Zainab Chaudry is an American Muslim

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. She is the Maryland Director for the

Council on American–Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

(CAIR).

Education

Chaudry holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

Career

In 2015, Chaudry became the first Muslim appointed to the Maryland State Advisory Committee to the

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility fo ...

– an independent, bipartisan agency established by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1957 that advises the President and Congress on civil rights matters. She was a 'Nominated Changemaker' at the 2016 White House Summit on the United State of Women. Additionally, she was recognized as one of ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

s 25 'Women to Watch' in 2016. Working with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights and the Maryland Governor's Office on Community Initiatives, Chaudry organized Maryland's first statewide emergency preparedness summit for interfaith leaders. She is the Maryland Director for the

(CAIR). In August 2023 Chaudry was nominated to the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention.

Political positions

In 2023, Chaudry supported a protest by Muslim, Christian, and Jewish parents demanding a right to continue to opt-out of LGBT materials required by the Montgomery County School Board in Montgomery County, Maryland. Following the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

Chaudry had posted several comments on her private social media accounts in which she compared

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

, called into question the claim that babies had been murdered in the October 7 Hamas-led attack, criticized Israel's response to the October 7 attack, and condemned the disproportionate killing of innocent Gazan civilians. Chaudry refused to retract or apologize for these comments, stating her posts were taken out of context and her First Amendment rights were infringed upon. In response to these comments, Chaudry was temporarily suspended from the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention on November 21, 2023. She was reinstated on December 6, 2023, as there is no legal mechanism for suspension or early termination of membership in the commission. During the 2024 legislative session, state delegates Dalya Attar, Samuel I. Rosenberg, and

Joe Vogel Joseph Vogel can refer to: * Joseph Vogel (author), American author, scholar and popular culture critic * Joseph Vogel (executive) (1895–1969), American film studio executive * Joe Vogel (basketball) (born 1973), American / Lebanese basketball pla ...

introduced legislation to remove Chaudry and specifically individuals from the Muslim civil rights group, CAIR, from the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention and replace her with "two members of the Muslim community". Chaudry testified against the legislation, during which she said that she was receiving death threats because of her Facebook posts, which she stated were mischaracterized. She further stated that the controversy surrounding her comments was "manufactured" in order to "minimize and silence communities simply asking for justice". She also added that the commission was regularly meeting to establish a code of conduct for its members following the controversy. Attar's bill passed in March 2024, in an amended form that did not mention CAIR or any other organization. The bill, instead, gave Maryland's Attorney General broad discretion to appoint 15 members of the commission from protected classes under Maryland's hate crime laws. The bill was signed into law by Governor

Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, businessman, author, and former U.S. Army officer serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023. Moore was born in Maryland and raised primarily in New York. ...

and Chaudry, along with all of its other members, were removed from the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention after it went into effect on June 1, 2024. Chaudry did not apply to be reappointed to the hate crime commission—whose new members were appointed by Attorney General Anthony Brown on July 31, 2024—saying that she believed the commission's communications policy would be "exploited to suppress advocacy for Palestinian human rights". Chaudry supported House Joint Resolution 2, sponsored by state delegate

Gabriel Acevero Gabriel Acevero (born October 23, 1990) is a Trinidadian–American organizer, activist and politician representing Maryland, Maryland's 39th House district. On November 6, 2018, Acevero finished in first place with 31% of the vote and became th ...

, which condemns the October 7 attack on Israel as well as Israel's response, calls for a long-term ceasefire, and publicly opposes antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab bigotry.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudry, Zainab Activists against Islamophobia American Muslim activists American activists for Palestinian solidarity Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American civil rights activists University of Maryland, College Park alumni Hate crimes Muslims from Maryland 21st-century Muslims United States Commission on Civil Rights members