Aya Ibrahim’s phone is lighting up. The Biden administration senior adviser is in a 90-member group text with other Muslim American staffers, and during this holy month of Ramadan, it’s lively.
The group chat, Ibrahim said, is a critical refuge for her and her colleagues to connect over “the unique experience of being Muslim in this country.”
“It’s a space that reflects the pretty significant community that we have here. … It’s just nice to have a reminder that there are a lot of other people who are having similar experiences as you are across the administration,” Ibrahim said.
White House assistant press secretary Abdullah Hasan, also in the group chat, called it “the glue to our community.”
More than 20 years since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, Muslim Americans still endure record discrimination and marginalization. There were 6,720 complaints of anti-Muslim discrimination and bias nationwide in 2021, a 9% increase from 2020, per the most recent data from CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In New York City, a 2022 CAIR survey found that 64% of Muslims had experienced a hate crime, bias incident, or both.
Yet at the same time, the community’s diversity and heritage is being celebrated and encouraged at the highest levels of government, where a growing number of Muslim Americans, including those subscribed to the group text, are serving. But there is still no Muslim American serving in a Cabinet-level position, nor has there ever been. It’s a uniquely American juxtaposition underscoring the challenges of this polarized moment: increasing support and inclusion alongside a rising tide of hate.
More than 100 Muslim American appointees are currently working in the Biden administration, and this month, many of them are observing Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, running from March 22…
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