The Perils of #MeToo as a Muslim

This has been a difficult year for Muslims. I’m referring not only to the external forces that buffet us daily—anti-Muslim hate crimes, inflammatory tweets or President Trump’s travel ban—but also to the internal ruptures that have forced us to reexamine our own communities. As the #MeToo movement reveals the names of alleged sexual predators in politics, media, and business, and the #ChurchToo hashtag trends on Twitter, Muslims are also grappling with fresh allegations against revered men.

Muslim women are speaking up about Islamic scholars and clergymen who have allegedly preyed on their piety, and their stories are forcing a reckoning about the fallibility of these outsized personalities.

What distinguishes the moment of reckoning among Muslims is that it takes place in the context of forces that aren't present for the media, Hollywood, or even other religious groups. Anti-Muslim sentiment has made Muslims balk at publicly airing their dirty laundry; nobody wants to fan the already raging flames of Islamophobia. What’s more, discussions about