The silencing of the black Muslim woman

Hello from Must Reads No Images? Click here     Black Muslim women are the target of multiple forms of bigotry — and yet they are expected to deal with those instances gracefully. Case in point Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) sees it regularly. Rowaida Abdelaziz spoke to black Muslim women about their daily interactions with prejudice.  What was the seed for this story? When people think of a Muslim American, too often the mainstream perception are Muslims of immigrant descent -- primarily Arabs and Southeast Asian. The black Muslim experience is often overlooked and disregarded, despite the fact that some of the very first Muslims in this country were enslaved black Muslims. I’ve wanted to report on the complex experiences black Muslims face in America for a while, particularly the experiences of black Muslim women. With the election of Ilhan Omar and Black History Month in full effect, I know there was no better time to finally tackle this story. How did you go about reporting it out? While the entire news cycle was obsessed over Ilhan Omar and her tweets, I began talking to various black Muslim women around the country. We talked about their experiences facing racism, sexism and Islamophobia both within their line of work and in their personal lives in light of the Omar story. We didn’t focus on the tweets, but the bigger picture many of these women felt was missing from the national conversation -- which is it’s pretty damn hard to be a black Muslim woman in America. I also studied the complex histories of black Muslims, both in the context of racism within the United States and the racial tensions black Muslims face within the larger Muslim community among other immigrant Muslims. These women provided a first hand look into the intersections of hate they face and how they overcome it. What challenges did you face? Race and identity is always controversial to talk about, but the timing of this story really heightened those tensions in light of Omar’s tweets (which she apologized for.)  The ultimate goal of my story was to shed light on the challenges black Muslim women face as the target of intersectional hate. On top of that, these women were expected to deal with those instances with grace and patience. The biggest challenge was to report on all the nuances involved but without invalidating another group’s lived experiences when it comes to their own experiences with bigotry. It’s easy to fall into a reductionist trap when writing stories like this one. This story  required time, effort and a lot of listening to authentically capture what these women were telling me. Did anything surprise you? The feedback. I know I shouldn’t be surprised but the comments were pique “what-aboutism” where some readers felt that these women's experiences were invalid because of ‘insert reason here.’ There’s clearly so much more work needed to further report more on this topic. Anything you’d like to add? It’s so important not to shy away from difficult topics like this one and I hope more journalists aren’t afraid to take it on. READ THE STORY Love, Nick and Sam    .   HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More. The internet's best stories, and interviews with the people who tell them. Like what you see? Forward it to a friend. Or sign up! Can't get enough? Check out our Morning Email.   ©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 You are receiving this email because you signed up for updates from HuffPost. Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe    . - - Preferences  |  Unsubscribe