In the latest issue of Time Magazine, there is a full page letter to Trump from Ibtihaj Muhammad (a black Muslim woman from Maplewood, NJ. She is a bronze medal winning fencer (team sabre event) at the Rio Olympics. She is also the first American to compete in a hijab. She is an American of the Muslim faith, and a very eloquent American at that. She points out that her faith calls on her to help the less fortunate and speak out against injustice. She says to Trump:
I feel that the story that you tell paints a different picture from one I see. You seem to see refugees fleeing terrors root, rather than it’s victims. You seem to see our nation’s contributions to refugee resettlement as “bad deals” rather than shining examples of what America has always done and stood for.
She goes on to talk about being profiled at airports, accused of “looking suspicious” and been told on the streets of New York, to “go back to your country”
She concludes by saying:
This isn’t the America I know, and it isn’t the America that the world looks to for inspiration and leadership.
I once represented you. Now you represent me. I urge you to do so with the humility, thoughtfulness and kindness befitting your sacred office.As an African American Muslim woman patriot, I am commanded by my religion to remain hopeful, to believe in our ability to bigotry with love and draw our strength from diversity. That is what makes America great. Time and again.
So who is the real American? Ibtihaj or Donald? I would have to go with Ibtihaj. She embodies everything good about our country- he embarrasses us every day!
