Heraa Hashmi#Muslims Condemn
{{short description|Author and activist}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Heraa Hashmi
|image =
|caption =
|birth_date = 1997
|birth_place =
|death_date =
|death_place =
|other_names =
|known_for = Student organizer
|occupation =
|nationality = American
}}
Heraa Hashmi (born August 25, 1997) is an Indian American Muslim attorney, author, and activist known as the creator of the Muslims Condemn list which collects instances of Muslims speaking out against bad actions "done falsely in the name of Islam".{{Cite web |title=The 712-page Google doc that proves Muslims do condemn terrorism |last=Mahdawi |first=Arwa |work=the Guardian |date=March 26, 2017 |access-date=November 15, 2018 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2017/mar/26/muslims-condemn-terrorism-stats}}{{Cite web |title=Muslims Condemn |author= |date= |access-date=15 November 2018 |url= https://muslimscondemn.com/ |quote=A collection of all the cases where Muslims have condemned wrongdoings done falsely in the name of Islam. }}
Muslims Condemn
{{Infobox website
| name = Muslims Condemn
| logo = Muslims Condemn.jpg
| commercial = No
| language = English
| launch_date = March 2017
| url = {{URL|https://muslimscondemn.com/}}
| current_status = Defunct
}}
Responding to criticism online, Hashmi, then a 19-year-old student at the university of Colorado, created a 712-page online spreadsheet with specific examples of Muslims condemning terrorist actions.{{Cite web |title=When a Classmate Made an Ignorant Comment About Muslims, This Teen Shut Him Down in the Best Way Possible |last=Orenstein |first=Hannah |work=seventeen.com |date=November 17, 2016 |access-date=November 15, 2018 |url= https://www.seventeen.com/life/real-girl-stories/news/a43756/teen-spreadsheet-times-muslims-have-denounced-terrorism/}}{{cite journal | last=Yukich | first=Grace | title=Muslim American Activism in the Age of Trump | journal=Sociology of Religion | publisher=Oxford University Press (OUP) | volume=79 | issue=2 | year=2018 | issn=1069-4404 | doi=10.1093/socrel/sry004 | pages=220–247}} It took three weeks for Hashmi to create the spread sheet after she engaged in a discussion with a classmate asking why Muslims did not "condemn violence when perpetrators committed such acts in the name of Islam."{{cite web|last1=Soldani|first1=Bianca|title=Teen compiles 700-page list for anyone who thinks Muslims don't condemn terrorism|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/culture/article/2016/12/22/teen-compiles-700-page-list-anyone-who-thinks-muslims-dont-condemn-terrorism|website=Special Broadcasting Service|accessdate=27 March 2017|language=en}}{{cite web|last1=Lim|first1=Clarissa-Jan|title=This Muslim Teen Had A Sublime Rebuttal To A Classmate Asking Her To Defend Her Religion|url=http://aplus.com/a/Muslim-Teen-Spreadsheet-Condemn-Terrorist-Attacks?no_monetization=true|website=A Plus|accessdate=27 March 2017|date=20 November 2016}} She posted the list to Twitter where it was shared 15,000 times within 24 hours. As of November 2018, the spreadsheet had over 6000 entries and was still available and editable online.{{Cite web |title=Meet The Nigerian Developers Fighting Islamophobia One Code At A Time |last=Odufuwa |first=Damilola |work=Konbini Nigeria |date= |access-date=15 November 2018 |url= http://www.konbini.com/ng/lifestyle/meet-nigerian-developers-fighting-islamophobia-one-code-time/}} With the help of Nigerian developers Ire Aderinokun and Timi Ajiboye, she turned it into a website named Muslims Condemn.{{Cite web |title=This Teen Was Told Muslims Never Denounce Acts of Terrorism — So She Gathered the RECEIPTS |last=Eaton |first=Joshua |work=Teen Vogue |date=November 14, 2016 |access-date=November 15, 2018 |url= https://www.teenvogue.com/story/teen-makes-spreadsheet-muslim-groups-leaders-denouncing-terrorism}}{{Cite web|url=http://techcabal.com/2016/11/14/looking-for-where-muslims-have-condemned-acts-of-terrorism-theres-a-site-for-that-now/|title=Looking for where muslims have condemned acts of terrorism? There's a site for that now {{!}} TechCabal|date=14 November 2016 |access-date=2018-11-15}} The website won her the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research's Muhammad Ali Confident Muslim Award in 2017.{{Cite web |title=ICNA-MAS Confident Muslim – Heera Hashmi {{!}} Confident Muslim |author= |work=confidentmuslim.com |date= |access-date=15 November 2018 |url= https://confidentmuslim.com/confident-muslim-event/icna-mas/}}{{Cite web |title=Seventeen years after 9/11, Muslims are still 'presumed guilty' - Religion News Service |author=Aysha Khan |work=Religion News Service |date=September 10, 2018 |access-date=15 November 2018 |url= https://religionnews.com/2018/09/10/seventeen-years-after-9-11-muslims-are-still-presumed-guilty/}}
=Content=
Muslims Condemn was an interactive website containing lists of Muslims who condemn negative things such as terrorism, climate change, discrimination against women, and more. The website was designed to show that Muslims are constantly condemning terrorism and also to demonstrate how ridiculous it is that Muslims are constantly expected to apologise for terrorist acts. Muslims “held to a different standard than other minorities: 1.6 billion people are expected to apologise and condemn [terrorism] on behalf of a couple of dozen lunatics. It makes no sense,” Hashmi said.
