Online magazine Nylon.com marked Muslim Women’s Day this week by highlighting the work of eight female Muslim journalists including Hasnaa Mokhtar, a Clark University doctoral candidate.
Mokhtar, who’s studying international development with a focus on women’s and gender studies, made the website’s list of “8 Muslim Journalists to Follow” for her piece published on MuslimGirl.net following the November 2015 Paris terror attacks. In the article, which was picked up by Teen Vogue and Fortune, she explains her sadness over the innocent lives lost, her anger at the terrorists who carried out the attacks and her fear that all Muslims would once again be blamed for the actions of these individuals.
“I felt helpless because I knew this would provoke an adverse reaction from Islamophobes against us all,” Mokhtar wrote. “We take one step forward to overcome a tragic terrorist blame-all-Muslims attack, only to take two steps backward when another occurs.”
The article concludes with a powerful statement: “Violent murders are horrific. Terrorism is ugly. But terrorism has no religion. It’s not our fault. It’s no one’s fault except the murderers themselves.”
Last summer on ClarkNow, Mokhtar further shared her thoughts about whether all Muslims should have to apologize for the actions of a few extremists.
Nylon also featured Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl, who spoke at Clark last March for International Women’s Day. Al-Khatahtbeh founded the website, which publishes articles written from the perspective and voice of young Muslim women, when she was 17. She’s since been featured on Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 list of young people transforming media.
