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| Linda Sarsour | |
|---|---|
 Sarsour in May 2016 | |
| Born | 1980 (age 44–45) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Kingsborough Community College Brooklyn College |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, writer |
| Known for | Co-chair of the 2017 Women's March |
Linda Sarsour (born 1980) is a Palestinian-American activist and executive director of the Arab American Association of New York.
Early life
Sarsour is the oldest of seven children born to a pair of Palestinian immigrants. She was raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and went to John Jay High School in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Sarsour was married in an arranged marriage at the age of 17. She had three children by her mid-20s. After high school, she took courses at Kingsborough Community College and Brooklyn College with the goal of becoming an English teacher.
Career
After the September 11 attacks, she began to volunteer for the Arab American Association of New York. She worked to have Muslim holidays recognized in New York City's public schools, which now close for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. She eventually became the organization's executive director. Sarsour became a fellow at the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Sarsour has appeared in The Hijabi Monologues, a performance art piece based on stories about veiling.
Political activism
After serving in a variety of roles in the Arab American Association of New York, Sarsour was appointed executive director in 2011 after the prior executive director was killed in a car accident. As director, she advocated for passage of the "Community Safety Act" in New York, which created an independent office to review police policy and expanded the definition of bias-based profiling in New York. Sarsour and her organization pressed for the law after instances of what they saw as biased policing in local neighborhoods, and the law passed over the objections of the city's mayor and police chief.
In 2016, Sarsour endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President of the United States.
Teresa Shook and Bob Bland recruited Sarsour to become a co-chair for the 2017 Women's March, held the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. After the march, some suggested she was targeted with Islamophobia over social media, leading the hashtag #IMarchWithLinda to trend on Twitter. She was part of the group that decided to exclude women's groups from the march if those groups opposed abortion rights.
In 2017 Sarsour was a plaintiff in Sarsour v. Trump, a lawsuit against the immigration policy of Donald Trump.
Criticism
The terrorism analyst Steven Emerson and columnist Candice Malcolm raised questions regarding Sarsour's positions on women's rights based upon her public comments regarding Sharia religious law, criticism of female public figures, and comments regarding Saudi Arabia's treatment of women.
In February 2017, the atheist, feminist, and Islam reform advocate Ayaan Hirsi Ali similarly criticized Sarsour for her support of Sharia law and for making an abusive tweet about Ali and the journalist Brigitte Gabriel in 2011, in which Sarsour suggested that they should be assaulted and have their privates removed because they "don't deserve to be women." Ali, a victim of genital mutilation while living in Somalia, criticized Sarsour as a "fake feminist" who is not interested in universal human rights, in reference to Linda's appearance at a Women's March in Washington DC in January 2017.
Personal life
Sarsour lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
References
- ^ Mitter, Siddhartha (May 9, 2015). "Linda Sarsour: New Generation of Muslim Activists – Al Jazeera America". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- Sarsour, Linda (September 16, 2015). "Ahmed Mohamed is just one example of the bigotry American Muslims face". The Guardian. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ Mishkin, Budd (July 26, 2011). "One On 1: Arab American Association Director Finds Time For It All". NY1. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ Feuer, Alan (August 7, 2015). "Linda Sarsour Is a Brooklyn Homegirl in a Hijab". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- Wilner, Michael (January 24, 2017). "Linda Sarsour, Women's March Organizer, Works to Link Civil Rights Struggles to Palestinian Cause". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- Sahar Amer (September 9, 2014). What is Veiling?. Edinburgh University Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-7486-9684-0.
- Feuer, Alan (August 7, 2015). "Linda Sarsour Is a Brooklyn Homegirl in a Hijab". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - "Linda Sarsour Is a Brooklyn Homegirl in a Hijab". August 7, 2015.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - Neidig, Harper (April 9, 2016). "Sanders campaign releases Spike Lee-produced ad". The Hill. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- Alter, Charlotte (January 20, 2017). "The Women's March on Washington United Progressives". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - Reporter, Christopher Mathias National; Editor, The Huffington Post Carol Kuruvilla Associate Religion (January 23, 2017). "Women's March Organizer Targeted By Vicious Islamophobic Attacks Online". Retrieved February 2, 2017.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has generic name (help) - Stolber, Sheryl Jay (January 18, 2017). "Views on Abortion Strain Calls for Unity at Women's March on Washington". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
- Emerson, Steven (January 27, 2017). "Women's March Figure Linda Sarsour's Background, Ties". Retrieved January 30, 2017.
- Malcom, Candice (January 27, 2017). "The new feminists are regressive". Toronto Sun. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
- "'Defender of Sharia': Ayaan Hirsi Ali Slams Women's March Organizer". Fox News. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- "Ayaan Hirsi Ali says controversial Women's March organizer is a 'fake feminist'". The New York Times. February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.