Fulbright Scholar
Iman Abdoul-Karim examines the role of Muslim women in the Black Lives Matter movement.
After a dozen interviews and years of work, Fulbright Scholar Iman AbdoulKarim was finally ready to share her findings with her Muslim community.
She found a welcoming reception Sunday at Masjid Al-Haq, a mosque in the Parramore neighborhood, just a short walk from Orlando City Stadium.
After her hour-long presentation examining the role of Muslim women in the Black Lives Matter movement, the audience had a lively discussion on the religion’s role in activism.
“I think often when we think of Muslim communities, we think of one specific mold or type of person when we know that’s not necessarily the case,” said AbdoulKarim, noting about a third of Muslims are black.
AbdoulKarim, who graduated in June from Dartmouth College and has lived in Orlando for about a year, said she’d never presented her research to a room full of Muslims before.
In August, she plans on attending Cardiff University in Wales on a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in Islamic studies.
AbdoulKarim spent the past three years speaking to Muslim activists in the Black Lives Matter movement, many of whom took leading roles in protests and organizing groups in cities across the nation.
“The whole message of Islam is around social justice,” AbdoulKarim said. “They felt motivated and validated by their religion and that their activism was a direct reflection of their religion.”
Black Lives Matter is a “chapter-based national organization working for the validity of Black life,” its website states. The group formed about the time Trayvon Martin was killed in Sanford, and has gained attention for various protests and demonstrations throughout the country.
It especially gained prominence for its protests in Ferguson, Mo., after the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Brown, who was unarmed, was shot by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
The women AbdoulKarim spoke with often were involved in organizing protests in their home cities and spoke of verbal and physical
abuses they’ve faced in their activism.
This was the first Islamic Scholar Forum the mosque hosted, but it plans to have them every two months. Aminah Hamidullah, who works at the mosque and attended the event, said they will have women as speakers.
Aminah Hamidullah said AbdoulKarim’s research is important because the religion still battles a stigma that women are oppressed.
“The way we’re going to make a difference is through education,” Aminah Hamidullah said.
Masjid Al-Haq’s Imam Hatim Hamidullah, Aminah’s husband, said it’s important to have difficult conversations in order to reach understanding on complex issues.
“She represents the millennial Muslim woman,” he said. “We value the intellects of ours women so much so that we have forums like these.”