Wikipedia

Asra Nomani

Asra Quratulain Nomani(born June 7, 1965) is an Indian American journalist and author. Born in India to Muslim parents, she earned a BA fromWest Virginia Universityin liberal arts in 1986 and an MA from theAmerican Universityin international communications in 1990. She subsequently worked as a correspondent forThe Wall Street Journalwith her colleagueDaniel Pearlin Pakistan post-9/11. Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by Islamist terrorists while following an investigative lead. Nomani later became the co-director of the Pearl Project, a faculty-student investigative-reporting project which has looked into Pearl's murder.[1][2]

Asra Nomani
Nomani atUnited States House Committee on Homeland Securityin 2016
Born
Asra Quratulain Nomani

(1965-06-07)June 7, 1965(age 59)
Bombay,Maharashtra, India
CitizenshipU.S.
Alma materWest Virginia University(BA)
American University(MA)
Occupation(s)Journalist, author, professor
Children1
ParentZafar Nomani

Nomani is the author of three books:Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam,Tantrika: Traveling the Road of Divine Love,andWoke Army, the Red-Green Alliance that is Destroying America's Freedom.Articles include: "Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Bedroom", the "Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque", and "99 Precepts for Opening Hearts, Minds and Doors in the Muslim World". She has also written forThe Washington Postand has been a returning guest onReal Time with Bill Maher.Her story forms part of the documentaryThe Mosque in Morgantown,aired nationwide onPBSas part of the seriesAmerica at a Crossroads.[3][4][5]

She is currently a senior contributor toThe Federalist.Nomani has described herself as an advocate ofIslamic feminismand a critic ofIslamism.[6]

Early life

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Nomani was born in Bombay (nowMumbai), India, toMuslimparents.[7]Her mother Sajida Nomani (c. 1947–) and father Mohammad Zafar Alam Nomani (born 1935–), an Indian nutritionist, were both born incolonial India.[6][8]Her father was born inHyderabad, Indiawhere he eared an MSc from theOsmania University,later serving as anassistant professorat the university till 1967.[9][8]When she was four years old, she moved to the United States with her older brother to join their parents inNew Brunswick, New Jerseywhere her father was earning aPhDatRutgers University.[7]When Nomani was ten, her family moved toMorgantown, West Virginia,where her father became anassistant professor(later professor) of nutrition at West Virginia University.[6][8]Her father (cited as M.Z.A. Nomani) published studies on the health effects offasting during Ramadanand also helped organize mosques in both New Jersey and West Virginia.[10][9]Asra Nomani received aBachelor of Artsdegree inliberal studiesfromWest Virginia Universityin 1986 and aMaster of ArtsfromAmerican Universityin international communications in 1990.[6]She has 1 son.[11]

Career

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Nomani is a formerThe Wall Street Journalcorrespondent[7]and has written forThe Washington Post,The New York Times,Slate,The American Prospect,andTime.She was a correspondent forSalonin Pakistan after 9/11, and her work appears in numerous other publications, includingPeople,Sports Illustrated for Women,Cosmopolitan,andWomen's Health.She has delivered commentary onNational Public Radio.

She was a visiting scholar at the Center for Investigative Journalism atBrandeis University,a Poynter Fellow atYale University,and a visiting professor in the practice of journalism atGeorgetown University's School of Continuing Studies.[7]

Nomani is the founder and creator of the "Muslim Women's Freedom Tour." She was a lead organizer of the woman-led Muslim prayer in New York City on March 18, 2005, which has been described as "the first mixed-gender prayer on record led by a Muslim woman in 1,400 years."[12]Various mixed-gender prayers have been led privately by a Muslim woman, including a 1998 funeral prayer led by a South African Muslim feministShamima Shaikh.[13]

In 2015 a group of Muslim activists, politicians, and writers issued a Declaration of Reform which, among other things, supports women's rights and states in part, "We support equal rights for women, including equal rights to inheritance, witness, work, mobility, personal law, education, and employment. Men and women have equal rights in mosques, boards, leadership and all spheres of society. We reject sexism and misogyny."[14]The Declaration also announced the founding of theMuslim Reform Movementorganization to work against the beliefs of Middle Eastern terror groups.[15]In 2015 Nomani and others placed the Declaration on the door of theIslamic Center of Washington.[15]

