Utah joins few states recognizing Muslim American Heritage Month
The governor of the US state of Utah declared July as Muslim American Heritage Month, joining only a few states that recognize the month.
“Today Utah is enriched by its Muslim American people and culture in the arts, cuisine, business, government and sports,” reads a declaration from Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday. “For over a century, Muslims have been making valuable contributions to virtually every aspect of American society.”
The declaration, announced by the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs, also recognizes that bigotry, stereotypes and anti-Muslim hate speech and actions have resulted in Muslim American history being neglected and says such abuses must be combated with education and awareness.
The division expressed gratitude for the advocacy work of the Utah Muslim Civic League on social media.
“We are extremely thankful,” said Luna Banuri, the league’s executive director. “The reaction from the community has been varying. Some had not heard about it and some had looked at it as the gateway to solutions for every issue the Muslims face in their daily life to be solved by this proclamation.”
Banuri added that the Utah Muslim Civic League is planning a celebratory event and hopes to have a month long celebration in 2023 that would highlight various ethnic communities within the Muslim community through food and culture.
Utah joins only a handful of states that have recognized Muslim American Heritage Month, including Illinois, which celebrates the month in January, and Washington. Both states began recognizing the month in 2022.
