Arizona's Muslim Senate Candidate Still Under Attack
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A Valley woman running for the U.S. Senate said she’s still under attack because of her Muslim faith.
In a roughly 20 minute speech Monday at the Democratic Party headquarters in Phoenix, Deedra Abboud described herself as a proud Muslim American woman. She reminded supporters how the idea of religious freedom influenced the Founding Fathers. She also spoke about her belief in the separation of church and state.
Abboud said she hasn’t been harassed while in Arizona, but the online attacks continue.
“People that have these hateful ideas are loud and proud, but they are a small number,” Abboud said. “We totally outnumber them.”
Abboud is a Phoenix-based attorney who converted to Islam. She wears a hijab covering her hair and neck. Concerned about her safety, Abboud said her husband once told her it was OK if she took off her hijab.
“I told him I didn’t put it on for him, so I didn’t need his permission to take it off,” she said.
Abboud seeks a head-to-head race with Sen. Jeff Flake next year. Arizona’s junior senator tweeted support for his potential opponent after learning she’d been harassed.