Nomani has argued in favor of government surveillance programs in the fight against Islamic terrorism, saying that society's "sense of political correctness has kept us from sensible law-enforcement strategies that look at Muslims, mosques, and Islamic organizations."[16]She argues the Muslim community does not do a good job of policing itself and that public areas were "natural meeting spot for criminals." The leader of theAmerican Islamic Forum for Democracy,Zuhdi Jasser,agreed with Nomani's argument that such spying tactics were warranted.[17]Nomani has also argued in favor of using racial and religious identifiers in threat assessment, saying that a "common denominator" of many terrorists with anti-American views is they were Muslim.[18][19]She reiterated that "the Muslim community [has] failed to police [them]selves" and that such profiling on the basis of "religion, race and ethnicity" is a necessary "part of keeping our skies safe."[18]

She is the co-founder of Muslims for Peace, and has provided commentary onCNN,NPR,BBC,ABC News NightlineandAl-Jazeera,among others.[7]

On November 11, 2016, on CNN, Nomani revealed that she voted for the Republican candidateDonald Trump,and adding that "liberals and the left have really betrayed America."[20][21][22]After Donald Trump signed controversialExecutive Order 13769,Nomani said the effort was a continuation of an Obama administration order and stated that referring to the executive order as a "Muslim ban" was a "propaganda campaign" to incite fear in the public.[23]

Nomani is an educational activist. She has opposedcritical race theoryin education, which she has described as a "divisive ideology".[24]

Influence

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In November 2003, Nomani became the first woman in her mosque inWest Virginiato insist on the right to pray in the male-only main hall. Her effort brought front-page attention in aNew York Timesarticle entitledMuslim Women Seeking a Place in the Mosque.[25]

She helped organize the first public woman-led prayer of a mixed-gender congregation in the United States, withAmina Wadudleading the prayer. On that day, March 18, 2005, she stated:

We are standing up for our rights aswomen in Islam.We will no longer accept the back door or the shadows, at the end of the day, we'll be leaders in theMuslim world.We are usheringIslaminto the 21st century, reclaiming the voice thatthe Prophetgave us 1400 years ago.

In addition to her books, Nomani has expressed her experiences and ideas for reform in op-eds inThe New York Timesand in several other publications and broadcasts. She was a friend and colleague ofThe Wall Street JournalreporterDaniel Pearl,who was staying with her inKarachiwith his wifeMariane Pearlwhen he was abducted and later murdered byIslamic militantsin January 2002.[26]

Nomani is portrayed by British actressArchie Panjabiin thefilm adaptationof Mariane Pearl's bookA Mighty Heart.The Washington Postpublished a review, by Nomani, of the film in which Nomani argued: "...that Danny himself had been cut from his own story."[27]

Nomani is interviewed in a 2005National Film Board of Canadadocumentary byZarqa Nawazabout the efforts of North American Muslim women to be accepted in mosques, entitledMe and the Mosque.[28]

Impact and reception

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Regarding the Morgantown mosque issue, Pakistani-American lawyerAsma Gull Hasan,author ofWhy I Am a Muslim: An American Odyssey,expressed admiration for Nomani, while West Virginia University professor Gamal Fahmy, who claimed that many Muslims believe women should be "isolated as much as possible" to reduce sexual temptation,[29]criticized her and questioned her motives.[30]Others suggest Nomani's woman-led prayer in 2005 led to open discussion and debate about the role of women in Muslim society.[31]Representatives of some Islamic organizations have criticized Nomani on the Morgantown mosque issue, in part because she has openly criticized commonly accepted practices in the American Muslim community.[30]

Nomani has been profiled byGeorgetown University'sBridge Projecton Islamophobia.[32]

Works

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Books

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  • Woke Army: The Red-Green Alliance That Is Destroying America's Freedom(2023).ISBN978-1-63758-004-2
  • Milestones for a Spiritual Jihad: Toward an Islam of Grace(2010)ISBN978-0-470-61472-3
  • Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam(2005).ISBN0-06-057144-6(Published in India asStanding Alone in Mecca: A Pilgrimage into the Heart of Islam(2013))
  • Tantrika: Traveling the Road of Divine Love(2003).ISBN0-06-251714-7

