I think about the women in places like India and France, who are not allowed to wear their hijabs, and the women in Iran who are forced to. My heart goes out to Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian who was murdered by “morality police” on September 16 of this year for wearing her hijab in a way they deemed improper. The women in these countries are facing opposite restrictions but fighting the same fight for their freedom to choose. Even so, the news of women in Iran being forced to wear hijab sparked a much fiercer fire in the Western world than the women who were forced not to.

Nafiza HasanDecember 6, 2022Identity, Discrimination, Islamophobia

Storytelling to Strategic Narrative

Reflecting on dominant discourse around Muslim women, we realized that the narrative did not reflect our realities. Stories about our sisters amounted to stereotypes of Muslim women as victims or Muslim women as villains and terrorists. Why did the headlines read “Terrorists hiding in hijabs” and not “Dr. Mona Minkara becomes first blind Muslim woman chemist in U.S.”?

Sarah GruidlJune 21, 2022Storytelling, Identity, Allyship, Islamophobia

An Immigrant’s Civic Engagement Story

Having lived only one and a half years in the United States, I was trying to fit in and learn everything about this new country. I was watching the debates with many of my classmates, listening to what these two candidates were interested in and what their campaigns were about. I was the Black, Muslim, immigrant girl in that room trying to understand what was going on.

Zaynab AbdiNovember 17, 2020Civic Engagement, Advocacy, Islamophobia

My America: Confronting Islamophobia as a Medical Doctor

I would later learn from a colleague that he had asked about me. Sam wanted to know where the “towel-head” doctor was. Fortunately — or unfortunately — the Islamophobic slur did not faze me. I was born and raised in a country where some people are profoundly disturbed that I dare to wear a cloth around my head.

Asmaa FerdjallahSeptember 21, 2020Islamophobia, Discrimination, Identity

Systemic Racism and Algorithmic Bias

Who is depicted positively in Google searches, and who is demonized? For instance, what would someone find if they googled “Muslim woman”? What about “Black Muslim woman”? Imagine someone didn’t have any cursory knowledge of Muslims and Islam, and they were looking to further their knowledge by using search engines.

Roda AbdiAugust 3, 2020White Supremacy, Islamophobia, Storytelling

Islamophobia & Antisemitism: Two Sides of the Same Coin

I had never thought of Islamophobia and antisemitism together. It had never crossed my mind that these two ideologies of hate could stem from the same source. Muslims and Jews are always pitted against each other — it is commonly thought that they hate each other, and I was under the same impression.

Ushna AltafDecember 2, 2019Anti-Racism, Islamophobia, White Supremacy

Standing Firm For Faith: A Black Muslim Woman in Corporate America

April 1st, 2019. My first day at my new job as a software engineer at a small company in downtown Minneapolis. As the room began to fill up, something immediately stuck out to me: I was the only Woman, the only Black person, and the only Muslim. All three.

Hayah AbuelyamanMay 20, 2019Islamophobia, Intersectionality, advocacy

Reconciling My Native American Upbringing with My New Islamic Faith

My story is influenced by a woman who gave me strength to pull myself out of generational poverty, to cope with tragedy, to pursue education when most didn’t, to make an impact in the world, and to not lose my identity and the uniqueness I found along my way. That woman was my Ojibwe grandmother, Rita.

Megan KalkMarch 15, 2019Islamophobia, Gun Violence, Intersectionality

Pass the Mic

I didn’t speak up for the things that mattered to me. I was a good girl. I thought “good” girls endured. “Good” girls didn’t resist. They persevered. They were resilient in the face of all obstacles, no matter how unjust.

Asma NizamiMarch 13, 2019advocacy, Islamophobia, resistance

Expressions: The Muslim Women’s Narrative Project

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