Muslim parents deal #WokeArmy a lethal blow

#AuntyFa in Montgomery County, Md. calls them 'white supremacists'

ROCKVILLE, Md. — This week, a sea of about 500 mostly brown and black immigrant Muslim parents and children rallied on the sidewalk outside the headquarters of Montgomery County Public Schools, carrying simple signs with messages like “FAMILY RIGHTS,” as they faced off against a phalanx of far-left activists who want to indoctrinate children with age-inappropriate sexual curriculum, and, in their moral courage, these Muslim parents dealt the #WokeArmy a lethal blow.

“Protect our children!” the parents chanted. “They are not your children!”

Muslim parents broke woke.

Standing on the driveway, off Hungerford Drive, between these two opposing forces, I watched the parents in awe. Three years ago, on June 7, 2020 — my birthday — I received a poison pen letter from Ann Bonitatibus, the principal at my son’s high school, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, as she scolded our mostly immigrant, mostly Asian parents to check our “privileges.” Hers was the first salvo in a long war on merit that branded our immigrant parents with smears such as “white supremacists,” “white adjacent” and “resource hoarders.” Our battle — inspiring our mostly Asian immigrant parents in Fairfax County, Va., to organize the Coalition for TJ and march against the tyranny of our 12-0 Democratic school board — became a precursor for the national war on merit, education and kids, with “equitable grading,” “privilege walks,” “woke kindergarten” and “Gender Unicorn” in K-12 schools from California to Massachusetts.

Now, in another Washington, D.C., suburb, on the eve of my birthday 2023, I received the greatest gift: Muslim parents have emerged as strong defenders of their children's rights, challenging the indoctrination policies imposed by the hard-left and breaking the #WokeArmy. As a Muslim feminist and cofounder of the Muslim Reform Movement, I do not align with many conservative interpretations of my faith, but I firmly believe in the integral right of parents to parent. The refusal to allow parents to opt out of certain topics concerning sexuality and gender has ignited a war to protect America's children, and the voices of Muslim parents cannot be silenced.

During the Obama administration, an unholy alliance between Muslim groups and far-left interests emerged, contradicting the socially conservative beliefs held by many Muslims. This meant the rise of Representatives Rashida Talib and Ilhan Omar in the Democratic Party and activist Linda Sarsour in the Women’s March. I knew this was an unholy alliance and this unsustainable alignment was bound to crack. In my book, Woke Army: The Red-Green Alliance Destroying America’s Freedom, I chronicle this convergence of interests and predicted that the #WokeArmy would dismantle. Now, indeed, the hard-left has come after the most fiercely protected interest of all: our children. This battle is far from over, and the brave parents on the frontlines are prepared to fight for their children's future.

Kareem Monib is an Egyptian American father and engineer in Howard County, Md., and he cofounded Coalition of Virtue in April 2023.

There off Hungerford Drive, I met Kareem Monib, 45, an American Muslim engineer and a devoted father born in Oklahoma to parents from Egyptian. In April, he cofounded the Coalition of Virtue, a new parents' group that organized the rally for parental rights along with other organizations, including the Religious Freedom Institute. Virtue is a value that resonates deeply with Kareem and the other immigrant parents of color who joined the rally. Notably, two Ethiopian Christian Orthodox women also stood alongside their Muslim counterparts, demonstrating that this fight transcends religious boundaries. I learned of the rally from a Jewish American partner of the coalition.

Monib, a father to four sons, just cofounded Coalition of Virtue in April with his wife and friends. As a child, both of his parents were pursuing doctorates in engineering, and he learned the value of family and education. His family moved to Wyoming, then North Carolina, and finally settled in Delaware, where he mostly grew up. His parents taught him his values and faith of Islam.  

He told me later: "Our vision at Coalition of Virtue is to bring together Americans of all faiths and persuasions to promote virtue in politics and society. Most of us share the same values when it comes to morality, family, patriotism and a recognition of objective reality. If we do this, we can form a formidable political bloc in this country."

He continued: "Imagine a coalition based on virtue that includes Christians, Muslim, Hindus, Jews and other Americans who believe in a normative vision of the world. That is what is starting in Montgomery County, Maryland." 