Articles

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Anthologies

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References

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  1. ^"GU Class to Investigate Murder of WSJ Reporter".Georgetown University. Archived fromthe originalon February 14, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 18,2017.
  2. ^"Project Pearl: The Bravest Class in Town".Marie Claire.Archivedfrom the original on February 9, 2009.RetrievedMarch 2,2009.
  3. ^"America at a Crossroads. The Mosque in Morgantown | PBS".PBS.
  4. ^"Muslim writer embroiled in dispute at Morgantown mosque".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.May 10, 2004.
  5. ^Sirohi, Seema (July 26, 2004)."US Muslim woman defies hardliners".BBC News.
  6. ^abcdStanding Alone in Mecca: A Pilgrimage into the Heart of Islam(2013)
  7. ^abcde"Biography".AsraNomani. Archived fromthe originalon January 31, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 18,2017.
  8. ^abcM.Z.A. Nomani inMarquis Who's Who.
  9. ^abM. Zafar A. Nomanipublications indexed byGoogle Scholar.
  10. ^"M. Z. A. Nomani".IslamiCity.RetrievedAugust 18,2022.
  11. ^"Asra Q. Nomani".Sojourners.February 16, 2011.
  12. ^Teresa Watanabe (2005)."Muslim women take bold steps for role in Islam: Not content with being pushed aside in mosques, some defy the religion's age-old traditions".Los Angeles Times.Archived fromthe originalon July 11, 2023.RetrievedJune 25,2007.
  13. ^Shamima Shaikh (1998)."Death of a Muslim Joan of Arc".Mail & Guardian.Archived fromthe originalon August 8, 2007.RetrievedJune 25,2007.
  14. ^"National Secular Society".December 8, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on December 12, 2015.RetrievedDecember 9,2015.
  15. ^ab"Muslim Reform Movement decries radical Islam, calls for equality".The Washington Times.Archivedfrom the original on December 9, 2015.RetrievedDecember 9,2015.
  16. ^"Muslim journalist defends surveillance by NYPD, says some Muslims 'use religion as cover'".Fox News.March 26, 2015.
  17. ^Nomani, Asra Q (March 5, 2012)."Why NYPD Monitoring Should Be Welcome News to U.S. Muslims".The Daily Beast.Archivedfrom the original on February 2, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 4,2017.
  18. ^abNomani, Asra Q (November 28, 2010)."Airport Security: Let's Profile Muslims".The Daily Beast.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 4,2017.
  19. ^"U.S. AIRPORTS SHOULD USE RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS PROFILING".Intelligence Squared. November 22, 2010. Archived fromthe originalon March 11, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 4,2017.
  20. ^Costello, Carol (November 11, 2016)."'Muslim Reform Movement' Founder: I Don't Fear Donald Trump, I Fear Islamic Extremism ".CNN.Archivedfrom the original on November 12, 2016.RetrievedNovember 11,2016.
  21. ^Asra Nomani (November 11, 2016)."I'm a Muslim, a woman and an immigrant. I voted for Donald Trump".The Washington Post/Fairfax NZ.
  22. ^Justin Wm. Moyer (January 6, 2017)."Muslim woman who voted for Trump asks Georgetown to intervene over professor's 'hateful, vulgar' messages".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on January 13, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 24,2017.
  23. ^Harvard, Sarah (January 31, 2017)."Muslims who voted for Trump differ on his ban, but agree on one thing: They still support him".Mic.Archivedfrom the original on February 4, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 4,2017.
  24. ^Jon Jackson,"Virginia PTA Official Says 'Let Them Die' About Parents Opposing Critical Race Theory",Newsweek,16 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  25. ^Goodstein, Laurie (July 22, 2004)."Muslim Women Seeking a Place in the Mosque".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on February 14, 2009.RetrievedJanuary 18,2017.
  26. ^Burger, Timothy J.; Zagorin, Adam (October 12, 2006)."Fingering Danny Pearl's Killer".Time.Archived fromthe originalon December 1, 2006.RetrievedJune 25,2007.
  27. ^Asra Q. Nomani (June 24, 2007)."A Mighty Shame: It's the Story of Our Search for Danny Pearl. But in This Movie, He's Nowhere to Be Found".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on December 16, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 13,2009.
  28. ^Ken Lem, Val (April 2006)."Me and the Mosque".Canadian Materials.XII(17).Archivedfrom the original on April 11, 2014.RetrievedMarch 19,2014.
  29. ^"America at a Crossroads. The Mosque in Morgantown | PBS".pbs.org.RetrievedDecember 26,2019.
  30. ^abTeresa Wiltz (June 5, 2005)."The Woman Who Went To the Front of the Mosque".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on February 15, 2018.RetrievedApril 20,2008.
  31. ^Jane Lampman(March 28, 2005)."Muslims split over gender role: American Muslim women challenge the tradition that only men can lead ritual prayers".The Christian Science Monitor.Archivedfrom the original on May 16, 2008.RetrievedJune 25,2007.
  32. ^"Factsheet: Asra Nomani".Bridge Initiative Team.RetrievedSeptember 28,2023.
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