When politicians or commentators talk about Islam or Muslims, they should think about the effects of their words on the everyday lives of millions of American Muslims, especially the American Muslim children growing up across our nation. To those children, I say as a Harvard Law educated American Muslim woman: “You have the right to grow up with the same hopes and dreams as any young American. You can be a fully practicing Muslim and a full-fledged American.”
Anti-Muslim hate speech is dangerous in the hate crimes that it incites against these children and their families. It is also dangerous because it sends a harmful message to millions of American Muslim kids. It can shatter their hopes for a better future, of a life fulfilled — the American Dream.
I am an American. I am a U.S. citizen. I am a registered voter. I am a practicing Muslim. My parents taught me Prophet Muhammad’s teaching that Muslims, both women and men, should pursue high levels of education, and inspired by this Islamic teaching, I worked hard to get into Harvard Law School and went on to become partner at a Seattle law firm and then general counsel at a healthcare IT company. A 2009 Gallup Poll on American Muslims found that American Muslim women are the second most highly educated religious group of women in the U.S., and are just as likely as American Muslim men to have a college degree or higher education.
Aneelah Afzali
Interfaith and Outreach Committee member at Redmond’s Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS)
