Linda Sarsour

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Linda Sarsour (2016)

Linda Sarsour (* 1980 in Brooklyn , New York City ) is an American political activist . From 2005 to February 2017 she was chair of the Arab American Association of New York (AAANY).

Family and education

Sarsour was born in Brooklyn in 1980, the oldest of seven children. Her parents immigrated to the United States from al-Bireh ( West Bank ) in the late 1970s . Her father owned a corner shop . She went to a school attended mostly by African American people . At the age of 17 she got married in an arranged marriage . At 19 she had her first of three children. In 2001 she studied at Kingsborough Community College and became an English teacher.

Civil rights activism in New York City

As a result of the Islamist terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , the police arrested Muslims in Sarsour's neighborhood and also suspected Sarsour of being a terrorist supporter. She then began helping families of Arab descent as a translator and legal advisor. This gave rise to her commitment to the civil rights of immigrants and refugees . At 25 she became the head of AAANY, where she still works today. It supports victims against criminal prosecutors who violate their civil rights, against unauthorized surveillance and against the police method stop and frisk of stopping and searching people for vague reasons. In 2004 an Arab newspaper called young Muslims to be martyred with a photograph of two Palestinians imprisoned in Israel . In an interview, Sarsour stated that the photo showed one of her cousins ​​and a friend. US investigators interrogated her and initiated deportation proceedings against her husband, who had lived in the United States for seven years. That is why Sarsour campaigned with several Muslim groups in her district for the election of John Kerry as the new US president. She accused the incumbent President George W. Bush of supporting Israel with money and weapons against the Palestinians. From 2005, Sarsour took over the overall management of AAANY. By 2012 it had become the most important advocacy group for around 35,000 immigrants from Arab states in Bay Ridge (New York) . Since then, Sarsour has been the first American woman of Arab origin to apply for a seat on the city council, which will become vacant in 2017. Your closest colleague is the 24-year-old Jenny Goldstein. She manages the AAANY when Sarsour is away.

In an interview in 2011, Sarsour stated that 99 percent of her work was domestic and local. But as soon as she mentions the Palestinian origin of her family, she is classified as "very political". You support a non-violent resistance of the Palestinians against the Israeli occupation, but not Hamas and the Palestinian Authority . She affirmed Israel's right to exist , but believed that a two-state solution would not work because of border and settlement problems. She would like a one-state solution in which everyone could live together in peace, justice and equality. By participating in a dialogue project, she has gained understanding for those who are suffering on the other side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2012 she tweeted that nothing was "creepier than Zionism " ( nothing is creepier than Zionism ). In 2015, she commented on a photo on Twitter of a Palestinian boy facing a group of heavily armed Israeli soldiers with a rock in hand: “The definition of courage. # Palestine. ”When a Jewish New York City Councilor protested (“ No, the definition of barbarism ”), she replied,“ The Zionist trolls are out to play. Come on. You will never let me fall silent. "

Sarsour combats Islamophobia , which she describes as "anti-Muslim racism " and as a "dehumanizing ideology with dire consequences for those affected". Muslims should counter false statements with knowledge of the Koran and Islam , ally with non-Muslims and organize. In individual statements, she defended individual Sharia rules as "sensible", such as private marriage contracts or the prohibition of interest . Republican Congressmen attacked them in 2012. In 2012, press reports exposed the level of police surveillance of Muslims and students in New York State. During the violent protests against it, the approximately 700,000 Muslims in the city of New York remained largely passive. Sarsour therefore founded the New York Muslim Democratic Club to encourage the various Muslim groups in her city to become more involved in politics. It was based on the model of Jewish Orthodox communities in Borough Park and Williamsburg (Brooklyn) . A few years earlier, through organized fundraising and voter registration , they had succeeded in gaining influence on local politics and pledges from politicians to respect their religious customs. Sarsour strengthened the networking of Muslim groups with the fight against police surveillance, the debate about the Ground Zero mosque and the fight for the recognition of two Islamic holidays in state schools. In October 2013, she achieved that both then main candidates for the office of Lord Mayor promised the introduction of these free school days in the election campaign. As a next step, she wanted to bring Arab-Americans into the city council, as Orthodox Jews had previously done.

