“Islam is at the forefront of this kind of advocacy. Our faith commands us to speak out for justice, to take action for justice. Islam requires that we care about other causes, even when they may not initially appear to impact us directly.”
A couple of the principles that drive my work are, first and foremost, a recognition of how privileged I am and knowing that my privilege is also a test from Allah. I will be asked, ‘What did you do with your time? What did you do with your money? What did you do with your safety as a US citizen? How did you help others?’ Another principle that informs my work is that our struggles are interconnected. For example, the law enforcement agencies harass and target and harm the migrants coming across the US-Mexico border, work very closely with the people who ban Muslims from coming into the US via the Muslim ban or airport harassment. Another connection to this is Palestine—certain US law enforcement agencies will send officers and deputies to apartheid Israel to learn from their policing practices. Our fights are intertwined.
I visited the US-Mexico border with an interfaith collective of Muslims and others. Our intention was to bear witness to what was happening at the border and to pray for the safety and wellness of the people crossing. As a daughter of Pakistani immigrants, my participation in the protest was a demonstration of my commitment to solidarity across communities, as well as raising awareness about what was happening at the border in the Muslim community. I think a lot of times, our communities want to see their leaders on the front lines and we have the opportunity to set the tone. That's one of the reasons why we do this work: it takes all of us.
Islam is at the forefront of this kind of advocacy. Our faith commands us to speak out for justice, to take action for justice. Islam requires that we care about other causes, even when they may not initially appear to impact us directly. When we talk about the #metoo movement, gender-based violence and sexual abuse are things that Muslim women experience inside and outside the community. When we talk about Black Lives Matter, one third of the Muslim community is Black. When we talk about the environment, if we destroy the earth, where would Muslims even live? Intersectional work is important because we need to widen our lens on what we understand as impacting us because most things to do.
