MEDIAITE EXCLUSIVE: Homeland Security Panelist Accused of Celebrating 9/11 Responds

In your Internet travels over the past few days, did you see this by any chance?

A lot of people did. In fact, so many people saw the Daily Caller‘s wild story on Laila Alawa, who sat on a Homeland Security Advisory Council Countering Violent Extremism Subcommittee panel in 2015, that she now has her own eponymous Snopes entry, subtitled, “Rumors that President Obama appointed a woman named Laila Alawa to the Department of Homeland Security’s violent extremism task force had little resemblance to the truth.” The content of the original reports was distorted until President Barack Obama was somehow criticized, as well.

Essentially, those who picked up the original (and sensationalist) piece from the Daily Caller spread false information about Alawa — a Muslim of Syrian and Danish descent who lived in Japan for the first six years of her life before coming to America, where she has recently become a citizen — across the Internet in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in American history, which was perpetrated last Sunday by a man who reportedly pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State. Here’s how Snopes explains it:

Very little about [the claim that Obama appointed her to a role in the Department of Homeland Security] is true. Daily Caller linked to an undated document hosted on DHS.gov titled “Countering Violent Extremism Subcommittee Membership Roster,” and Alawa’s name appeared among committee members [PDF], but that roster was neither a “task force” nor connected to any active law enforcement initiative. (It’s possible web sites confused that subcommittee with an unrelated Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) task force described in a January 2016 DHS release.)

If you didn’t see the Caller‘s original piece, you might be confused about why there is such an uproar about a young Muslim woman being on a panel about countering violent extremism. In that case, you probably missed this tweet from Alawa, which appears to be the whole reason her detractors are upset:

“For good” does not always mean “for the better.” It can, of course, mean, “forever” or “permanently,” but if the profile picture next to the phrase features a young hijabi woman, you can see how quickly the former interpretation would translate to clicks and ad revenue for sites that traffic in a particular sort of narrative. Long after Snopes intervenes, a narrative can live on. Alawa, who has been facing down an army of keyboard-wielding e-vigilantes, knows this better than anyone, which is why it’s important to hear the story in her words.

She spoke to Mediaite today about what her life has been like since old tweets about facing prejudice and feeling persecuted in post-9/11 America were posted to the Daily Caller‘s site with no context alongside a poll about whether she should be “fired.” (The poll operates as a front to get readers to enter their email address into the website’s system, but it should also be noted that she can’t be fired from the DHS; she does not work for the DHS.)

The founder and CEO of The Tempest, a media organization by, for, and about diverse millennial women, told us this:

Here’s the thing: when I sent out those tweets, years ago, I was commemorating a tragedy that affected us all. As an American, a woman and a minority, the tragic occurrence of 9/11 hits me hard every year, and my tweets reflected that: specifically, when I said that 9/11 changed the world for good – as in, permanently. When I tweet, no matter the year or time of day, I’m extremely conscious of how the world sees it – but refuse to be anything but myself. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it’s as easy as one smear blogpost to take those simple words – a phrase even a dictionary can tell you the meaning of – out of context.

She said she knew something had happened when her Twitter account started receiving messages calling her a “traitor” and commanding she “deport herself” and “die.” As “thousands upon thousands” of tweets poured in, she noted the irony of their senders’ belief that her commitment to calling out racial and gender-based injustice and religious intolerance was tantamount to the suppression of free speech when she founded and runs a media organization dedicated to allowing people to share their own stories and perspectives.

In spite of the attacks — which have been so numerous and frequent that our interview had to be completed today as she simply couldn’t stay online last night — Alawa is focusing on the positives. She spoke of the kind messages she has received from strangers, some of which have moved her to tears, and the people she has observed defending her. She made a point to use this interview to say “thank you” to those who defend her because “[They] have done more for the good of America – for the good of us all – than any racist or bigoted troll could ever do to one person.”

She even had nice words for those who are harassing her by sending her rape and death threats. She implored them to get a dictionary, but said she still supports their right to free speech. To the college junior who wrote the original story, Peter Hasson, she said, “I hope you do well on your finals, graduate college, and figure out that media is more than just eviscerating people for your next paycheck.”

Finally, she said this, which should be read in its entirety:

We live in a country that, during these tumultuous times, requires us to come together, rather than fighting and tearing one another apart. I believe in the good in every person. I grew up being harassed, stalked and attacked by those who refused to accept me into this nation, but one thing that holds true for me, day in and day out is: we are all American, and that is an honor that should be upheld and respected, no matter where you come from or who you are. As the founder of The Tempest, that’s something I fight for on a daily basis.

When viewed this way, it seems, ultimately, that those who are threatening and harassing her are proving the points she’s used Twitter to make for years: After taking in her appearance, people are likely to draw conclusions about who she is and act based on their own interpretations. Her mentions of looking behind her as she walks home make more sense than ever.

[image via screengrab]

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