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We Talked to the Muslim Republican Who Wore an American Flag Hijab on Fox News

This week, Saba Ahmed donned an American flag hijab to debate Donald Trump's advisor on the conservative news network. We talked to her about Islamophobia, the social media reaction to this segment, and why she became a Republican in 2012.
Image via Fox News

On Tuesday night, two commentators appeared on Fox News' The Kelly File program to debate a patently unconstitutional and frankly insane proposition—should we shut down mosques in the United States?—following a remark by professional buffoon Donald Trump that such an action is "something you're going to have to strongly consider."

Kelly's two guests were Katrina Pearson, a spokesperson for Trump, and Saba Ahmed, the founder of the Republican Muslim Coalition. Pearson wore a look of dead-eyed hostility; Ahmed wore an American flag hijab. "Well, Megyn, we don't have the right to plot terrorism and kill Americans," blustered Pearson, defending Trump's views. "Megyn, we go to the mosque to pray," Ahmed said, placidly, when Kelly turned the question to her.

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In the past two days, the image of her, wearing the flag as a hijab above a chyron that reads "TRUMP WOULD 'STRONGLY CONSIDER' SHUTTING DOWN MOSQUES AFTER PARIS ATTACKS," has gone viral. Ahmed has been hailed as a "total badass," and her decision to wear the hijab described as "pure shade."

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This isn't Ahmed's first time patiently explaining to grown adults that all Muslims are not terrorists, nor is it her first time having her point recirculated widely: In 2014, she spoke up at a panel held by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation on the subject of Benghazi. "We portray Islam and all Muslims as bad, but there's 1.8 billion followers of Islam," she told the panelists from the back of the room. "We have eight million-plus Muslim Americans in this country, and I don't see them represented here." In response, predictably, she received an outpouring of dismissiveness—one panelist said that the 2.3 Muslims living in America are "irrelevant"—and quite a bit of vitriol.

We caught up with Ahmed on the phone to see how the social media attention has affected her, why she chose to wear that specific hijab on Fox News, and how she reconciles her identity as a Muslim woman with the GOP's Islamophobic tendencies.

BROADLY: How does it feel for you that this crazy, totally unconstitutional idea—that we should close mosques—is being taken seriously by anyone, much less politicians?
Saba Ahmed: I don't think we should even be having that conversation. Places of worship—churches, mosques, synagogues—they're all protected under the US Constitution. It's really sad that we have to have this conversation. That's why I invited Donald Trump to go visit a mosque; I don't think he's been in one.

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Do you think it's likely he ever would?
I think he would if he wanted our votes. We'll see how it goes.

How did this most recent experience compare to your past ones, like at the Heritage Foundation panel?
This one was slightly better, I think. I just met Megyn [Kelly] last week in New York. At least she was being really nice about it, and at least she gave me a chance to speak, because traditionally Fox has not been very open to having Muslims [on camera]. I was really glad to see Fox give us a platform to talk. On the other hand, we have a lot of work to do about Islamophobia. As you can see, some people have never actually talked to a Muslim and don't know Muslims, so that's why they're able to bash us and say all kinds of things.

For some reasons, some people think that Muslims can't be patriotic Americans, and I was trying to break those stereotypes.

I want to talk to you about the hijab, because that's gotten a lot of attention. Did you plan to wear it far in advance?
It was actually very last minute! I took it with me to wear on my shoulder, on the side, but at the very last minute, I was getting ready in the makeup room, and I asked the ladies in the makeup room how it would look if I just went with that one, and everyone was like, "Oh, why don't you try it?" I was like, "OK," and it worked out. They liked it.

Were you surprised by the reaction to it?
Yeah, that's something I wasn't expecting, because I've been getting all kinds of feedback from the conservative side. I expect hate mail and stuff. For some reason, some people think that Muslims can't be patriotic Americans, and I was trying to break [those] stereotypes: We are Americans, and we love this country just like anybody else.

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You've been saying this so clearly for so many years, and so many people have ignored you. Do you feel like that will ever change?
For a long time it's been easy to ignore. There's a quote from Gandhi that I really like: "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." Change is hard for everyone, especially in republican, conservative circles. It's slowly improving; I'm not giving up hope. This is my country. I'm going to be here—I live here—and I hope that the next generation and people who come after me won't have to have such a hard time like we are having. We have to do what we can.

Read more: The Perils of Puberty as a Brown Girl After 9/11

I saw on your website that you were a Democrat until 2012. What made you decide to become a Republican?
The reason I switched was because I just couldn't identify as a Democrat. A lot of my faith values conflicted with the Democratic party platform. I ran for office in 2011, and during that campaign, everyone sent me all these questionnaires, and I just couldn't justify abortion—I couldn't justify some of the things. I have great Democratic friends, but my personal, faith values didn't let me—pro-life, pro–traditional family values, stuff like that. That part conflicted me.

It hasn't been that easy. Republicans haven't been very welcoming, but, you know, we're working our way. That's why I founded the Republican Muslim Coalition. We help to get [Muslims] more involved in Republican politics.

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Do you find it frustrating that so much of the Islamophobic, incendiary rhetoric tends to come from the GOP?
It is frustrating. Definitely. But I just feel like that's a problem that we have to solve. It has to change, and it's going to take Muslim Americans to change that narrative. It's gonna be hard for the first few that have to go in and deal with this, but I think that people who come after us won't feel like that. I think America is ready. This country—the demographics are changing. If Republicans want to win the White House, they have to listen to a diverse population. You can't alienate minorities and expect to win.

There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. If all of them were terrorists, we would have very serious world problems.

Can you tell me a little bit more about the Republican Muslim Coalition?
It's a group we started last year, namely to educate Congress about Islam. We just felt that Islam should not be defined by terrorism. Terrorists are perverting the teachings of Islam for their propaganda, and I don't think that's fair. There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. If all of them were terrorists, we would have very serious world problems. We're actually suffering just as much. The first target for ISIS is Muslims in Syria and Iraq. They've been massacring so many Muslims over there.

How many members does the group have?
We have members in all the states. We're forming groups to host Republican candidates and Republican elected officials in different electoral districts.

We can't afford to be silent about issues or stay at home and complain about them.

In general, what do you think is the best way to address the misperceptions about Islam in this country?
It's important to be visible in the public eye. We have to have Muslims in public service who are very visible in all levels of government and media. I just feel like Muslims have to be out there. We can't afford to be silent about issues or stay at home and complain about them.

Have you ever had doubts about becoming a public figure and advocating so prominently?
I say my prayers before I go [on TV]. Every time it's different, but I feel like it's God's work. I just feel like Islam is a religion, I'm a strong believer, and my faith is being tarnished by people, and I don't like that. I don't think God wants his religion to be represented like that. The very least I can do is defend Islam to the best of my ability in a positive way.

The only people talking about Islam who are shown on TV are, generally, terrorists, and I want to show that we're hardworking Americans [too]. We're doing our best. That's the sort of real Muslim-American story that needs to be shown. We are patriotic American Muslims, and we just want a place in America for ourselves.