American Muslims In Public Life Say They Face Outsized Scrutiny
At a rally on Capitol Hill organized by black women leaders in support of Ilhan Omar, the embattled Democratic congresswoman addressed the crowd.
"They cannot stand, that a refugee, a black woman, an immigrant, a Muslim shows up in congress thinking she's equal to them," she said referencing the president, members of the Republican party and even members of her own party.
It resonated with many American Muslims and, more specifically, black Muslim women across the country. Many say the storm of criticism around Omar, the first black Muslim woman in congress, is more about who she is than what she says.
"It's not surprising to me to see because I know what it's like to be a black Muslim. "There is this sense that black women have to atone for sins that are constructed elsewhere. So, it's not even a matter of if she actually did ... [what critics accuse her of] or if it's actually a wrong thing to do. It's really just a matter of black woman's position is to be [one of] atonement."
