'People Are Hurt and Scared': How a Muslim American Leader in Georgia Is Confronting the War
Nabilah Islam Parkes was the first Muslim American woman elected to the Georgia State Legislature. Here’s her message to Joe Biden.
Golden dome of the Georgia State Capitol seen through leaves.
Nabilah Islam Parkes, a former campaign strategist, became the first Muslim woman and the youngest woman elected to the Georgia legislature when she won one of the most competitive races in the state in 2022. | Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images
By ALEXANDER BURNS
10/23/2023 05:17 AM EDT
The war between Israel and Hamas has torn through American politics, disturbed communities across the country and unsettled political coalitions in both parties. Over the past two weeks, Muslim American voters and leaders have been increasingly outspoken about their fears of violent backlash and political exclusion in this wrenching crisis.
Among many Muslim American Democrats, there has been a sense of frustration about the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict. On Thursday, President Joe Biden made his most explicit appeal to Muslim Americans in his speech from the Oval Office, denouncing Islamophobia and deploring the murder of a 6-year-old Illinois boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, by a man allegedly motivated by anti-Muslim paranoia.
More:
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/10/23/muslim-american-leader-georgia-legislature-00122891
