MAP-NYC project reveals the significant impact of Muslim women activists in New York City, and how Islam has motivated them

The Muslims for American Progress NYC (MAP-NYC) project, launched in 2017 by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, sought in part to counter the negative media portrayals of Muslims, which are so prominent. What emerges are the stories of Muslim women who, although often unrecognised, have driven significant civil change through politically organizing and making themselves visible. This mobilisation is motivated by a religious identity which calls on them to protect and love, and therefore tackle injustice.

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    Critics Cost Muslim Educator Her Dream School

    The New York Times describes the story of Debbie Almontaser, who dreamed of starting a unique public school in Brooklyn in which children of Arab and non-Arab descent would join students of other faiths in learning Arabic together, with hopes of becoming ambassadors of peace and hope. Plans for the school, however, have not gone…

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      Arabic School Ex-Principal Fights to Get Her Job Back

      The founding principal of the city’s first Arabic-language school said yesterday that the Bloomberg administration forced her to resign in August by threatening to shut the school. She said she was applying to get the job back. In her first detailed public account of what led her to step down after defending the word ”intifada”…

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        Head of City’s Arabic School Steps Down Under Pressure

        The principal of New York City’s first public school dedicated to the study of Arabic language and culture resigned under pressure yesterday, days after she was quoted defending the use of the word intifada as a T-shirt slogan. Debbie Almontaser, a veteran public school teacher, stepped down as the principal of Khalil Gibran International Academy,…

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          A New School Plans to Teach Half of Classes Using Arabic

          The New York City school system will open its first public school dedicated to teaching the Arabic language and culture in September, with half of its classes eventually taught in Arabic, officials said yesterday. The school, the Khalil Gibran International Academy, is one of 40 new schools that the Department of Education is opening for…

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