Linda Sarsour

[[File:Linda_Sarsour.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Sarsour in 2016]]
{{SJ}}
{{cquote|There is NOT ONE example of Muslims trying to impose Sharia on ANY ONE. No legislations. Anti-Muslim rallies playing on the gullible.|||Linda Sarsour<ref name=noimpo>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180121043219/https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/873575712061521920 Linda Sarsour on Twitter]. (archived)</ref>}}

'''Linda Sarsour''' {{lived|1980}} is an [[American]] political activist, who has stumped for [[Bernie Sanders]]' presidential campaign, marched with the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement and co-founded the {{wpl|Women's March||.}}<ref>{{cite news|title=[https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2018/05/us/influential-muslims/#sarsour American Muslims: 25 most influential]|work=CNN|date=May, 2018}}</ref> Sarsour was born in Brooklyn, [[New York]] and is the daughter of [[Palestine|Palestinian]] immigrants.<ref name=origin>{{cite news|first=Michael Alison|last=Chandler|work=Washington Post|title=[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/womens-march-catapults-a-muslim-american-leader-onto-national-stage/2017/02/07/56bb6156-ea31-11e6-80c2-30e57e57e05d_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f1055c5b66a9 March catapults Muslim American into national spotlight and social-media crosshairs]|date=February 7, 2017}}</ref> At 17, she entered an [[arranged marriage]].<ref name=origin/>

==Muslim feminist==
Sarsour is [[Muslim]] and considers herself to be a [[Feminism|feminist]].<ref>{{cite web|title=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vduu3_c5xo Are Islam and Feminism Mutually Exclusive]|date=December 2, 2015}}</ref> She is very proud of wearing the [[hijab]],<ref>Refinery29. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vduu3_c5xo Are Islam and Feminism Mutually Exclusive | Get Real | Refinery29]. YouTube, 0:52.</ref> and she claims that "[[Bullshit|oppression of women is absolutely shunned in the Islamic faith.]]"<ref>Refinery29. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vduu3_c5xo Are Islam and Feminism Mutually Exclusive | Get Real | Refinery29]. YouTube, 1:17.</ref> Due to Sarsour embracing Islam while claiming to be a feminist, she has been criticized by other feminists. [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] called Sarsour a "fake feminist".<ref>{{cite news|title=[https://womenintheworld.com/2017/02/02/ayaan-hirsi-ali-says-controversial-womens-march-organizer-is-a-fake-feminist/ Ayaan Hirsi Ali says controversial Women’s March organizer is a ‘fake feminist’]|work=Women In the World|date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> Together with Tamika Mallory, Bob Bland, and Carmen Perez, Sarsour was an organizer of the 2017 Women's March, a march of progressive groups protesting President [[Donald Trump]]'s election.<ref>{{cite news|title=[http://time.com/4641575/womens-march-washington-coalition/ How the Women's March Has United Progressives of All Stripes]|first=Charlotte|last=Alter|work=Time|date=January 20, 2017}}</ref>

===Criticism===
In 2011, Sarsour tweeted:<ref group=note>The tweet has since been deleted, but is archived [http://archive.is/https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/45297251513401344 here].</ref>

{{quotebox|<nowiki>Brigitte Gabriel= Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She's asking 4 an a$$ whippin'. I wish I could take their vaginas away — they don't deserve to be women.</nowiki><ref>[http://archive.is/https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/45297251513401344 Linda Sarsour on Twitter]. (archived)</ref>}}

[[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] was a victim of [[female genital mutilation]] (FGM).<ref name=Kazmir>{{cite news|first=Munr|last=Kazmir|title=[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/linda-sarsour-is-dangerous-so-lets-all-stop-pretending_us_59726e59e4b06b511b02c355?guccounter=1 Linda Sarsour Is Dangerous, So Let’s All Stop Pretending Otherwise]|date=July 24, 2017|work=[[The Huffington Post]]}}</ref> American journalist {{wpl|Jake Tapper}} tweeted that this was "pretty vile to say about a survivor of FGM."<ref>[https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/887489206058201088 Jake Tapper on Twitter].</ref><ref group=note>Additionally, this tweet was not made in good given the existence of [[transgender]] women.</ref> Sarsour was asked about her tweet at a 2017 event. She did not apologize or [[Delusion#Gaslighting|even acknowledge the tweet was real]]. She also incorrectly said she was in her 20s at the time.<ref group=note>Sarsour was [http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/5/9/linda-sarsours-rising-profile-reflects-new-generation-of-muslim-activists.html born in 1980] so she was either 30 or 31 when she posted her tweet in 2011.</ref>

