Writing on MuslimGirl.com, Leah Vernon observes that, while Muslim women’s movements have been making waves online recently, the majority of Muslim women still are not represented in the media, reflecting and propagating the discrimination they face from both outside and within the community.
March 27th 2018 marked the second official Muslim Women’s Day, which aims to empower and celebrate the voices of Muslim women. The event was launched by the blog MuslimGirl, which provides a space for the narratives of Muslim women, who exist in a world of misrepresentation about Islam.
While the ‘Punish a Muslim Day’ campaign appears to exclusively target British Muslims, CAIR has received concerns from American Muslims who wonder whether their families and communities might be similarly targeted, part of a trend of growing anxiety in the U.S. Muslim community about Islamophobia. CAIR has urged the community to increase security measures in response.
Lawsuits brought against New York City by several Muslim women in the last few months, which claim their constitutional rights were violated when they were forced to remove their hijabs while in police custody, have raised debates about measures to protect religious freedom in public and private institutions.
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of pipe bombing a Minnesota mosque in August 2017. The attack has revealed anxiety about the spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims, which has led CAIR to urge mosques and Islamic centres to take steps to protect themselves against potential attacks.
