The Responsibilities of American Muslim Girls in the Face of White Supremacy
18 August 2017Sepidea
Mohsenian-Rahman, MuslimGirl.com
In response to the violence and death caused by the intentional race riots
caused by white nationalists, aka White supremacists, aka the KKK, aka neo-nazis,
during the "Unite the Right" march in Charlottesville, Va., you might be
reflecting upon overwhelming feelings of grief, fear, anger, confusion, or
emotional paralysis. These are all incredibly valid and human feelings in
response to such perpetual and targeted violence against marginalized
communities that we are witnessing, if not experiencing, time and time again.
You're right, this isn't okay.
Please, please take care of yourself during this difficult time, whatever that
needs to look like for you. We just ask that when you're refortified, please
do not use your pain or fear to stay away from actively engaging with the
issue at hand. Do not turn away. We can not remain silent, as this directly
upholds and actively perpetuates white supremacy and violence conducted under
it's name. Do not be *surprised* when such protests turn violent, or even
deadly, and please do perpetuate false equivalencies of violence being
committed on "many, many sides," as the President has so cowardly, but
unequivocally in line with his character, has done.
Know that, if you are not actively pushing back against the systems of
oppression that allow violence like you saw at Charlottesville, like you saw
with the murder of Nabra Hassanen or Trayvon Martin, and like you see everyday
as you go through your daily routine, you are part of the problem. The stakes
are simply too high to say it any other way.
This is not a call-out, so much as it is a call-in. I am reaching out to
Muslim Girls, not about, but in light of Charlottesville. While you may feel
helpless, in shock, and burdened by the continued violence perpetuated by
against many of the communities that you identify with, including but not
limited to your Islam, we are being called upon to speak up and show up. Here
is how you can do it.
The Responsibilities of Muslim Girls in the Face of White Supremacy:
1. It is our responsibility to actively educate ourselves
on the modern manifestations of white supremacy, and understand the historical
context which has allowed the continued oppression of people of races, faiths,
gender expression, and sexual identity that do not align with it.
2. It is our responsibility to engage.
While you should log-off as needed to retain and restore your mental health,
please do not do so at the expense of your ability to stay informed, and
demonstrably critical of the actions and actors upholding these systems of
violence.
3. It is our responsibility to do more than pray.
While prayer is a foundation of Islam, surely of all faiths, our pursuit of
peace and justice is unequivocally modeled by the Prophet (PBUH). Transform
prayer into power, act in such a way that you would want others to act upon
your loved ones, and stay actively engaged with this work.
4. It is our responsibility to "take a side,"
when the options that are splayed out before are between the inclusion and
wellbeing of those who have perpetually been dealt with violent injustice, and
the group who has maintained this status-quo through power and privilege. It
is that simple, really.
How can we do these things?
1. Educate ourselves.
Muslims are not being attacked in a vacuum. Gain an intersectional
understanding of the structures and actors of violence that are responsible
for maintaining hateful dominance in society. Like it is not our
responsibility to speak on behalf of all Muslims or have to explain why all
Muslims are not terrorists time and time again (I hope you're not still doing
this), it is not the responsibility of other communities to tirelessly educate
you on the issues they are facing. This is an emotionally exploitative ask of
others, especially when it has already been laid out for you in the reading
lists below.
#CharlottesvilleCurriculum: Follow the hashtag and check out this crowdsourced
thread, in real time, that is being created in response to Melinda D.
Anderson's Twitter response to the death and violence in Charlottesville, VA.
The Charlottesville Syllabus: A resource created by the Graduate Student
Coalition for Liberation at the University of Virginia for an audience who
wants to learn about the history of white supremacy in Charlottesville,
Virginia.
Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism–from
Ferguson to Charleston: While, as the title states, this article puts for
reading recommendations for white Americans, these readings can also provide
context for individuals who are challenged by anti-racist work.
#BlackLivesMatter: A Longform Reading List: A collection of interviews, essays
and articles by black people about the systematic violence waged on black
people.
Post Orlando / Post Brexit Anti-Islamophobia Reading List: A collection of
works that shed light on the origins and current manifestations of
Islamophobia.
45 Queer and Feminist Books You Need To Read in Early 2017: A huge list of
works that highlight queer and feminist narratives, stories, and analysis.
