Image via Complex Original
Donald Trump's recent comments that Islam hates the United States is just the latest in a series of anti-Muslim statements he has made that fuel Islamophobia.
Last week, an exit poll revealed that 6 in 10 Republican voters in Michigan supported temporarily banning non-U.S. Muslims. Even in the event of a Trump loss, the United States would still have to deal with the xenophobia his campaign has aroused, Maytha Alhassen, an American studies and ethnicity researcher at the University of Southern California, told The Intercept.
Not only are Muslim communities worldwide burdened with defending themselves against hate crimes, they must also combat negative stereotypes. Although Islam is expected to grow faster than any other religion over the next few decades, media underrepresentation and misrepresentation of Muslim communities remains a reality. It's why fighting Islamophobia and elevating Muslim voices is necessary now more than ever before.
Looking to add some top-notch analysis to your timeline? Here are five Muslim women you should follow.
1. @farrah_khan
Based in Toronto, Farrah Khan is a public speaker, educator, and community organizer who has actively addressed gender-based violence and gendered Islamophobia through her creative work and community development. A recipient of the Toronto Vital People Award, Khan is currently a coordinator of Outburst: Young Muslim Women’s Project, a movement that aims to make the world a safer place for Muslim women, while also empowering them. Through Outburst, Khan has also created several self-defense workshops for Muslim women in response to increased xenophobia after the Paris attacks.
2. @yasminyonis
Yasmin Yonis is a former Human Rights Watch associate, whose work focuses on human rights advocacy for refugees and asylum-seekers in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe. With a background in advocacy work, journalism, and international affairs, Yonis tweets about the intersections of religion, race, post-colonialism, and human rights.
"Individual, violent bigots are not my main worry," she told NTRSCTN in an interview. "It is the violent white supremacist capitalist-imperialist system that murders those of use who are black, Muslim, women, poor, or a combination of these and other oppressed identities."
3. @pushinghoops
Ayesha Siddiqi, known online as "Pushing Hoops," is a "first-world problem child with third-world fam." Currently the editor-in-chief of The New Inquiry, the writer and activist actively combats anti-Islamic rhetoric via Twitter.
Whether she's highlighting how Islam nurtures intellectual curiosity, or exploring the political importance of Kanye West's self-love, Siddiqi is definitely worth the follow.
4. @Margari_Aziza
Margari Aziza Hill is co-founder and programming director of Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, an organization that provides racial justice education for and by Muslims. Outside of her day job, Hill uses Twitter to critically engage in discussions about the underrepresented and unheard.
"Social media has helped raise voices that have typically been marginalized by mainstream media," Hill told NTRSCTN in an interview. "We saw this with Ferguson, when mainstream media provided a false narrative about what was happening on the ground. We [instead] turned to Twitter for live tweets and live streams."
An active blogger since 2006, Hill uses digital tools to discuss her experience as a racialized Muslim woman.
"I turned to blogging because it gave me the freedom to work through difficult topics and engage with the broader communities in ways that I was unable to in Muslim communities, the academy, and mainstream media," she said. "Once I began to use Twitter, I saw how much vitriol was out there. But we used hashtags to bring together people, and delve deeper to discover our shared struggles and aspirations."
5. @NTagouri
Noor Tagouri gained international recognition after launching her online campaign, #LetNoorShine, in 2012. More recently, Tagouri's exasperated facial expressions during a Fox News panel discussion about the Paris attacks became a new Twitter meme:
Tagouri, a writer and public speaker from the D.C. area, challenges stereotypes and injustices that Muslim-Americans face. Currently, her primary focus has been advocating for Syrian refugees: