Muslim Americans are facing uncertain times. With the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to create a registry of every Muslim in the country, hate crimes have soared. Commentators are questioning if Islam is a religion of peace or incompatible with Western society. For American-born Muslims, these conversations are upsetting. One teenage Muslimah decided to channel her frustration in a positive direction.
When Heraa Hashmi was asked by a classmate why she and fellow Muslims did not condemn the violence conducted in the name of their religion, Hasmi tried to respond. Ultimately, she and her classmate couldn’t see eye-to-eye, so she headed home determined to find a new way to open a dialogue. She created an organized spreadsheet of Muslims around the world who had decried violence and terrorism.
classmate: why dont muslims condemn things
me: *goes home makes 712 page long list of Muslims Condemning Things with sources*
me: fight me pic.twitter.com/sDhwUMIAK1— Heraa Hashmi (@caveheraa) November 12, 2016
Hashmi shared her list on social media, pointing out that the world is home to 1.6 billion Muslims. She asked for Americans to understand the diversity of her faith rather than discriminating against such a large group of people. She also pointed out Islam’s emphasis on community service and volunteer work, stating that Muslim communities are often the first to respond to acts of terrorism.
Her spreadsheet is available on Google Documents. Others who saw her list made a website to host it, www.muslimscondemn.com. Hashmi never thought her work would draw such interest, but it has already been retweeted more than 10,000 times. She’s hopeful this will help Americans see Muslims in a more positive light, stating her community wants to “build bridges” and emphasizing that Islam “wishes the best for everyone regardless of the things that make us different.”