The Stop Trump Reading List: Arm Your Mind With These 16 Books: Curated by
Haymarket Books so we can better "understand how Trump got elected, how we got
to this point, and how we can organize for the future".
#BlackChurchSyllabus: A list of works by scholars and theologians that can
better inform and support social justice work in religious spaces.
The Alternative Reading LIst Project: From postcolonialism to economics to
Islam, this forum was launched and is run by Oxford University student aiming
to amplify voices that are traditionally marginalized in academia.
2. Act.
If hateful rhetoric, actions, and policy are left unchallenged, they multiply.
They affect the health of communities and community members, and will escalate
in unimaginable ways. You can call your representative to voice your concern,
or you can call your friend to make sure they are doing alright and not
suffering alone. Rock the boat at masjid, if your community is not already
critically engaged with anti-oppressive work — take them there. You can
volunteer your time to educate children on diverse issues at local schools,
offer to repair hateful vandalism, or donate your money to organizations doing
the work. Most importantly, you can support grassroots organizations that are
already doing the work — trust me, your community has many — just look a
little harder.
3. Speak up.
Do not remain silent. Actively denounce hate groups and hate crimes to
contribute to a culture of accountability. Do not waste your energy combatting
"keyboard warriors" and aggressive trolls. Instead, use your voice in the
community, in the classroom, through your writing, and social media presence
to create space for those who are contributing to a just society. Centralize
the voices of those who are being attacked, in the moment. Silence condones
hate.
4. Think about the future.
The progress that has been made in the United States in the past century, from
the abolition of slavery to the victory of women suffragists to the legality
of same-sex marriage, although far from perfect, has been the result of
intentional long-term activism, campaigns, protests, and policy change. Every
time you host or attend an interfaith gathering, attend a vigil or protest,
campaign for change in your local community, you are investing in a future
that looks a lot more like what we wish our present could be.
5. There are already people doing this work.
If part of your paralysis is rooted in anxiety that you do not know how to
help, know that people in your city are already engaging with this work at a
community level. They have already identified the issues that are negatively
impacting the community, and are already engaged in confronting them. No one
is asking you to remake the wheel, your desire to do so is rooted in white
savior complex, the well intentioned cousin of white supremacy. SURJ, Showing
Up for Racial Justice, has a thorough list of local contacts that you can
reach out to if you don't know where to start.
6. This is not an individual battle.
This about more than standing up to relatives at family gatherings in order to
change their hearts (although you should do that too), this is more than
denouncing the president, and this is more than protesting white supremacy.
This is about actively and persistently challenging the arms of white
supremacy in your home and community, and contributing to efforts that
challenge institutionalized white supremacy: the police, ICE, CBP, Homeland
Security, local governance, and universities. Remember, there are already
groups doing this work, link up with them.
7. Raise race-conscious children.
Too often, the aftermath of violence that breaks on the news, is immediately
felt on the playground. After 9/11, how many days it take for a classmate to
call you a terrorist? It has long been documented that racism amongst children
negatively affects them throughout their lifecourse. Hiding or isolating your
children from harmful realities neither protects them from this harm, nor does
it raise them with the vocabulary or resiliency to confront hate when it is
being targeted at them Raising Race Conscious Children and Teaching Tolerance
are great tools for dismantling colorblindness and structural injustice with
children in the classroom, and at home.
8. Do not centralize the feelings of the oppressor.
Do not shift the conversation towards forgiveness. Not now, at least. In
peacemaking, forgiveness is a tool that is necessary and best utilized after
dismantling structures of mass violence, for example apartheid in South Africa
with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Too often, particularly in
religious contexts, forgiveness is used as a bandage to hide injustices that
should otherwise go challenged – from predatory sexual assault in our
communities to physical and mental abuse in our homes.
9. This is not charity.
Donating to organizations, while helpful and necessary, does not mean that you
are engaged in anti-oppressive work. If you are financially privileged,
writing a check does not mean that you are deeply challenging normalized white
supremacy.
10. Reach out to leaders.
Whether you have the privilege of casting a ballot or not, or whether you
voted for the individuals in power or not, it is your responsibility to hold
elected officials and others with power accountable. Leaders must name and
confront the problem, and be challenged when they fail to do so. To hold them
accountable, reach out to your elected representatives here.
Many of the action items above have been reworked from the Southern Poverty
Law Center's "Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide" from 2010
and 2017.
©
EsinIslam.Com
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