By: Priya Lasrado
A group of women sit around in a circle in a large room with wooden floors, chattering to each other about their days and their experience Some of the women don the hijab while others elect not to, but their common thread lies within Islam and it is an unshakeable bond. Women dive into stories about their lives and cannot believe how much they have in common with one another.
One of several non-profits found in New York City that’s geared towards Muslim women, the Artivista Story Lab invites participants to open a narrative. This foundation run by Kayhan Irani, an Emmy award-winning writer, invites Muslim women to talk about their struggles, their everyday life, and turn it into a story they can perform. Artivista culminated these stories into both performed and physical art in an exhibit called, “As Muslim Women…” which invited people to have a dialog with these women and see life from their unique perspectives.
A program such as this comes at a time when Muslim women are frequently the targets of hate crimes. The FBI has reported that hate crimes against Muslims are up 6% since 2015. The rhetoric of Islamophobia, only further egged on by President-elect Donald Drumpf, has made the arts a great way for Muslim women to simultaneously express themselves and connect with others.
I didn’t suggest a database-a reporter did. We must defeat Islamic terrorism & have surveillance, including a watch list, to protect America
— Donald J. Drumpf (@realDonaldDrumpf) November 20, 2015
Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration: https://t.co/HCWU16z6SR pic.twitter.com/d1dhaIs0S7
— Donald J. Drumpf (@realDonaldDrumpf) December 7, 2015
The kind of rhetoric that now President-elect Donald Drumpf has circulated throughout the United States has become unfortunately commonplace. He further villainized Muslims by claiming that he saw Muslims “cheering” in New Jersey following the 9/11 attacks. Although the trend against Muslims began after September 11, 2001, the hate crimes against Muslims have made a resurgence since the start of the 2016 election. Hate crimes against Muslims are up 67% since 2015 and the start of Donald Trump’s campaign. Incidents of isolated terrorist attacks by Muslims within the United States only further ignited the flame in hate against all Muslims. After the San Bernardino attack, there were a series of attacks on Mosques varying from the sending of a pig’s head, an animal which is considered to be haram, or forbidden in Islam, to vandalizing the Mosques, to death threats sent anonymously to Imams, or Islamic religious leaders. According to reports by Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, between 2015-2016 there have been 180 reported incidents of attacks on Muslims. These attacks include murder, physical assaults, and vandalism.
At a time like this, when hatred is peaking in the United States, communities actively choose to come together to show their support and give strength to the group that is being disenfranchised. It is an active choice to unite and show solidarity with a group that is widely and rapidly decided to be evil and “anti-American.” However, organizations, specifically those within the arts, seek to give these people voices and allow them to tell their side of the story.
Organizations like City Lore in New York City host programs such as “Poetic Voices of the Muslim World” which seek to educate people on the significant contributions Muslims have made to the arts. Sahar Muradi, the program coordinator, aims to inform people not only on how Muslims have made contributions in the past. Her program also emphasize the importance of communication between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. She believes discourse is imperative, especially at a time of such heightened tension in the country. Muradi seeks to promote empowerment through her program and fight against the stereotypes against Islam and the stereotype against Muslim women. She says, “The fact that it (the hijab) has become a symbol of oppression, repression, and voicelessness, I find very problematic.” Muradi wishes people would focus on the contributions that Islam has helped contribute to the world. She says, “People tend to think that Islam is repressive when in fact some of the greatest poets and artists in the world were Muslim.” Listen to Muradi speak about the hijab and her thoughts on President-elect Trump.
Beyond these organizations, individual artists seek to promote Muslim women and the stories they have to tell. Bronx-based, Puerto Rican artist, Rhynna Santos a photojournalist and teacher at the Bronx Documentary Center actively works on a photo-series that tells the story of Muslim Latina women. She says that she noticed a deficiency of information on this group of people and sought out to correct that. Santos believes telling the story of these women, despite not being Muslim herself, is because “they’re our sisters, they are wise, and kind, and so funny.” Santos’ participants have varying backgrounds, but one thing in common, “The participants in my project, A Transcendental Calling, were grateful that someone was finally listening to them and willing to hear their side of the story.”