Her ascent, in great part, symbolizes the arrival of Islamophobia as a mainstream civil rights issue mentioned in the same breath as racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Sarsour has risen along with other Muslim American grassroots political and legal leaders who helped forge vital coalitions before the ascent of Trump—women like black Muslim activist Donna Auston and Somali American Asha Noor, who come from communities at the very intersection of racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia and speak about the perils posed by Islamophobia in ways that reach broader audiences. This broadening of leadership and audience, and a growing legion of allies, has been absolutely vital in the short term to confront the structural Islamophobia the Trump administration has been poised to expand. It is even more important in addressing the blueprint of political Islamophobia that will be followed by politicians waiting in the wings, and the private Islamophobia it will embolden.

Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Unde…, loc. 501