American Muslims Leaders and Activists Respond to a Trump Presidency

Wajahat Ali

From managing anxieties surrounding mass deportations to responding to increased bias-based bullying in public schools around the country, Muslim American children and youth have been forefront on our collective psyche. In the aftermath of our country’s vote, many parents grappled about how to explain such results to their children.

Wajahat Ali, an award-winning playwright, journalist and attorney who recently joined The Huffiington Post team as a Host and Contributor, shared the following insights for this article,

A quick note for those who are despondent, especially the youth. This too shall pass. My generation (barely) survived the Bush Years during 9-11. The two towers fell when I was a Senior at UC Berkeley, a board member of the Muslim Student Association. The subsequent backlash, the right wing authoritarianism, the massive expanse of powers, the detention of innocents, the deportation of immigrants, the brutal unnecessary wars left a wound that still bleeds to this day. In 2004, we were convinced America would have enough but they chose Bush over Kerry. Many died, but the Earth still spun, the Sun still came out, and in 2008 we elected a Muslim, Kenyan, Socialist President by the name of Obama.

Things change, but you have to be part of that change. If anything, be mobilized and energized. Learn from the mistakes, double down and realize the demographics of this country are shifting. Many Republicans realize this was a reckless, dangerous, pyrrhic victory.

We gotta throw down like our parents. It sucks, but it means some of us have to work twice as hard, be twice as smart, be twice as fast, be twice as sharp, reach out across the aisle, build the coalitions, write our narratives – with our blood and sweat as ink if necessary, engage the grassroots, the media, the financial sector, academia, think tanks, politics and just dominate (with a smile and a Coke).

Prophet Muhammad said even if you see Judgment Day around the corner, plant the seed. Well, some might say Trump is one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, but don’t give up hope. Plant the seed. Make it grow. Let it provide comfort, shade and fruit for everyone. Long term game – if we survive until that time (and we will).

Next: Fatima Salman