Good Muslim News Stories of 2017

Muslims Go from the Sidelines to the Ballot

When Islam and Muslims become an electoral issue, you can either support the candidate that defends you – or you can run for office yourself.  Inspired and supported by the legions of Americans who refuse to put Muslims on the sidelines, Muslims have vigorously engaged with the political system, including signing up to be candidates themselves.  Following in the footsteps of Muslim politicians such as Keith Ellison, who lost a close race to be DNC chair and is now serving in the #2 position there, Muslims around the country, including physician and public health expert Abdul El-Sayed (MI, governor), former Obama administration official Fayrouz Syed (MI, congress), Somali-American politician Ilhan Omar (MN, house), Phoenix attorney Deedra Abboud (AZ, senate), Cleveland councilman Basheer Jones, and 80 other Muslim Americans are running or now hold public office in 2017.  Most cite not the backlash against Muslims caused by the rise of Trump but an honest desire to serve and prove themselves.  “When I first started, I said, ‘No matter what, I want to get to know my community, and different organizations, and be active in my community,’” said Anisha Patel, a successful school board candidate in Arlington Heights, IL. “Now my goal is not only to win, but to win by a high number.”

Muslims Spring into Action to Help Rebuild a Jewish Cemetery

Soon after Donald Trump took office in late January, more than 200 Jewish graves at the Chesed Shel Emeth Society cemetery in St. Louis, MO were vandalized over President’s Day weekend, one of the largest  in a series of anti-religious vandalisms across the country. In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, many Muslim and Jewish (and other) activists banded together to support each other in campaigning against Trump, and the desecration of Jewish graves hit activists Tarek El Messidi and Linda Sarsour hard. They quickly launched a crowd-sourced fundraising campaign to repair the graves, raising nearly $90.000 in 24 hours alone, more than four times what was needed to do the repairs. “Every person deserves to rest in peace,” read the fundraising page, and with more than enough funds to restore peace to the cemetery, El Messidi and Sarsour dedicated the rest of the funds to other damaged or desecrated Jewish properties nationwide.

The Fight Against Anti-Muslim Sentiment Goes Mainstream

Companies usually try to shy away from controversy lest their markets be disrupted, but there also comes a time where you need to make a stand to show the public on which side you stand.  We began 2017 with a cute Amazon ad where a Christian pastor and Muslim imam trade gifts of kneepads (purchased on Amazon, of course), but the year has been filled with overt placements of everyday Muslims in advertisements of all kinds.  The idea is to promote inclusion in a world where the very idea has been under assault from various corners of society.  Major American brands — including Honey Maid, Microsoft, Chevrolet, YouTube and CoverGirl — prominently featured everyday Muslim men, women and children in their marketing this year.  “I don’t think diversity is a political statement,” said Danielle Tiedt, the chief marketing officer at YouTube. “This is an issue of universal humanity.”

Next: Helping Victims of Grenfall Tower, #BlackOutEid, Hackers Take down ISIS and Saudi Arabia’s Greatest Asset