As an educator, peace builder and Theologian here in the United States, I hear a lot of people asking where the “moderate Muslim” voice is, and why they are not speaking out over the violent, extremist voice. My answer to that is that those voices are out there, and they are not “moderate,” they are simply Muslim. I also tell people that they need not go very far to hear these voices.
Every day one can read the Huffington Post, Beliefnet, Patheos, or they can watch MSNBC, or Al Jazeera, and hear these positive Islamic voices as well. People just need to listen for them because it is an unfortunate reality that the media would rather only focus on what is “sexy.” What is sexy is the portrayal of negativity and “terror,” rather than portray real Muslims and the religion of Islam as it truly lives and breathes, not only in the USA, but worldwide.
It is for this reason that I want to introduce you to six American Muslims who are making a vast difference here in America. In this piece, Part 1, I introduce you to three amazing Muslim women who are educated, Interfaith activists and writers. Rabia Chaudry, Dilshad D. Ali and Amina Wadud, are only three of the many outstanding American Muslim women who work tirelessly for justice and for the good of all people.
I met Rabia Chaudry about a year ago and left feeling confident I had a comrade for life. Active for about ten years now in creating change in the oppressive US climate toward Muslims, Ms. Chaudry lives in the Washington DC area and she can simply be described as a force to be reckoned with. Not one to mince her words, Ms. Chaudry challenges Islamophobes such as Bill Maher, and speaks on panels to educate the general public on Islam, as well as gender inequities.
A National Security Fellow at New American Foundation, Ms. Chaudry’s voice is the much needed voice of not only a Muslim American, but of a liberal Muslim woman, who is an Attorney as well as the President of the Safe Nation Collaborative.
Ms. Chaudry uses her expertise to also focus on community resilience and law enforcement engagement. You can read Ms. Chaudry’s work on Patheos, as well as on the Huffington Post. Ms. Chaudry also recently appeared on Al Jazeera’s, The Feed.
Dilshad D. Ali is currently the Managing Editor of Islam Portal and Editor-in Chief of almuslim at Patheos. For more than ten years, she has written about Muslims and Islam in America for media outlets, including Islam-Online.net (before it became OnIslam.net), Newsweek, Azizah Magazine, Altmuslim.com, Islamica magazine, and Beliefnet.
In the past, Ms. Ali worked as an editor at Islamic Relief in the USA. She is obviously comfortable crossing borders because she has worked to expand understanding of other major Asian religions in her work as well. Ms. Ali has an authentic voice as a mother to a severely autistic child, and also writes about this topic, openly and honestly, quite often, giving a lens into the spiritual aspect of this very personal part of her life.
Ms. Wadud is one of the most prominent feminist, Islamic scholars of our time.
Her perspective is refreshing and her work, imperative. The only woman of these three I have yet to meet, I have clearly noted that Ms. Ali has an impeccable work ethic, and is wholeheartedly invested in her work. She is a refreshing voice, and she shatters the perceived stereotypes forced upon her and her family.
I first met Amina Wadud about three years ago. Prolific, progressive, joyously controversial, and a courageously honest activist, Ms. Wadud is one of the most prominent, feminist, Islamic scholars of our time. Her two books on women, Islam, and Qur’anic exegesis, Qur’an and Women: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective, as well as her most famous book, Inside the Gender Jihad: Women’s Reform in Islam, Ms. Wadud’s work is read in almost every college and university class on Women and Islam in the USA.
Ms. Wadud is Co-Founder of the organization Sisters in Islam, and she has held several professorships at universities around the world. Not one to shy away from controversy, Ms. Wadud is well known for her gutsy move to give Friday Prayer in South Africa in 1994, and again she led a mixed gender Friday Sermon in New York in 2005.
Never afraid of pushing gender norms and speaking out for the rights of all women to stand tall in the religion of Islam, Ms. Wadud’s work is exemplary and her belief in justice and alleviating the oppression of all women, is commendable.
These three women break all the stereotypes that so many believe about Muslim women. They all veil, they are women of color, they are devout – yet, they do not allow personal oppression by men, they have a stellar education (albeit because they live in a place that affords them these opportunities), they have successful and public careers, they voice their opinions openly, and they are strong and admirable.
It is women such as Ms. Chaudry, Ms. Ali, and Ms. Wadud, that the media does feature, but, many do not hear. It is women such as these that are independently and collectively creating avenues for other Muslim women, here in the states, as well as abroad, to succeed and to break barriers. It is women such as these that are not afraid to push back against the gender norms, the bigotry, the racism, and the fear that most Muslims face here in America. It is women such as these whose faith in Islam is palpable. It is women such as these who are not afraid to use their voice for good and for change. It is women such as these that I feel privileged to call, colleagues.
Next week’s column will feature Part 2 of American Muslims United In Change, and will focus on three Muslim men making a difference here in the USA. Ahmed Rehab, Qasim Rashid and Omid Safi – all working for good and all creating change.
First published: October 2014