In July 2014, Sarsour made some attacks against Muslims in Brooklyn public with a press conference, thus obtaining police protection for local mosques. She defended the neighboring Jewish community against allegations of instigating the attacks. Soon after, she and other activists founded the Take on Hate campaign for all of New York City. On September 3, 2014, she and an employee were followed by an armed drunk man and threatened with beheading . In the same month, the controversial Islamic critic Pamela Geller wanted to publish posters in subway stations and prints on urban buses, as she did in New York City in 2012, linking Islam with the beheadings of the Islamic State (ISIS). As a representative of AAANY Gellers, Sarsour stressed the full right to freedom of expression, but referred to the 143 percent increase in hate crime reported by the New York Police Department since 2013. This type of advertising is predictably encouraging ignorant people to express their hatred of Muslims. In the following days, she brought together a broad coalition of religious groups, city councils and politicians who condemned the Geller posters as incitement to hatred and demanded that the poster campaign be stopped.

On March 4, 2015, New York City's new Mayor Bill de Blasio decided that New York public schools would add two major Muslim holidays to the school calendar as school-free days starting in 2016. Sarsour welcomed this as a historic success because from now on Muslim students would no longer have to choose between their faith and their school education. She supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and in September 2016, together with other representatives of civil rights groups, regretted a resolution by the New York City Council against the BDS: This restricts freedom of expression and pits civil rights activists against one another instead of promoting their cooperation. On February 27, 2017, Sarsour introduced and solicited support for the Lutheran Pastor Khader El-Yateem as the first Palestinian applicant from her neighborhood for the New York City Council.

Nationwide activities

In 2007, Sarsour was one of three graduate students developing performance art on concealment at the University of Chicago under the title The Hijabi Monologues. In 2011, the White House under US President Barack Obama named her Champion of Change (“Heroine of Change”).

Since 2014, Sarsour has combined her commitment to Muslims with the Black Lives Matter movement . On her initiative, Muslim organizations took part in the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, against the murder of a police officer of the unarmed black teenager Michael Brown . She founded the Muslims for Ferguson initiative . After white police officers shot two other blacks (Philandro Castile, Alton Sterling) in quick succession, she organized the Muslim Call To Action conference on July 8, 2016 . In doing so, she brought together activists from Muslims and other religions to oblige them to protect African-Americans.

In January 2015, Sarsour publicly criticized Republicans who used “Islamophobia” and bigotry against American Muslims to win votes. This former fringe phenomenon has spread rapidly in the party. Since 2010, MPs such as Allen West , Louie Gohmert , Joe Walsh , Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich , currently Bobby Jindal and Mike Huckabee, have based their careers, election campaigns and fundraising via channels like Fox News on "spreading hatred against Muslims". Meanwhile, anti-Sharia laws in 32 states curtailed the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion . Muslims did not demand special rights, but rather their abolition, such as unjustified surveillance, double screening at airports and solitary confinement before a trial. With the Muslim Democratic Club she tries to continuously strengthen the political influence and candidates of Muslims at all levels of government. On May 3, 2015, police in Garland, Texas shot dead two Muslims who attacked an exhibition of the Mohammed cartoons organized by Pamela Geller . The following day, Sarsour publicly defended Geller's right to exhibit and draw these caricatures: she had always fought for Geller's right to bigotry and had the same right to oppose her own speech. Sarsour's leadership role in bringing Muslims and African-Americans together in the United States and her public conflicts with anti-Islamic activists such as Pamela Geller made her known abroad.

With reference to the terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015 in Paris , many governors and a majority in the US Congress rejected the admission of Syrian war refugees to the US. Sarsour then started a petition against this exclusion and the xenophobic rhetoric used by politicians in their opinion. The examination of applications for admission is already strict and takes years. The refugees were trying to escape the same terrorism that the world saw in Paris . Refusing admission to these needy people will allow the terrorists to triumph. She contradicted other US citizens of Arab origin who claimed that ISIS was trying to smuggle terrorists into the US as Syrian refugees. In December 2015, she opposed the double standard of only demanding constant apologies from Muslims for terrorist attacks that do not embody Islam. Muslims who publicly distanced themselves from terrorist attacks had tended to reinforce the fallacy that Islam itself was to blame for extremism and had something to do with ISIS. You yourself do not condemn this terrorism as a Muslim, but as a person who is indignant and sad about violence. She called on Muslim women in particular to show their religion "openly and unapologetically".

Sarsour supported Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primaries in the United States . She organized a march from New York to Washington DC to raise awareness of racial profiling and police brutality. Democratic councilor Rory Lancman criticized Sanders for letting "America's toughest anti-Israel and anti-Semitic advocate" Sarsour support her.

