Nashville Just Elected Its First Muslim Woman to City Council

A Muslim woman, a wife and mother, who immigrated to the US in the 90s from Nigeria and became a CPA while raising her family in Tennessee, Zulfat Suara is now the First Muslim EVER to be elected Metro Council person to a Nashville public office. Despite the death threats and islamaphobic comments made to her while she was campaigning, Zulfat Suara kept her eye on her work as an activist in the community and persevered while also maintaining a job as an accountant. Her resume speaks volumes, as she has been in several leadership roles.

Starting in 2004, Zulfat was a board member of the PENCIL Foundation which advocated for children. She has also been chair of the American Muslim Advisory Council as well as serving two terms as State President of the Business and Professional Women for two years in 2009. She has been speaking every year at the Nashville Women’s March since 2017.

Zulfat has won an impressive amount of awards as well. She was given the FBI Directors’ Community Leadership Award, featured in Jackson Sun’s Twenty Most Influential Women in West Tennessee. In 2018 she was named Muslim Policy Advocate of the Year by the Islamic Society of North America and she was inducted into the Tennessee Women Hall of Fame in 2015. And she then received the award for Outstanding Service to Human Rights from the TN Human Rights Commission.

And yes – she’s accomplished more than just this! Raising five children and sending them all off to universities, Zulfat is not only setting an example for her own offspring, but for all people of the younger generation. Coming to America as a female Muslim immigrant and spreading the true power of Islam, she is definitely a role model. Helping and advocating for others, even while receiving hateful messages during her campaign trail, she chose to look at only the positive supporters coming her way. All of which included people from every walk of life. Muslims, non-Muslims, White, Black, Brown, Gay, Straight, and everyone in between, the love and support her well wishers and voters gave her simply outweighed the bad, and Zulfat came out on top!

Zulfat Suara, wife, mother, CPA, superwoman to all, is now serving office in a political role as a Muslim woman. She has taken the name of Islam and has acted on its very meaning with her attitude and humanitarian work. She is an inspiration to all women and especially to those of us here at Muslim Girl.