Amani Al-Khatahtbeh | |
---|---|
Born | Amani Al-Khatahtbeh May 6, 1992 New Jersey |
Nationality | American |
Education | Rutgers University |
Occupation(s) | Author, politician, activist |
Website | http://amani2020.com/ |
Amani Al-Khatahtbeh (Arabic : أماني الخطاطبة) is an American author, activist and tech entrepreneur. She is the founder of MuslimGirl.com, a blog for Muslim women. [1] In 2016, she was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 in Media for her work with MuslimGirl. [2] She was named one of the 25 most influential Muslim Americans by CNN. [3] She unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 6th Congressional district in 2020.
Al-Khatahtbeh was raised in New Jersey to Arab parents of Jordanian and Palestinian descent. [4] [5] [6] When she was 13 years old, her family decided to move to Jordan due to concerns of increased violence against the Muslim community in the United States. [7] After her mother fell ill, her family moved back to New Jersey to be closer to their relatives who still lived there. Back in New Jersey, she continued to feel closer to her Muslim identity and decided to wear the hijab as an act of resistance against Islamophobia. [8] [7] Due to the fact that there was no online community of young Muslim women, she decided to make her own and founded MuslimGirl.com in 2009 as a 17-year-old high school senior. [9] With friends from her mosque, al-Khatahtbeh published blogs on the site.
Following high school, she attended Rutgers University, [10] graduating in 2014 with a political science degree. [11] She then worked for a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. before moving to New York and briefly working for a major media organization. [12] [13]
In the beginning of 2015, MuslimGirl developed a volunteer staff and saw a large increase its readership. [10] The site logged 1.7 million hits in 2018. [14]
In 2016, she partnered with Teen Vogue for a web series that explored issues of concern to young Muslim women. [15] [12]
On March 27, 2017, MuslimGirl.com created Muslim Women's Day to increase representation of Muslim Women in media outlets. [16] [8]
Al-Khatahtbeh's book, MuslimGirl: A Coming of Age, was released in October 2016. [12] She was a panelist at the 2017 Brisbane Writers Festival in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. [17] [18]
On April 4, 2020, Al-Khatahtbeh announced her candidacy in the race to represent New Jersey's 6th congressional district, becoming the first Muslim woman in New Jersey to run for federal office. In the Democratic primary election, her opponents were the 16-term incumbent, Frank Pallone, and attorney Russ Cirincione. [19] [20]
Al-Khatahtbeh's campaign platform focused on progressive issues including Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, student debt cancellation, free public university tuition, criminal justice reform, and the federal minimum wage of $15. [21]
John-Paul Pagano, writing in Tablet Magazine, accused MuslimGirl.com of allowing anti-Semitic views to be posted, including, in particular, the hosting of an article that promotes conspiracy theories claiming Israeli government-sponsored organ harvesting. [22] [23]
In November 2020, she was briefly arrested and escorted out of an aircraft at Newark Liberty International Airport following a dispute with another passenger. She attributed the arrest to having been wrongfully singled out in the aftermath of the dispute. [24] [25]
Seventeen is an American bimonthly teen magazine headquartered in New York City. The publication targets a demographic of 13-to-19-year-old females and is owned by Hearst Magazines. Established in 1944, the magazine originally aimed to inspire teen girls to become model workers and citizens. However, it soon shifted its focus to a more fashion- and romance-oriented approach while still emphasizing the importance of self-confidence in young women. Alongside its primary themes, Seventeen also reports the latest news about celebrities.
Teen Vogue is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to Vogue, targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like Vogue, it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since 2015, following a steep decline in sales, the magazine cut back on its print distribution in favor of online content, which has grown significantly. The magazine had also expanded its focus from fashion and beauty to include politics and current affairs. In November 2017, it was announced Teen Vogue would cease in print and continue online-only as part of a new round of cost cuts. Other publications would also follow and go digital, such as InStyle. The final print issue featured Hillary Clinton on the cover, and was on newsstands on December 5, 2017.
Bonnie M. Watson Coleman is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 12th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1998 to 2015 for the 15th legislative district. She is the first African-American woman to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Jourdan Sherise Dunn is a British model. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to The Squad Management in London. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008, she was the first black model to walk a Prada runway in over a decade.
Ann Louie Li, popularly known as Ann Li, is a Filipino–Taiwanese businesswoman, fashion influencer, former actress, model, photographer, and television personality. She splits her time between Manila, Taipei, and Paris. Her accolades include being the first recipient of the Shorty Award for best in fashion on social media and being the youngest to be featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for the arts. Often dubbed by publications such as Vogue, L'Officiel, Preview and more as an It girl and a Multi-Hyphenate.
Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid is an American fashion model and television personality. In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. Throughout her career, Hadid has made at least 50 appearances in international Vogue. Models.com ranks her as one of the "New Supers." Since 2017, Hadid has been one of the highest-paid models in the world, earning $20 million.
Imaan Hammam is a Dutch fashion model, of Moroccan and Egyptian descent. As of 2024, she has appeared on the cover of Vogue 22 times, four times on the American edition. She currently ranks on models.com's "Industry Icons" and was ranked on its "Top Sexiest Models" lists. As of 2021, she has appeared on The Big Four covers of Vogue. Hammam is one of the most in-demand and one of the highest-paid models of her generation and currently ranks under ''Money'' and ''Supers'' on models.com.
Lilly Saini Singh is a Canadian YouTuber, television host, comedian and author. Singh began making YouTube videos in 2010. She originally appeared under the pseudonym Superwoman, her YouTube username until 2019. In 2016, she was included in Forbes list of world's highest paid YouTubers ranking third and earning a reported $7.5 million. By 2017, she was ranked tenth on the Forbes list of the world's highest-paid YouTube stars, earning a reported $10.5 million; as of February 2022 she has 14.7 million subscribers and over three billion video views. Forbes named her one of the 40 most powerful people in comedy in 2019. She has received an MTV Fandom Award, four Streamy Awards, two Teen Choice Awards and a People's Choice Award. In addition, Singh has received nominations for a Daytime Emmy Award and two Canadian Screen Awards.
Iskra Arabella Lawrence is a British model.
Elaine Marie Welteroth is an American journalist, editor, author, and television host. In April 2016, Welteroth was named editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, making her the second person of African-American heritage in Condé Nast's 107-year history to hold such a title. Her promotion to editor at age 29 makes her the second youngest editor in Condé Nast history, behind former Teen Vogue EIC Lindsay Peoples Wagner who was 28 when she started in the role in Condé Nast. When she became beauty director of Teen Vogue in 2012, Welteroth was the first person of African-American heritage to serve in the role. She is credited for the notable increase of Teen Vogue coverage of politics and social justice, encouraging readers to become civically engaged, specifically during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Under Welteroth's leadership of Teen Vogue's shifting format, the magazine developed its first YouTube channel, featuring content on diverse subjects from campus style to cultural appropriation. The final print edition of Teen Vogue was December 2017.
Alexis René Glabach, known professionally as Alexis Ren, is an American model.
Leomie Jasmin Francis Anderson is a British fashion model, television presenter, and activist. She has walked in four consecutive Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows from 2015 to 2018, and became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2019. Anderson was included in a 2020 Forbes '30 Under 30' list for the art & culture category.
Eva Maria Lewis is an American activist. From South Side, Chicago, she has led a number of local protests, including the July 11, 2016 youth march on Millennium Park to protest police brutality. She has also founded two organizations, The I Project and Youth for Black Lives.
Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill is an American politician, former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, attorney, and former federal prosecutor serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 11th congressional district since 2019. The district includes a swath of suburban and exurban areas west of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, Sherrill was elected on November 6, 2018. She was reelected in 2020 by a slightly narrower margin and reelected in 2022 by a wide margin.
Hunter Schafer is an American actress and model. She first made headlines in 2016 with her activism against the North Carolina bill HB2. In 2017, she started modeling for many worldwide fashion brands. She made her acting debut as transgender high school student Jules Vaughn in the HBO teen drama television series Euphoria (2019–present). Since then, she has had roles in Belle (2022), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), Cuckoo (2024), and Kinds of Kindness (2024).
Sophia Kianni is an Iranian-American social entrepreneur and climate activist. She is the founder and president of Climate Cardinals, a nonprofit offering climate change information in multiple languages, serves on the EPA's National Youth Advisory Council, and as an advisor to the United Nations. She is the youngest United Nations advisor in US history.
Laila Alawa is a Syrian-American entrepreneur, psychology researcher, and writer. Her work on examining gendered stereotypes in STEM led to results displaying continued issues in discrimination and prejudice against female scientists. She is recognized by The New York Times as an innovator for her global media & entertainment company, The Tempest. In 2018, Alawa was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Lists In America and Europe.
Paige Hennekam, better known as Paige Layle, is a Canadian ADHD and autism acceptance activist and author. She began posting about her experiences with ADHD and autism on social media in March 2020 and has since gained a large following on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. She also wrote the book But Everyone Feels This Way: How an Autism Diagnosis Saved My Life.
Zeba Blay is a Ghanaian-American writer, film and cultural critic and former senior culture writer for The Huffington Post. She coined the hashtag #Carefree BlackGirl in 2013 and published her accompanying debut essay collection Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture in 2021.
Muslim Writers Collective (MWC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting storytelling in the Muslim American community. The organization holds monthly open mics across the country featuring spoken word, poetry, comedy, music, and other art forms.