When Heraa Hashmi, 19, was told by a classmate at the University of Colorado that “all terrorists are Muslim, not doing their part to counter terrorism,” she came up with the perfect response.
Hashmi decided to educate her classmate by finding examples of Muslims condemning terror attacks, and other issues, like gender inequality, where blame is falsely placed on all Muslims. She ended up finding so many that she filled out 712 pages of a Google spreadsheet.
classmate: why dont muslims condemn things
— Heraa Hashmi (@caveheraa) November 12, 2016
me: *goes home makes 712 page long list of Muslims Condemning Things with sources*
me: fight me pic.twitter.com/sDhwUMIAK1
The self-proclaimed “Muslim author writer-person, YouTuber, somewhat obsessed with biryani, spreadsheet nerd” created the list in November after the US presidential election.
Read More: Meet Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, a Global Citizen of America Who Is Giving Muslim Girls a Voice
“I wanted to show people how weak the argument [that Muslims don’t care about terrorism] is,” she told the Guardian.
Today, her list is ever more relevant around the world as US President Donald Trump continues to try and block Muslim-majority countries from travelling to the US, and reports of Islamophobia continue to be higher in the US than anytime before Sept. 11, 2001.
The list currently has 5,786 examples of Muslim individuals or organizations, what they are condemning, and legitimate news sources backing up each statement. Her list includes Muslims condemning terror attacks from 9/11, London, Nice, and the Orlando nightclub shooting. It also includes Muslims condemning domestic violence, suppression of Muslim women’s voices, even inaction on climate change.
The list has also expanded into website form and can be found here. The site is a place where anyone looking for “a collection of all the cases where Muslims have condemned wrongdoings done falsely in the name of Islam” can find everything they need.
Read More: This Might Be the Most Powerful Response to Trump Yet - Global Citizen
Clearly, Hashmi proved her classmate wrong, yet she still has her frustrations.
“Muslims are held to a different standard than other minorities: 1.6 billion people are expected to apologize and condemn [terrorism] on behalf of a couple of dozen lunatics. It makes no sense,” Hashmi said.
Hashmi still spends time shutting down Twitter trolls with quick quips and facts, continuing to dispel stereotypes of Muslims.
Says who? According to FBI, 94% of terrorist attacks in US carried out 1980-2005 are by non-Muslims. You want to argue with facts or? https://t.co/PJGFOB0q09
— Heraa Hashmi (@caveheraa) March 23, 2017
White supremacy, KKK, antibalaka, Army of God, Lord's Resistance Army, the crusades, everything that happened in Ireland & Northern India... https://t.co/s5Q2199oEH
— Heraa Hashmi (@caveheraa) March 23, 2017
I am proud of my Muslim identity. I am not proud of the things people do in the name of it, thinking it's right. https://t.co/i4cXBPrzoG
— Heraa Hashmi (@caveheraa) March 23, 2017
Read More: This Journalist Was Criticized for Wearing a Hijab While Reporting Nice. Here’s Her Perfect Comeback
Fortunately, the negative comments are not the majority of responses Hashmi receives. The comprehensive searchable list was met primarily with gratitude and positive notes.
“The reaction has been mostly positive, from both the Muslim community and outside the Muslim community and I’m very grateful,” Hashmi told Huffington Post. “Many people are glad that there’s a public source out there that is I think is one of the longest and most comprehensive lists of Muslim condemnations.”
And the knowledge she’s spreading will ultimately lead to greater acceptance of all people and religions.
Cheers to Heraa Hashmi on #MuslimWomensDay for fighting harmful stereotypes and reminding the world that the actions of a few do not represent the beliefs of the world’s 1.6 billion compassionate Muslim people.