney whose work focuses on asylum law, human rights and humanitarian protection, and documentation of religious persecution in the Middle East.

Contact

For inquiries about Eshhad’s research, legal services, or partnership opportunities, please contact us at admin@eshhad.org or through our contact page.