Muslims From The United States

"There has never been a member of Congress who looks or sounds anything like me."

"The politics of "moral clarity and courage," which I often reference, includes lending one's voice and listening. There is no way to do the kind of work I do, to have the honest dialogues that lead to solutions to constituents' issues, without bumping into things and hurting others. That's just human nature. Ideally, though, I remedy it. While not popular in the Trumpian vision for America, introspection and contrition are signs not of weakness but of strength."

"My strength doesn't come from a lack of fear but from an overpowering sense of moral outrage."

"We all have our blind spots."

"I condemn the horrific acts we are seeing unfold today in Israel against children, women, the elderly, and the unarmed people who are being slaughtered and taken hostage by Hamas. Such senseless violence will only repeat the back and forth cycle we've seen, which we cannot allow to continue. We need to call for deescalation and ceasefire. I will keep advocating for peace and justice throughout the Middle East."

"Freedom of thought and speech-the essence of what it means to be human-is my right no matter the color of my skin or my religion. It's the right of people who speak with accents or whose hair texture is different. Religious minorities, the formerly incarcerated, those without bank accounts or homes, the neurodiverse. No label should rule out participation."

"Living authentically is the best form of resistance."

"I am a human, not a figurehead."

"From the Muslim ban onward, I had the painful realization that even though most of what the administration was going to throw at us was very personal in that their proposals would have an actual impact on me and those that I love, I couldn't grieve because I had to show up for my constituents and the country. At least when I was fighting for them, I was no longer afraid."

"When I stood up for Noor, I was standing up for every single Somali-not just on that day but every day forward. As I later wrote in an op-ed for the Star Tribune: "I am a 31-year-old Somali-Muslim woman, a mother of three and an unapologetic progressive. Some suggest that as a woman, I meddle in political affairs and need to be "put in my place." Some say I deserved what I got because my opinions are contrary to those of a few male political leaders in our community. In addition, a small group has decided that one Somali elected official is enough and now the community should sit down and be quiet." I would never be quiet, even if threatened with violence. If a Somali candidate wants to run for office of his own free will, no permission from the political establishment is required."

"Your success and the successes of others you inspire can heal your wounds."

"One of the most toxic misperceptions of my faith is that because I'm a Muslim, I hate Israel and the Jewish people. Although that couldn't be further from reality, whenever I criticize Israel, it is filtered through this lens."

"I believe you get what you organize for"

"I'm centered by the hijab, because it connects me to a whole set of internally held beliefs."

"I'm a Muslim and live as such, but I'm also a humanist. Just as I believe in God, so also do I believe that we are all connected no matter our faith, belief in science, race, or country of origin. We all have an ability to enrich one another not in spite of our differences but because of them."

"As a refugee who has escaped tragedy, you never stop thinking about all those who didn't make it out, how much they suffered and how many died."

"Just as we honor the humanity of the hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and 9 Americans who were killed this weekend, we must honor the humanity of the innocent Palestinian civilians who have been killed and whose lives are upended."

"It's my belief that in public service, if you aren't making someone uncomfortable, you aren't doing your job."

"You can't take away the past; you can only add to the narrative. There is a narrative about Muslims that already exists. I'm not here to undo or rewrite history. That is propaganda or an impossibility. What I, and others, can do is expand on the notion of what it means to be Muslim, continue the story line that survives alongside us."

"My brand of optimism is based on my denying myself any sense of victimization and taking comfort in the fact that whatever difficulties present themselves today, they will not exist tomorrow. I believe that by pushing hard enough, you will eventually end up somewhere better. Some have observed that I have an "iron spine." I prefer to see it as a process of figuring out how to channel every challenge into an opportunity. That mentality, which worked in the state house, has always worked for me."

"America represents herself as a Christian nation. ... They profess to be a friend and defenders of all peace-loving and freedom-loving people. The only people we really see that they want to be friends of are themselves and their kind. They are really sincere when they say that they are freedom-loving people. Above all, the White man the world over wants to be free to rule and dominate the aboriginal people."