Immediately after the Orlando attack on June 12, 2016 , Sarsour showed solidarity with the LGBTQ community on behalf of AAANY . She recalled their joint struggle with Muslims for reforms of the police, immigration and anti- bullying laws and strengthening of the right to self-determination of the Palestinians. In all of these concerns you are facing the same opponents who are trying to restrict the rights of minorities. This long-term cooperation will be continued. On July 30, 2016, she spoke at the local Bay Ridge Beyond Pride forum against racism and homophobia .

Activities against Donald Trump's policies

Sarsour has been speaking out against Donald Trump and his election campaign since 2015 . When he announced a Muslim ban , she called him a fascist and claimed that he would carry out any policy he announced. In August 2016, she took part in the Can you hear us now? , with which Muslim women responded to attacks by Trump: He had portrayed the grieving mother of the fallen US soldier Humayun Khan as passive, submissive and silenced after her husband's speech at the Democratic nomination conference. Shortly after Trump's election as the new US president on November 8, 2016, she turned against resignation: It is now important to keep the indignation as the driving force of the resistance movement alive. On November 18, 2016, she publicly protested against Michael T. Flynn , Mike Pompeo and Jeff Sessions , whom Trump had nominated for government office: Trump was filling his cabinet with hateful people. Flynn called the world religion of Islam "cancer" . The priority now is to defend the Muslim communities.

Since then, she and three other women have organized the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration . The initiator handed over the leadership to these women because they represent non-white minorities and have many years of experience in organizing. Sarsour was responsible for the financing and decided not to accept company donations, but to rely on non-profit groups for civil rights of minorities and women's rights. She won the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Human Rights Campaign, and Planned Parenthood as main sponsors, as well as a variety of other groups, including unions . Sarsour sees the fact that these organizations have made their funds available to a grassroots movement led by women of color as a great future-oriented success. She also appeared as a speaker at the Women's March . This made her internationally known.

In her speech, she introduced herself as an "unapologetic" Muslim and Palestinian American from Brooklyn. She greeted the crowd as "sisters and brothers" who showed what democracy was like and who were her hope for their community. You respect the office of the US President, but not Donald Trump. They will not accept a government that has won an election on the backs of Muslims, blacks, people without identification, Mexicans, the disabled and women. Many of these minorities, including Muslims, would have suffered under the two previous Bush and Obama administrations. Most of Trump's proposals such as an entry ban and a national register for Muslims have been a reality for 15 years. Therefore the unity of all marginalized and oppressed groups in the USA is necessary. Everyone who demonstrated for the first time is welcome; they ask them to stand firm for women from oppressed minorities. The participants in the march are said to be the conscience of the United States and the moral compass of the nation. All who stand up for change and social justice should follow women of color because, as previously underrepresented representatives, they would know the political direction towards justice for all. She thanked the participants that their donations made it possible to dispense with corporate donations.

In the days that followed, right-wing opponents, initiated by David Horowitz , attacked Sarsour on her websites and on social media, spreading individual earlier tweets of her, claiming that she wanted to implement Sharia law, was affiliated with Hamas, was an anti-Semite and supported terrorist attacks. The radical left in the US is ruled by an Islamist wearing a headscarf. The Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali called Sarsour a “false feminist ” and recalled a personal attack by Sarsour against her in 2011. No more guiding principle of humiliating and dehumanizing women than Sharia. Sarsour distanced himself from her earlier attack, denied an inherent misogyny of Islam and described Hirsi Ali as an "Islamophobic". Although there are Muslims and regime oppressed women, but they believe that their religion an empowering ( empowering ) was. She wears the hijab voluntarily. She explained the attacks as a coordinated response to her appearance at the women's march: the opponents could not understand seeing a Muslim citizen of Palestinian origin who would appeal to the masses. Thousands of organizations and people defended Sarsour under the hashtag #IMarchWithLinda , including Jewish women's groups and Amnesty International .

After the march, Sarsour led application courses for community political office in Washington, DC. She emphasized that the political commitment of the march participants was also necessary for foreign countries and for future generations in order to prevent a “fascist regime in the USA”. She participated in direct actions against Trump's January 27, 2017 entry ban and filed a lawsuit against it on January 30. She urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Jeff Sessions as the new attorney general on the grounds that he was against immigration, immigrant rights, judicial reform and had to implement Trump's immigration ban. From February 2017, she declared a democratic majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming congressional elections in 2018 as the next target, otherwise there would be no checks and balances . Frustrations and fears about Trump's policies should be translated into voter registration.

