Draft:Soraya Deen
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Soraya Deen is an Executive Board Member of The American Muslim & Multifaith Women's Empowerment Council (AMMWEC),[1] formerly The American Muslim Women's Empowerment Council (AMWEC). She is also the founder of the Muslim Women's Speakers.[2]
Early Life and Background
[edit]Soraya Deen was born in Sri Lanka and immigrated to the United States as a young adult. She pursued a career in law, which laid the foundation for her activism in interfaith dialogue and women's empowerment[3]
Career and Activism
[edit]In 2015, Deen founded Muslim Women's Speakers Movement, aiming to amplify the voices of Muslim women in public discourse[4]. She co-founded Peacemoms, an organization promoting Christian-Muslim dialogue to faster understanding between communities[4]. As a certified Nonviolent Parent Educator, Deen authored "Peace Matters:Raising Conscious Children", focusing on nurturing peace-consciousness in youth.
On Women’s Role in Islam
[edit]Deen has advocated for a greater role for women in Islam. Deen gave the first sermon at the Qal’bu Maryam Women's Mosque in Berkeley, California.[5] At her sermon, she stated: “I feel that, if we have women clergy and leaders, we are in a better position to teach about compassion and love. When we women step into our greatness, people will stand for us.”[5]
Women of the Wall
[edit]Deen has supported the Women of the Wall movement. Deen stated: “When I heard that for 30 years, the Women of the Wall were agitating for this change, it really made me sad because I always looked up to my Jewish reformist community to lead me in a lot of activism…I didn’t know they were stuck here with this deep-rooted unwillingness by the ultra-Orthodox to change.”[6]
Interfaith Works
[edit]In 2018, Deen was awarded the Paul Carus Award by the Parliament of the World's Religions.[7]
Deen has been active in supporting growing Muslim-Jewish dialogue. According to Deen: “It was a personal crusade for me to really educate Muslims that [distrusting the Jewish community] is a value that should not be taught. I’m called an Islamophobe and a Zionist, so this is not easy work to do.”[6]
Deen continued to push for greater Muslim-Jewish ties following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. She stated: “For those of us feeling a compelling need to work together to find common ground after October 7, know that you represent a high moral value. We must now lay the foundations for intellectual curiosity, courage, and compassion.”[8] Reacting to the documentary Screams Before Silence, Deen stated “I watched the movie with mixed feelings. I was in deep grief, deep anger, and deep disappointment. Why? Because for 75 years, the lobby of Hamas and the extremists have taken us all for a ride, and we didn’t speak up…and today, the silence of the Muslim communities is deafening.”[9] Deen also advocated for the necessity of greater relationships between Muslim and Jewish communities in the United States following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, at Notre Dame's Religious Liberty Summit.[8]
Deen, along with Farhana Khorshed, Raheel Raza and Zainab Khan, co-authored an op-ed in Newsweek magazine about the imperative to remember the sexual violence committed by Hamas, especially as Muslim women: “We are determined to pierce through the silence on this subject…women everywhere will be at greater risk of violence and dehumanization, backed up by the legitimacy of global institutions that simply stand by silently…Islam, the proclaimed religion of Hamas, does indeed prohibit such behavior. But Hamas clearly ignored this and embraced violence against women, children, and civilians in general. Now, they continue to lie about it. If we, as Muslim women, do not raise our voices against this, we are giving a green light to other extremist groups such as Boko Haram, ISIS, and Hezbollah, who are already emboldened in their acts of terrorism and violence, to act like Hamas.”[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Leadership". AMMWEC.
- ^ "Soraya Deen". The World's Leading Female Voices.
- ^ "Soraya Deen, Muslim reform activist, on her mission to call on her Muslim community to "take the path of reforming, reviving, and reconstructing. Distinctions imposed on women in the 7th century can't be the religious laws of today. We must move on."". August 2022.
- ^ a b "Social Emotional and Spiritual Learning Platform for Kids | Spiritual Playdate".
- ^ a b "Women-led mosque opens to build place where 'everybody is welcome'". NBC News. April 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "U.S. Muslim activist saddened by conflict over Women of the Wall". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. March 13, 2019.
- ^ "2018 Parliament Awards | Rev. Abare Kallah, the Paul Carus Award, and the Path Toward Peace in Nigeria - Parliament of the World's Religions". parliamentofreligions.org.
- ^ a b "Experts from across the globe convene at fourth annual Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit, seeking to promote and depolarize religious liberty | News | The Law School | University of Notre Dame".
- ^ "Los Angeles screening of 'Screams Before Silence' captivates local Jewish community". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. July 17, 2024.
- ^ Khorshed, Farhana; Deen, Soraya; Raza, Raheel; activists, Zainab Khan women's rights; Collective, founding members of The; Muslim, a grassroots movement of; terrorism, Jewish women who unequivocally denounce (January 25, 2024). "As Muslim Women, We Must Keep Talking About Hamas' Sex Crimes on Oct. 7". Newsweek.