Throughout the rally, Kareem exhibited kindness, engagement and hospitality towards everyone present, including the opposition. Surprisingly, the opposition, mostly comprised of privileged white woke women whom I refer to as #Auntyfa, demonstrated hostility and an unwillingness to engage. This stark contrast was striking to me as a Muslim feminist, as religiously conservative men extended their hands in a gesture of respect while two of these woke women refused to shake my hand.

This #AuntyFa activist thought I had never met an atheist. In fact, in the Muslim Reform Movement, I’m an advocate for the dignity and acceptance of ex-Muslim atheists. She refused to shake my hand, saying, “I’m okay without your god.”

The rally was a testament to the parents' genuine desire to protect their children from age-inappropriate sexual indoctrination, highlighting the importance of parental choice.

In September 2020, mostly Asian American immigrant parents overcome their fears of retaliation to rally for merit and children

It is crucial to remember that the majority of these parents, much like the predominantly Asian parents in the Coalition for TJ, speak English as a second language, fear challenging authority and have little legacy or “privilege” in America. However, they are willing to risk everything to safeguard their children. They are the worst nightmare of the hard-left and the Democratic Party, including proxies like teachers’ union president Randi Weingarten, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and the #AuntyFa crowd. These mama bears and papa bears have conquered their deepest fears to stand up for their cubs. Their determination and resilience will undoubtedly shape elections in 2023, 2024 and beyond. Parental rights will be the wedge issue that decides the next U.S. president.

Instead of responding with wisdom, Democratic politicians in Montgomery County are responding to parents with the same smears that Democratic politicians have leveled against our immigrant parents in northern Virginia. Inside the school district’s offices, I sat in the school board meeting room and watched as a local Montgomery County councilwoman, Kristin Mink, dared to defame the children and parents protesting outside as aligned with “white supremacists.”

The battle in Montgomery County is just one example of a growing movement across the nation, where parents are reclaiming their rights as primary caregivers and decision-makers for their children. As these parents rallied, across the country ,Armenian immigrant parents in Glendale, Ca., clashed literally with Antifa activists, as the immigrant parents tried to challenge the gender and sexual indoctrination in their school district targeting children as young as four years old.

This national fight is not about political affiliation but about preserving the sanctity of the parent-child relationship. It is about recognizing that parents, regardless of their cultural or religious backgrounds, have the right to instill their values and protect their children from ideologies that may clash with their beliefs.

As we move forward, it is imperative to foster a constructive dialogue that respects diverse perspectives while upholding parental rights. The voices of Montgomery County parents, including those from immigrant communities, must be heard and valued. Let us support and amplify their message, for their fight transcends party lines and speaks to the fundamental principles that bind us as a society.

The battlefront in Montgomery County has struck a significant blow against the #WokeArmy. Muslim parents and their allies from various backgrounds have come together to protect their children's rights and challenge indoctrination policies imposed by the hard-left. I posted videos from the rally on Twitter and my main video has hit two million “impressions,” or times it’s been seen, and 187,000 engagements with messages like this one: “give em hell.”

Even Twitter owner Elon Musk responded to the video, noting the irony of the #AuntyFa crowd appropriating the chant of the parents, “Protect our children.” He wrote about the woke counterprotestors: “They keep chanting ‘protect our children’, but the children in question are not theirs.”

Why the massive response from the school house to the C-suite? Because this issue resonates. People care. Musk is not just a CEO. He’s a papa bear. And, just like parents decided the gubernatorial race in Virginia in 2021, electing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, parents will vote in elections in 2023 and 2024 based on how politicians respond to their cry for their rights in the lives of their children. Parents will choose the next president of the United States of America.

This fight is not only about parental rights and the right to opt out of age-inappropriate content, but it is about the preservation of the parent-child bond and the wellbeing of children and families. The determination of brave parents from Maryland to Virginia and California will shape the political landscape for years to come. And we must stand with them.

Courage is contagious.

At the rally in Montgomery County, outnumbering the woke activists about five to one, Munib led the parents in a chant, “Are you going to vote next year? Say, ‘Yes.’”

The diversity of parents, from Ethiopian Orthodox to Egyptian Muslim, responded: “YES!”

A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Asra Q. Nomani is the author of Woke Army. She can be reached at asra@asranomani.com. She is a senior fellow in the practice of journalism at Independent Women’s Network.

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