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Amani Al-Khatahtbeh is a 24 year old entrepreneur, writer, and activist. She has a new book out, runs a successful and popular website, and recently spoke at the UN alongside Gloria Steinem and other revolutionaries.
She also happens to be Muslim, which has made her the victim of stereotypes, Islamophobia, and prejudice against her Islamic faith.
Growing up in New Jersey, Al-Khatahtbeh was just a child when the attacks on 9/11 occurred, which, according to her, made her and her family the victim of constant discrimination.
Fifteen years later, the activist still receives “suspicious stares” and suffers from physical and emotional harassment by her fellow American citizens.
At the age of 17, Al-Khatahtbeh decided to put an end to this growing negativity towards Muslims, and especially Muslim women, by starting a website called
MuslimGirl.com.
The site “seeks to de-stigmatize what it means to be a Muslim woman” and serve as a “safe space for women to ask questions about Islam, share inspiration, or discuss ‘random issues or girly topics,’” Sara Ashley O’Brien of CNN reports.
MuslimGirl.com has already logged 100 million hits in 2015, containing articles ranging from Donald Trump’s harmful influence on the Muslim community to “modest workout outfits,” Forbes Magazine captures.
According to O’Brien of CNN News, although Al-Khatahtbeh continues to inspire audiences, both Muslim and non-Muslim, around the world, she says that “it is mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting to have to assert your humanity time and time again.”
The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University reports anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 78% from 2014-2015, as Al-Khatahtbeh states she is “once again afraid to walk the streets of my American hometown,” captured in Time Magazine’s article.
Not only are Muslims a religious minority, but Muslim women are even more vulnerable to verbal and physical abuse, which fuels Al-Khatahtbeh’s fight for change.
“Our headscarves have become the lightning rods of anti-Muslim sentiment in our society,” the writer and entrepreneur explains.
Despite this astonishing reality, MuslimGirl.com and Al-Khatahtbeh seek to unite all religions, races and genders as they continue to reach new heights.
Her new book titled, Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age, aims to show people how Muslim women and all followers of Islam lead normal lives but face extreme hatred and intolerance on a daily basis. Al-Khatahtbeh dedicates her writing “to all the little girls who ever cried in the dark.”
With the success of her website, rising popularity as an activist figure, and inspirational fight for an end to Islamophobia, Al-Khatahtbeh aspires to forever change the way the world views Muslims.
Works Cited:
Al-Khatahtbeh, Amani. “I’m a Muslim Woman and I’ve Never Felt More Unsafe in America.”
Time. Time, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
English?”, “Do You Speak. “MuslimGirl.com Founder on Islamophobia and the Election.”
CNNMoney. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Forbes. “Amani Al-Khatahtbeh Is Shattering Muslim Stereotypes.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine,
n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.