Donald Trump made his blood-curdling call for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. So last week the Reader checked in with Hoda Katebi, communications coordinator for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, to see how her group—and the Chicago area’s 400,000-some Muslims—may be bracing for Trump’s presidency.
Yeah. It’s been fairly well documented. At UIUC a Muslim girl was threatened. There have been a lot of threats made. There’s been a lot of fear.
Is Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration even legally possible? And if you fear it is, how will you mount a defense?
Can you talk about how Muslim women in particular are reacting right now?
I think support needs to come in a different way. I think the people who are sharing those [Facebook posts] need to be talking to their racist aunts and uncles who voted for Trump and changing their mind-set. That’s what support and allyship look like.
