Sayu Bhojwani is the executive director of the NALP, and she says, “It’s really important that we’re affirming for people of all backgrounds that […] someone who has their immigration background, their religious status, our skin color, our names, can be in a leadership position.” It was in an NALP training class that Farrah Khan was convinced to resist her party’s instruction to wait her turn when she heard others express having experienced the same thing.
Similarly, seven Muslim Americans are running for municipal offices in the Chicago area, and five of the seven candidates are women. As of late, Muslims have run for state representative offices in North Carolina, Missouri, Maryland, Iowa, and New Hampshire. The Muslim community has contributed congressmen in Indiana and Minnesota as well. The mayor of New Jersey is also Muslim. Muslims aren’t just running for office; in several cases, they’re winning, which gives hope to Rola Othman, one of the seven Muslim Americans running for municipal seats in the Chicago area. She strives to sit on the Burbank, Illinois school board.