Sarsour is committed to anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic hate crimes, which are increasing under Trump in the United States. She spoke next to a rabbi at the Today, I am a Muslim too solidarity demonstration in Times Square on February 20, 2017 . On February 21, she launched a successful appeal for donations to repair a Jewish cemetery whose tombstones had been knocked over and vandalized. On the same day, she announced that she was giving up her position as executive director of AAANY after eleven years with a heavy heart in order to devote herself entirely to building a nationwide resistance movement against Trump's policies. She will continue to live in Brooklyn, but will travel to the United States to train organizers and help local Muslim and Arab communities with effective campaigns. She will continue to speak out for the most marginalized groups. Maybe she will write her first book.

Sarsour supported the young, left-wing candidate Keith Ellison , an African-American Muslim, to chair the Democratic Party . She expected him to open the party to grassroots initiatives. On February 22, 2017, she signed a letter from 200 non-partisan millennials (born since 2000) for Ellison and for Democrats to work more closely with minority representatives like Black Lives Matter .

Sarsour's scheduled appearance at the City University of New York in May 2017 sparked protests over her position on Israel. In contrast, the Anti-Defamation League defended its right to freedom of expression despite strong criticism of the content.

The American fashion and women's magazine “ Glamor ” named her “Woman of the Year 2017” on behalf of other organizers of the women's march. Hannes Stein ( Die Welt ) criticized the decision, referring to earlier tweets and statements made by Sarsour: It embodies an “identity politics” and “synthesis of the totalitarian left with radical Islam” that will damage the anti-Trump movement.