{{quotebox|'''Student''': Hi. So, um, this question is really important because I believe that women’s rights are human rights. So I really want to know under what circumstances it’s acceptable to say that “I wish I could take their vaginas away - they don't deserve to be women.” Just to give that context, that was one of your tweets off your Twitter.<br>'''Sarsour''': So, let’s give some context here because you… we have, uh, this is an event organized by an Asian American, right? Let’s just get some… let’s get some context to what is going on here. Celebrating a community, right? Talking about communities of color who are being directly impacted at this moment and I have [[ad hominem|a young white man in the back who is not directly impacted by any of the issues that I mentioned. A copy and paste that he got from a right wing blog. He doesn’t even know if it came from my Twitter account because he has a screenshot of it.]] He never actually went to my Twitter to see if it’s actually there, right? That never happened. But let me just say this to you, you’re college students. I was in my 20s, when was that? 2011? People say stupid shit sometimes, right? I will be judged by my impeccable track record for standing for black lives and immigrant rights and womens’ rights and LGBT rights. You judge me by that record and not by some tweet that you think I did or did not tweet 10 years ago, or 7 years ago, or whenever it was. So that’s my answer to your question. Next.<ref>CAMERA On Campus. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG9dLxABhC8 Linda Sarsour Attacks Student For Questioning Her Sexist Tweet]. YouTube, May 23, 2017.</ref>}}

==Accusations of antisemitism==
{{cquote|Only Jews in my notifications every night are ones that condone violence against Arabs and are cool with mosques being attacked.|||Linda Sarsour to her Twitter followers, later specifying in the replies she only meant to target the 0.001% non-peaceful Jews.<ref name=jews>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170708055450/https:/twitter.com/lsarsour/status/491011919860748288 Linda Sarsour on Twitter]. (archived)</ref>}}

Due to her ties with [[Louis Farrakhan]] and her strong anti-Zionist pronouncements, Sarsour has been — with varying degrees of justification — accused of anti-Semitism. Two directors of the U.S.-based Jewish NGO the Anti-Defamation League, along with the president of the Zionist Organization of America, have criticized Sarsour's stance on Israel.{{refn|name=Sales}} Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL's director, has said that Sarsour's support of BDS "[[bullshit|encourages and spreads anti-Semitism]]".<ref name="Sales">{{cite news|title=[http://www.jta.org/2017/05/02/news-opinion/united-states/linda-sarsour-why-the-palestinian-american-activist-has-courted-controversy Linda Sarsour: Why the Palestinian-American activist is controversial]|first=Ben|last=Sales|work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> Sarsour has associated with [[Nation of Islam]] leader Louis Farrakhan and refused to condemn his extremely anti-Semitic, homophobic and transphobic rhetoric.<ref name=jpost>{{cite news|title=[http://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Womens-March-leaders-refuse-to-condemn-Farrakhan-after-antisemitic-speech-544074 Women’s March leaders refuse to condemn Farrakhan after antisemitic speech]|first=Daniel J.|last=Roth|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=March 3, 2018}}</ref> Sarsour spoke at a 2015 rally organized by Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam;<ref name=jpost/><ref>{{cite news|last=Marquardt-Bigman|first=Petra|title=[https://forward.com/opinion/396003/linda-sarsour-has-been-a-farrakhan-fan-for-years/ Linda Sarsour Has Been A Farrakhan Fan For Years]|work=Forward|date=March 7, 2018}}</ref> she has also promoted Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam organization as "an integral part" of "the history of Islam in America."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181109125633/https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/196067604857757696 Linda Sarsour on Twitter]. (archived)</ref> She has also been criticized for her support for Rasmea Odeh, convicted of involvement in the bombing of a supermarket in Jerusalem.<ref>[https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/aug/18/linda-sarsour-dnc-appearance-draws-gop-ire/ Linda Sarsour DNC appearance draws GOP ire]</ref> Sarsour has defended her stance and claims that Odeh did not get a fair trial.<ref>[https://mobile.twitter.com/lsarsour/status/532181286853816321 Linda Sarsour on Twitter]</ref>

At the same time, she is supported by Jewish Voice for Peace<ref>[https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/jvp-nyc-stands-linda-sarsour/ JVP-NYC Stands with Linda Sarsour]. Jewish Voice for Peace, May 3, 2017.</ref> and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.<ref>Sasson, Audrey. [https://jfrej.org/the-2017-rabbi-marshall-t-meyer-risk-taker-awards/ The 2017 Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Risk Taker Awards!]. Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, December 21, 2017.</ref> If one wishes to reconcile her alliances together, it would be more accurate to say that she associates with all sides of the political spectrum as [[Martin Luther King]] Jr. did in seeking justice, although she loses points by her refusal to condemn hateful rhetoric when necessary as King was willing to do with his peers.