"But let them tell you what type of an Apostle or prophet God promised them. Was it a man from some of the enemy colleges and universities with an arm full of degrees coming from these institutions of learning of the enemy?Let them read their scriptures and see what type of man God promised to choose for a last messenger. How many of the prophets in the past were educated men of the civilization in which they were born before the call of God?"

"The White Man does not want to mix, and the Black Man want to be himself, not somebody else. He does not want to mix! Only the boot-licking so called ‘Negro’ comes to another race begging to ‘mix’!"

"I have always been respectful towards the Messenger and his followers. What happens in the Nation of Islam and around it is very important. ... The Nation of Islam has survived and that is a very significant development."

"Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, Amiri Baraka and other black male leaders have righteously supported patriarchy. They have all argued that it is absolutely necessary for black men to relegate black women to a subordinate position both in the political sphere and in home life."

"My wife, the brave mother of my son, Captain Humayun Khan. Hero of this country. We don't take these values lightly. We are testament to the goodness of this country. We experience the goodness of this country every day. It affirms our belief that we made the right choice. But then, to see when we got back home our four-year-old granddaughter said to her grandmother, "Why were you so upset? Why were you so sad?" A four-year-old person can feel that sadness, yet the candidate for the president of the United States cannot empathize with the people that he wishes to lead."

"I implored him (Donald Trump) to read the Constitution. Because that document, it wasn't just showing him the Constitution. I was pointing towards the values in that Constitution, enshrined foundation of this wonderful country and this nation. In another conversation, I asked and I appealed to the leadership of the Republican Party that they should disassociate themselves."

"I wanted to say, we reject all violence. We are faithful, patriotic, undivided loyalty to this country. We reject all terrorism. She asked me not to say that because that was not the occasion for such a statement. We say to his ignorance -- I address his ignorance -- that the direct effect, the most effect of the terrorism in -- the menace of terrorism had been Muslims in the world. Muslims hate this menace of terrorism as much as any other place. It is our duty to keep this country, our country, beautiful country, safe. We have always thought of that way. We will continue to do our part to keep it safe and beautiful. What he cites in the name of Islam and all that, that is not Islam at all. I wish he would have -- somebody would have put something in his head that these are terrorists, these are criminals. These folks have nothing to do with Islam."

"This candidate for presidency to not be aware of the respect of a gold star mother standing there, and he had to take that shot at her, this is height of ignorance. This is why I showed him that Constitution. Had he read that, he would know what status a gold star mother holds in that nation. This country holds such a person in the highest regard. And he has no knowledge, no awareness. That is height of his ignorance. She is ill. She had high blood pressure. People that know her, looked at her face, and she said, "I may fall off the stage." And I told her that, you have to assemble yourself and stand for the beauty of this tribute that is being paid. This person is total incapable of empathy. I want his family to counsel him, teach him some empathy. He will be a better person if he could become -- but he is a black soul. And this is totally unfit for the leadership of this beautiful country, the love and affection that we have received affirms that our beliefs, our experience in this country had been correct and positive. The world is receiving us like we have never seen. They have seen the blackness of his character, of his soul, that he is void of recognizing, empathizing with people."

"This nation, we live here so often -- we are here -- we become unappreciative of the goodness of this country, but we are testament to that. We live every day. I have a stack of this -- this beautiful document at my home. When guests come, I am so delighted to start the conversation by handing them a copy. Luckily, I had it in my pocket. I didn't know that I have it. My words were different. My words were: I hope you have read the Constitution. I hope you will look for the words of liberty and equal justice and equal dignity. When I was getting ready to come get in the cab to go to the convention, when I put my coat on, I touched it, and it was in my pocket. It is always -- whenever I wear a coat, it is in my pocket."

"Republican and Democrats are as patriotic as anyone else. This is a political process. It's a wonderful, beautiful political process. But in that political process, there are some moral, ethical values of this country that need to be maintained and managed."

"I do not believe his whole year-long rhetoric, division, excluding people, talking about them derogatorily, has prepared him. He promised to the Republican leadership that he will change his manner, he will not be as ignorant as he had been. But he had continued. Those two traits of moral compass and empathy are absolutely necessary for the leader of a free world leader of nation like United States."

