A political action committee representing American Muslim women is pushing back against conservative news aggregator Matt Drudge after he made a press release announcing the committee’s formation the lead story on his website the Drudge Report, referring to the women as “Hijabs for Hillary.”
The newly-formed American Muslim Women Political Action Committee was created “created to provide a platform from which American Muslim women can speak out in support of candidates for public office or policies that impact their community,” according to a press release put out by the organization last week.
The organization is the first political action committee (PAC) to focus specifically on representing Muslim women in America.
The committee has endorsed Hillary Clinton and is working to help get Clinton elected. Because the organization is a “hybrid” PAC (as opposed to a super PAC), the group can donate directly to Clinton’s campaign.
The organization’s founder, Maryland immigration and criminal defense lawyer Mirriam Seddiq, told The Daily Caller that she considered Drudge’s headline to be “Islamophobic.”
The group is making the most of the publicity that comes with making an appearance on the Drudge Report.
The organization has seemingly embraced Drudge’s “Hijabs for Hillary” line and will soon be selling pink t-shirts with the phrase emblazoned across the front.
Look how pretty! @AMW_PAC pic.twitter.com/L5VFrDoubL
— Mirriam Seddiq (@mirriam71) October 18, 2016
“Being featured on the homepage of the Drudge Report was not something we expected, but it did bring attention to our PAC. We want everyone to know what our goals are and what we’re trying to do. It also brought attention, through the email and calls we received, to the hate people have toward Muslim-Americans and their misconceptions about our faith,” Seddiq said.
“That’s precisely the reason we’ve created this organization — to dis-spell myths about American Muslim Women and provide a platform for us to be involved in the political process and elect candidates that align with our values — as Americans, as Muslims and as Women.”
Seddiq did note that “half of the organization doesn’t wear Hijabs, so [Drudge’s] headline was misleading.”