==Views of race and racism==
Sarsour rejects the standard definition of [[racism]] and believes that "[[Prejudice plus power|Racism is bigotry + power]]. The group that doesn't have power can't be racist."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181109155447/https:/twitter.com/lsarsour/status/603015219380625408 Linda Sarsour on Twitter]. (archived)</ref> She also thinks that the race of a person depends on their privileges, since she stated: [[Deepity|"I am not white. If I had the privilege of a white person, maybe. But I don't."]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181109160210/https://twitter.com/lsarsour/status/616090017954463744?lang=en Linda Sarsour on Twitter]. (archived)</ref> Nevertheless, she later identified as a white girl,<ref>[[Vox (website)|Vox]]. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DclppILcDcg A beginner's guide to hijabs]. YouTube, 1:13.</ref> and subsequently as a person of color.<ref>{{cite news|first=Atossa|last=Abrahamian|title=[http://www.thefader.com/2017/04/27/linda-sarsour-interview-feminism-sharia-womens-march Who’s Afraid Of Linda Sarsour?]|work=Fader|date=April 27, 2017}}</ref> While discussing the racial identity of Arabs, she has said "At the end of the day it's self-identification. I'm Palestinian; if I want to say 'I'm Black,' — I'm Black!"<ref>[https://twitter.com/elderofziyon/status/905977965011492865/video/1 Elder of Ziyon on Twitter]. (video)</ref>

==Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine==
In a controversial episode, Sarsour said she was "honored and privileged to be here in this space, and honored to be on this stage with Rasmea [Odeh]."<ref>{{cite news|title=[https://forward.com/sisterhood/370722/why-linda-sarsour-is-so-controversial/ Why Linda Sarsour Is So Controversial]|first=Ben|last=Sales|date=May 3, 2017|work=Forward}}</ref><ref>Israellycool. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjkyNJfgynQ Linda Sarsour Speaks At JVP Conference]. YouTube, 2:37.</ref> Rasmea Odeh was a member of the terrorist group<ref>[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:165:0072:0074:EN:PDF Council Decision 2012/333/CFSP]. Official Journal of the European Union, June 26, 2012.</ref><ref>[https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm Foreign Terrorist Organizations]. Bureau of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State.</ref> "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine", and was convicted in 1969 for her involvement in a bombing that killed two people and injured several others at a crowded Jerusalem supermarket.<ref>{{cite news|author=Detroit Associated Press|title=[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/05/federal-trial-rasmea-odeh-immigration-fraud Arab-American activist on trial for allegedly concealing terror role in immigration papers]|date=November 5, 2014|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180805094117/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-feds-woman-hid-terror-conviction-to-get-citizenship-20131022-story.html Feds: Woman hid terror conviction to get citizenship]|first=Jason|last=Meisner|date=October 22, 2013|work=Chicago Tribune}} (archived)</ref>

==Protests and arrests==
Due to her acts of protest, Sarsour has been arrested on several occasions:

* On March 8, 2017, Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez and Bob Bland were arrested after a day of loud but orderly protests for "A Day Without a Woman," a strike the group organized to mark International Women's Day. The group was arrested for disrupting traffic by sitting in the street near the Trump Hotel at Columbus Circle.<ref>{{cite news|title=[http://time.com/4695840/womens-march-arrests-trump-hotel/ Women's March Organizers Arrested at 'Day Without a Woman' Protest Outside Trump Hotel]|date=March 8, 2017|first=Charlotte|last=Alter|work=Time}}</ref>

* On March 6, 2018, Sarsour and other Muslim-American leaders were arrested at the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, [[Paul Ryan]], after demanding that he meet them to hear their concerns.<ref>{{cite news|title=[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/linda-sarsour-arrested-paul-ryan-office-180306103336945.html Linda Sarsour arrested at Paul Ryan's office]|date=March 6, 2018|work=Al Jazeera}}</ref>

* On September 4, 2018, Sarsour and other women were arrested for obstructing the proceedings at [[Brett Kavanaugh]] [[Supreme Court]] hearing.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sabrina|last=Siddiqui|title=[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/04/brett-kavanaugh-protests-disrupt-senate-supreme-court-hearing Brett Kavanaugh: protests disrupt Senate supreme court hearing]|date=September 5, 2018|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

*On July 15, 2021, Sarsour, Congressional Black Caucus vice chair {{wpl|Joyce Beatty}} and seven others were arrested after protesting in the Hart Senate Office Building.<ref>[https://www.upi.com/News_Photos/view/upi/392a53ad9b6f0c0f7319980e5159f7a4/Representative-Joyce-Beatty-Leads-Voting-Rights-Protest-on-Capitol-Hill/], July 15, 2021</ref>

==See also==
* [[Feminism]]
* [[Louis Farrakhan]]
* [[Regressive Left]]
* [[Sharia]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarsour, Linda}}
[[Category:Antisemites]]
[[Category:Feminists]]
[[Category:Left-wing activists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Muslims]]
[[Category:Socialists]]
[[Category:United States politics]]

Categories: Antisemites, Feminists, Left-wing activists, Living people, Muslims, Socialists, United States politics