A self-assessment

"I became involved in civil rights work because I wanted to play an active role advocating on behalf of Muslim Americans in a time where there is abundance of misinformation about Muslims and Islamic beliefs and values. As an individual, I have always taken affirmative steps to present an accurate portrayal of Islam through meaningful interactions and by example. I strongly believe that reaching out to one person and dispelling stereotypical notions of Muslim is worth my time and energy; however, to effectively change the misperceptions about Muslims on grandeur macro level, I felt it necessary to join an organization whose mission was to achieve that very end."

Latif's inspirations

• Rosa Parks
• Chief Justice Warren's opinion in Brown v Board of Education of Kansas
• Her mother

Policy stance

• Elected representatives, interfaith religious and community leaders must speak out more vocally against Islamophobia, particularly when there is a reported anti-Muslim incident in their local areas. Those people, who promote bigotry targeting any faith or minority group, should be repudiated by all Americans.
• American Muslims should increase efforts to reach out to their fellow citizens to educate them about Islam and to create opportunities for interaction with ordinary American Muslims. CAIR’s research has found that prejudice decreases when people know more about Islam and when they personally interact with ordinary Muslims.
• Congress should hold hearings on the rising level of Islamophobia in America and its negative impact on our society and on our nation’s image and policy interests worldwide.
• Federal agencies should expedite the processing of citizenship/naturalization applications that have far exceeded the amount of time allowed by federal law.
• Because much of the Islamophobia in our society is a byproduct of international events, our government should work in cooperation with the American Muslim community to implement domestic and foreign polices that reflect American traditions of justice and respect for the human dignity for all people.

The above recommendations have been excerpted from the Council on American-Islamic Relations' 2007 Civil Rights Report. The full report is available here.