Activism
Hashmi sees her faith as complementary to her activism stating "Social justice is a huge part of being a Muslim, but it also doesn't affect the actions I have to take as a Muslim, when it comes to prayer and fasting and going to the pilgrimage."{{Cite web |title=Some Muslims feel conflicted about going to Saudi Arabia for hajj after Khashoggi's death {{! }} CBC Radio |last=Ore |first=Johnathan |work=CBC |date=October 26, 2018 |access-date=November 15, 2018 |url= https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-october-26-2018-1.4879331/some-muslims-feel-conflicted-about-going-to-saudi-arabia-for-hajj-after-khashoggi-s-death-1.4879336}}
Hashmi has also been involved in organizing real-life events. These include a 200-person protest at the Denver International Airport following the signing of an executive order by Donald Trump banning citizens of seven primarily Muslim countries from entering the United States, as well as a silent walkout when Ann Coulter came to speak on campus and an interfaith Walk for Unity.{{Cite web |title=Walk for Unity brings Boulder religious communities together |last=Julig |first=Carina |work=CU Independent |date= 19 September 2017|access-date=15 November 2018 |url= https://cuindependent.com/2017/09/18/walk-unity-boulder-religions-together/ |quote=Hashm }}
{{Cite web |title=After Trump issues travel restrictions, three CSU students trapped abroad, protesters respond at DIA - The Rocky Mountain Collegian |last=Rentsch |first=Julia |work=The Rocky Mountain Collegian |date=30 January 2017 |access-date=15 November 2018 |url= https://collegian.com/2017/01/after-trump-issues-travel-restrictions-three-csu-students-trapped-abroad-protesters-respond-at-dia/}} In 2017, she was the co-president of the Muslim Student Association at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is also a contributor for Traversing Tradition, a blog run by a group of young Muslims that strives to provide varied perspectives on modern society through the lenses of Islamic theology, Eastern and Western philosophy, and historical analysis.{{Cite web |title=Meet Our Contributors |author= |work=Traversing Tradition |date= 17 September 2018|access-date=15 November 2018 |url= https://traversingtradition.com/meet-our-contributors/}}{{Cite web |title=Muslim Student Association offers friendship, community service |author= |work=Graduate School |date=March 27, 2017 |access-date=November 15, 2018 |url= https://www.colorado.edu/graduateschool/2017/03/27/muslim-student-association-offers-friendship-community-service }}{{Cite web |title=Boulder protests Coulter's hate |last=Folsom |first=Richard |work=SocialistWorker.org |date=April 5, 2018 |access-date=November 15, 2018 |url= https://socialistworker.org/2018/04/05/boulder-protests-coulters-hate}}
Personal life
Hashmi grew up in Superior, Colorado. She was born in Bihar, India.{{Cite web |title=Yes, Muslims condemn terror: This woman proves it with 712-page Google doc |author=Zehra Kazmi |work=Hindustan Times |date= April 2017|access-date=29 November 2018 |url= https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/why-don-t-muslims-condemn-terror-this-indian-origin-girl-made-a-712-page-google-doc-to-prove-they-do/story-ISeW45uRuxbmzYbl76XeaL.html}} Her parents are of Indian descent.{{Cite web |title=Fire chief: Superior condo blaze not suspicious |author=Vanessa Miller |work=dailycamera.com |date=August 27, 2010 |access-date=15 November 2018 |url= http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_15914171}} She married in 2019 and later earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis.{{Cite web |date=2020-12-04 |title=How Are You Going To Fall In Love? Conversation With Heraa Hashmi |url=https://smartmuslima.com/podcast/how-are-you-going-to-fall-in-love |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=Smart Muslima |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Heraa Hashmi # 358727 - Attorney Licensee Search |url=https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/358727 |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=apps.calbar.ca.gov}} She is currently a licensed attorney in California.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://MuslimsCondemn.com/ MuslimsCondemn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124160025/https://muslimscondemn.com/ |date=2018-11-24 }}
- [http://bridge.georgetown.edu/ The Bridge Initiative]
- [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e8BjMW36CMNc4-qc9UNQku0blstZSzp5FMtkdlavqzc/edit#gid=0 Hashmi's original spreadsheet]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hashmi, Heraa}}