"If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities, women, judges, even his own party leadership. He vows to build walls and ban us from this country. Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future. Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words "liberty" and "." Have you ever been to ? Go look at the graves of the brave patriots who died defending America — you will see all faiths, genders, and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one. We can't solve our problems by building walls and sowing division. We are Stronger Together."

"His policies, his practices, do not reflect that he has any understanding of the basic, fundamental constitutional principles of this country, what makes this country exceptional, what makes this country exceptional in the history of the mankind. There are principles of equal dignity, principle of liberty. He talks about excluding people, disrespecting judges, the entire judicial system, immigrants, Muslim immigrants. These are divisive rhetoric that is totally against the basic constitutional principle. If you read the Constitution, you will either deliberately would be violating those principles or you have not read. That is why I have watched whole ear and rest of the world has watched, and the love and affection and support that we have received after my statement, at every corner of the street, at every place. The affection, the support, the love that I have received, that we continue to receive is a testament that he is talking about ignorance. He is not fully aware of these principles."

"Our son, Humayun, had dreams of being a military lawyer. But he put those dreams aside the day he sacrificed his life to save his fellow soldiers. Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son "the best of America.""

"We are private people. We participated in this convention, because a tribute was being paid. And there was context to my conversation, was that we had been patiently been subjected to maligning of this candidate for a whole year. Enough is enough. ... Every decent Republican has rebuked his behavior; yet, nobody has stood up and said, "Enough, stop it. You will not be our candidate.""

"Like many immigrants, we came to this country empty-handed. We believed in American democracy — that with hard work and the goodness of this country, we could share in and contribute to its blessings."

"We were blessed to raise our three sons in a nation where they were free to be themselves and follow their dreams."

"Two things are absolutely necessary in any leader or any person that aspires, wishes, to be a leader. That is moral compass and second is empathy. This candidate is void of both traits that are necessary for the stewardship of this country."

"I remember when my family arrived here and the first place we went was the , Jefferson’s ideals are the values that we have cherished as a family and as Americans."

"I just can't seem to get my arms around the loss."

"Muslims are American, Muslims are citizens, Muslims participate in the well-being of this country as American citizens. We are proud American citizens. It’s the values of this country that brought us here, not our religion. Trump’s position on these issues do not represent those values."

"They did not call him Captain Khan, they called him 'our captain.'"

"Nowhere but in the United States is it possible that an immigrant who came to the country empty-handed only a few years ago gets to stand in front of patriots and in front of a major political party. ... It is my small share to show the world, by standing there, the goodness of America."

"We always depended on his balanced approach to things."

"We still wonder what made him [Humayun] take those 10 steps [towards the car]. Maybe that’s the point where all the values, all the service to country, all the things he learned in this country kicked in. It was those values that made him take those 10 steps. Those 10 steps told us we did not make a mistake in moving to this country. These were the values we wanted to adopt. Not religious values, human values. Those values that he learned throughout his life came together and made him a brave American soldier. This country is not strong because of its economic power, or military power. This country is strong because of its values, and during this political season, we all need to keep that in mind."

"This is our country too, this is not only Donald Trump’s country. He is an ignorant, divisive manipulator, and through my message I wish to convey to him and to all Muslim Americans: This is our country too."

"This is the time for us American Muslims to rat out any traitor who walks amongst us. This is high time for Muslims to stand firm [against terrorists], among us hides the enemies of the value system of this country. And we need to defend it. And if it means ratting out the traitors who hide behind an American passport, that’s what we need to do."

"Republican and Democratic Party both are as patriotic as anywhere and anyone. Therefore, I am amazed at the love and care that we have received, that we continue to receive. And we will continue to speak up until this candidate behaves in a dignified manner deserving of the candidacy of this office."

"The Kahn family has gotten hours and hours of airtime and what's ironic about that was Hillary was the one that left them on the roof in Benghazi. It was Hillary's policy that crippled Libya and Syria and Iraq."