Why this Muslim feminist voted for Donald Trump
Jul 10, 2017, 5:06 PM | Updated: Aug 14, 2017, 1:56 pm
Asra Nomani has been working on behalf of women’s rights for decades. She recently penned an editorial for the NY Times detailing her experience testifying in front of a number of Senators about her life as a woman and how it relates to her faith.
One of these Senators was Kamala Harris, one of the leading progressive voices in the country. Senator Harris was not interested in what Asra had to say.
We spoke to Ms.Nomani on Rantz and Burns.
“I knew it would be tense in the hearing room,” Nomani said, “What I was not expecting, and what I was shocked to receive, was the cold shoulder, the silent treatment, from not only Senator Harris but the other women Democratic Senators that sat before me.”
Nomani’s criticism of Islam’s treatment of women has been largely ignored by Harris and others on the left as it seems that any critique of Islam is viewed immediately as Islamophobia.
“They are told it is offensive if we talk about Islamic extremism, they are told they are racist and bigoted if we talk about these issues.”
Which is why Asra voted for Donald Trump. She doesn’t believe she can rely on the Democrats for help.
“My vote was influenced by the fact that, unfortunately, the Democratic party has cowered to Muslim lobbyists … I’m a liberal, I’m a progressive and the Democrats have abandoned and failed us on this fundamental national security issue.”
Nomani immigrated here when she was 4 years old and has participated in hundreds of protests in support of expanding freedoms. She believes that’s what she is doing now: standing up for freedom.
“I grew up with a very feminist interpretation of Islam. I advocate for a theology that we call Islamic feminism, one which women have equal rights to men. But we are up against the governments of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, and we need fellow liberals beside us.”
But they’re not. Nomani believes only Trump is speaking honestly about this issue.
She is, to a degree, correct.
It is absolutely appropriate to criticize Islam, just as it is to criticize any religion denying people’s rights.
Senator Harris, Asra Nomani deserves to be heard. She wants what you want. Listen to her.
