How do you view your work against the backdrop of Black Lives Matter?
I dont want to take away from the B.L.M. movements call for the rights of Black people, but Black Muslims do account for a fifth of all U.S. Muslims, so those struggles are certainly connected.
It was really important to me that the true breadth of the Muslim experience be included in the book. But Ive not been shocked when people have asked me on Twitter if the book features any Black Muslim women, the expectation being that there wont be any. The bar is so low when it comes to inclusion.
In your book, you write about the comedian Zahra Noorbakhsh and how, after one of her shows, some fans came up to her and said, You must be one of the good Muslims. It was so disheartening to read this.
I dont know what Zahra said in the moment, and Im sure that shes had many of those moments, but I look at how shes taken on the comedy industry, and how the industry excludes a lot of people. To me shes been othered and marginalized, and now shes saying shes going to create a new model thats way more inclusive and that brings in all voices and perspectives. I feel like thats actually her response to that moment and to all those moments.read more
‘Muslim Women Are Everything’ Turns the Page on Stereotypes