Web links

Commons : Linda Sarsour  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Michael Alison Chandler: March catapults Muslim American into national spotlight and social-media crosshairs. In: washingtonpost.com. February 7, 2017, accessed February 13, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Linda Sarsour Is a Brooklyn Homegirl in a Hijab , Alan Feuer, Aug. 9, 2015, The New York Times
  3. ^ Sarmad S. Ali (Columbia Journalism, 2004): Kerry Drew Disenchanted Arabs in Bay Ridge ( Memento of November 15, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Boris Fishman (Tablet Magazine, January 26, 2012): The Stranger
  5. ↑ Budd Mishkin (New York One, July 25, 2011): One On 1: Arab American Association Director Finds Time For It All ( Memento of the original from February 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ny1.com
  6. ↑ Jerusalem Post, February 5, 2017: Linda Sarsour, Women's March organizer, works to link civil rights struggles to Palestinian cause
  7. ↑ The Yeshiva World, November 3, 2015: Hikind Meets With Menchaca To Discuss Recent Uproar Over Support Of Anti-Israel Social Media Posts
  8. ↑ Amanda Beam (Pacific Daily News, May 20, 2016): Panel challenges misconceptions about Islam
  9. ↑ TruthOrFiction.com 2017: Women's March Organizer Linda Sarsour Supports Sharia Law-MostlyTruth!
  10. ^ New York Times, August 9, 2012: Under Attack as Muslims in the US
  11. ^ Matt Taylor (Tablet Magazine, October 31, 2013): New York's Muslim Community Organizers Have a Model: Ultra-Orthodox Jews
  12. ^ Paula Katinas (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 22, 2014): Coalition condemns attacks on Brooklyn Muslims
  13. ^ Meaghan McGoldrick (Brooklyn Reporter, July 30, 2014): Anti-Muslim flier circulated in Bensonhurst building
  14. ^ Meaghan McGoldrick (Brooklyn Reporter, September 5, 2014): Local activist threatened with beheading outside Bay Ridge mosque
  15. ↑ Nicky Woolf (Guardian, September 19, 2014): Anti-Islam ad campaign to run on New York City buses and subways
  16. ↑ Christopher Mathias (Huffington Post, September 23, 2014): As Hate Crimes Increase, Officials Condemn 'Vile' Anti-Islam Ads In New York Subway
  17. ↑ Huffington Post, March 4, 2015: New York City Officially Adds Two Muslim Holidays To School Calendar
  18. ↑ Brigitte Theißl ( Der Standard , February 1, 2017): Linda Sarsour is in the front row of the "Women's March" movement
  19. ^ Jewish Voice for Peace (September 14, 2016): New Yorkers Disappointed by City Council's Vote against BDS and Palestinian rights
  20. ↑ Kings County Politics, February 27, 2017: El-Yateem Makes History As First Palestinian Arab-American To Run For City Council
  21. ↑ What is the Veiling? , Amer Sahar, Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0-7486-9684-0 , p. 228.
  22. ↑ Champions of Change: Giving Back To The Community. NARA , ObamaWhiteHouse, December 15, 2015
  23. ↑ ICNA, July 19, 2016: American-Muslims on Black Lives Matter & anti-racism
  24. ↑ Linda Sarsour (Guardian, Jan. 30, 2015): Republicans need to learn that Muslim and American are not mutually exclusive
  25. ↑ Dean Obeidallah (The Daily Beast, May 4, 2015): Muslims Defend Pam Geller's Right to Hate
  26. ↑ America.aljazeera, May 9, 2015: Linda Sarsour's rising profile reflects new generation of Muslim activists
  27. ^ Paula Katinas (Brooklyn Eagle, November 20, 2015): Brooklyn Arabs outraged by rhetoric on Syrian refugees
  28. ^ The Yeshiva World, December 6, 2015: US Muslims Struggle With How They Should Condemn Extremism
  29. ↑ Muslimgirl, December 7, 2015: Linda Sarsour Wants You to Be Unapologetically Muslim
  30. ^ Jewish Journal, April 12, 2016: Jewish Members of the NYC Council Endorse Hillary for President
  31. ^ Paula Katinas (Brooklyn Eagle, June 13, 2016): From all quarters, condemnation of Orlando attack
  32. ↑ Michelle Zaurov (Brooklyn Reporter, July 29, 2016): “Bay Ridge Beyond Pride” aims to open up about racism and homophobia
  33. ↑ Khalood Kibria (Muslim Girl, December 9, 2015): You Could Say Trump's a Fascist but He's Not the Only One
  34. ↑ a b c Meredith Clark (Glamor, February 2, 2017): Women's March Organizer Linda Sarsour: "We Need to Translate the Emotions and Frustrations of Right Now"
  35. ↑ Nahal Toosi (Politico, August 1, 2016): Muslim women to Trump: We're anything but silent ; MSNBC, Aug 1, 2016: Muslim women 'outraged' over Trump's comments
  36. ^ Carlos Lozada (Washington Post, February 2, 2017): The crucial fight that the anti-Trump resistance is forgetting
  37. ↑ Brooklyn Eagle, November 18, 2016: Trump's security picks dismay Brooklyn's Muslim community
  38. ↑ Nina Agrawal (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 21, 2017): How the women's march came into being
  39. ^ The Women's March on Washington United Progressives , Charlotte Alter, Time.
  40. ↑ Telesur, January 22, 2017: Muslim-Palestinian Linda Sarsour Makes History at Women's March
  41. ↑ Kenrya Rankin (Colorlines.com, January 23, 2017): #IMarchWithLinda Trends as Conservatives Come for Linda Sarsour ; Daniel J. Solomon (Forward, January 24, 2017): Far Right Slams Palestinian March Organizer Linda Sarsour as Anti-Semite ; Snopes.com, Jan 25, 2017: Women's March Organizer Linda Sarsour Accused of Being Anti-Semitic, Affiliated with Hamas
  42. ↑ Huffington Post, February 23, 2017: Women's March Organizer Targeted By Vicious Islamophobic Attacks Online
  43. ↑ Stefanie Iris Weiss (Forward.com, January 27, 2017): Jewish Women Must Stand with Our Sister Linda Sarsour ; Democracy Now, January 24, 2017: #IMarchWithLinda Goes Viral, in Response to Islamophobic Attacks Against Linda Sarsour ; Jordan Darville ( Jan 23, 2017): #IMarchWithLinda Shows Solidarity With A Women's March Organizer Facing Racist Abuse
  44. ↑ PRI's The World, January 23, 2017: What's next for the Women's March? Organizer Linda Sarsour explains
  45. ↑ Sarsour v. Trump: Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief and Jury Demand. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Jan. 30, 2017.
  46. ↑ Eliott C. McLaughlin (CNN, February 20, 2017): New Yorkers rally to say 'Today I am a Muslim, too'
  47. ↑ Antonia Blumberg (Huffington Post, February 21, 2017): Muslims Are Standing Up For The Jewish Community After Bomb Threats
  48. ^ Paula Katinas (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 21, 2017): Sarsour leaving post at Arab American Association of NY
  49. ^ Aaron Morrison (Policy Mic, February 22, 2017): These millennial leaders are getting involved in DNC politics and they're backing Ellison
  50. ↑ Danielle Ziri (Jerusalem Post, May 26, 2017): After long silence, ADL defends Linda Sarsour's right to free speech
  51. ↑ How the Women's March Organizers Sparked a Movement , glamour.com, October 30, 2017.
  52. ↑ Hannes Stein: Woman of the Year? What madness! Die Welt, November 15, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Sarsour, Linda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Palestinian-American activist and chair of the Arab-American Association of New York
DATE OF BIRTH 1980
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York City