Born on May 6th, 1992, Amani Al-Khatahbeh grew up in New Jersey to Jordanian parents. At just 13 years old, Amani and her family decided to move to Jordan after increased violence to the Muslim community in the United States. After moving back to New Jersey, Amani felt closer to her Muslim background which compelled her to wear a hijab as a protest against Islamaphobia. At just 17 years old, she started MuslimGirl.com, to bring together young Muslim women. Originally creating this blog in 2009, Al Khatahbeh rarely saw many readers. However, in 2015, she saw much more growth as readers and volunteers increased. Al-Khatahbeh continued her education at Rutger’s University and worked in Washinton D.C. at a non-profit before ultimately moving to New York.
Tired of the inaccurate presentation of Islam, Al Khatahbeh wanted to show Islam as for what it is, not the misconceptions that the media has formed through racism and mistrust. She wanted to represent Islam as a religion of peace by using the voices of Muslim women. Doing this, she paved a way for Muslim women to hold the heads high and be proud of their religion and gender rather than being hated for it. The team behind this website aims to talk about honest topics through the “spirits of sisterhood” (qtd. In Who is Muslim Girl?). MuslimGirl.com gives every Muslim woman all over the world a platform to share their own stories and experiences. Her blog has become a cultural phenomenon and is one of the top websites for Muslim women to talk about the political climate in light of Trump’s 2016 presidential win.
In October 2016, Amani Al Khatahbeh wrote Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age to share her experience as a young and impressionable Muslim girl. In the midst of 9/11, at the age of 9, she heard her first racial slur. On her first trip to Jordan, Amani experienced her religion in its purest form. She didn’t see the violence spread by the media or hateful slurs by racists. Instead, what she saw was a peaceful religion. In her book, she takes you through a journey of self-discovery as she deals with Islamophobia. Readers have described this book as inspiring, moving, and heartbreaking. As she portrays her experiences as a Muslim woman living in the US, she reaches out to women to share their own experiences as well. People who have read this book have said that it is a must-read for people who want to learn about Islamic experiences in light of 9/11, hardships of Muslim women, and other important issues surrounding women today.
On April 4th, 2020 Amani Al-Khatahbeh made history by becoming New Jersey’s first Muslim woman to run for congress. Al-Khatahbah ran because she believed that it was important that the undermined communities finally get representation from someone who is in the same situation. When running, Al-Khatahbeh went up against a 16-term incumbent, Representative Frank Pallone. When asked why she is the more suitable candidate, she responded by saying that when she was a university student, she saw how Pallone failed to hear their voices and she knows how their community was impacted by that. She continues to say that the community should be represented in Congress the way that they want to be represented and shouldn’t have to compromise anymore. After electing the most diverse Congress and the most women to Congress in American history, women like Representative AOC and Representative Ilhan became an inspiration for Al-Khatahbeh to run for Congress. She was a Bernie supporter and was extremely disappointed with him for dropping out, but she believes in fighting for what he and many others have been fighting for and she wanted to continue to contribute to this fight as a Congresswoman.
Amani Al-Khatahbeh has been a very influential role model for young Muslim women. Growing up in an environment which criticized her religion and her gender made her question her identity. Through self-discovery, she learned that she is part of a beautiful religion and wants other young women to feel just as proud of their identity as she is. Due to this, she has had many outstanding achievements including, Forbes’s 30 under 30, The Amelia Bloomer Book List 2018, and starring in Teen Vogue. Revlon had picked her for their Changemaker Award, but she refused to accept because the ambassadors accept Israel’s forces of Palestine, which is something that is highly against her morals. Amani Al-Khatahbeh continues to provide inspiration and support to not only Muslim women but all women. She teaches young women to stand up for what you believe is right and make a change in the world.
“If I'm being rejected from one thing, it's really just the path redirecting me elsewhere to where I'm supposed to be." - Amani Al-Khatahtbeh
Researcher: Pahel Tandel
Writer: Christina Cheriyampurathu
Editor: Ava Ochoa
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