The Anti-Trump Mother’s Day Cards for Muslim and Immigrant Moms

“Mamas Day feels harder this year for Muslim and immigrant mamas. Bans, attacks, slurs, and walls seek to criminalize, demean, and divide immigrant and Muslim mamas from their families,” states Forward Together, a U.S. nonprofit.

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That’s precisely why their annual Mamas Day initiative is focusing on immigrant and Muslim families. The group is set to distribute some 15,000 customized cards to these families across the United States this month.

The cards, many of them made by queer and transgender people of color the organization hired, seek to depict diverse representations of motherhood, a mission Forward Together has championed since 2011. Last year, for example, they made and distributed cards to undocumented mothers in detention centers.

Kalpana Krishnamurthy, policy director at Forward Together, told the Huffington Post that this year marks the first time the organization has created cards specifically for Muslim moms.

“Since the start of (the Trump) administration we’ve seen executive orders that target both communities,” she explained.

Forward Together plans send cards to 28 partner organizations, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, so that they can distribute them at mosques and community centers.

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Aneelah Afzali, executive director of MAPS’ American Muslim Empowerment Network, which is participating in the Forward Together campaign, said that in the heightened climate of prejudice against Muslims and immigrants, there are a number of ways to show support.

“Help personalize American Muslims for our fellow Americans,” Afzali told The Huffington Post. “Help our fellow Americans get to know who American Muslims really are. This is especially important as many Americans have been filled with so much fear and hate that they may not even be willing to get to know a Muslim or visit a mosque. Our friends and allies can possibly change their hearts and minds, and show that love is greater than hate.”