These 7 Muslim Americans are changing the conversation

In the face of rising Islamophobia fostered by newly-minted President Donald Trump, a number of prominent Muslim Americans have risen up to challenge the stereotypes. 

Here's a closer look at 7 who have been changing the conversation and advocating on behalf of their community's rights.

Khatahtbeh launched the blog Muslim Girl in 2009. Relying on the help of friends from her local mosque, she grew the blog from 1,000 readers to 1 million unique users today. 

The New York Times has called her a "media titan" and she has grown the site to a team of some 50 editors and writers. Muslim Girl covers a range of issues from anti-black racism in the Muslim community to coping with your period as a Muslim woman. 

Most importantly, the site provides a platform for Muslim women's voices to be heard, pushing "back against society’s imposition of ‘voicelessness’ and ‘docility’ on young Muslim women," Khatahtbeh told The Guardian.

Aslan has become a prominent commentator defending Islam against mainstream media stereotypes in the U.S. Videos of Aslan challenging FOX News and CNN hosts if they broadly generalized and conflated Islam with terrorists and extremists have gone viral on several occasions.

The academic and author has written a number of books on religious topics and is launching a new TV series titled Believer, focusing on world religions. Talking about Islamophobia, Aslan told VOX: "The only way you're going to dissipate that fear is by getting people to know someone that they're afraid of."

As co-chair of the Women's March on Washington D.C., Sarsour was instrumental in mobilizing hundreds of thousands in peaceful demonstrators against Trump's administration.

Prior to the Women's March, Sarsour has been a leading activist in New York, successfully campaigning for the city's schools to recognize Muslim holidays and to end the police departments controversial mosque surveillance program.

She has used her national platform to advocate not only for Muslims, but the rights of all minorities. Sarsour told protestors in D.C. to keep their voices raised for "black women, for native women, for undocumented women, for our LGBTQIA communities, for people with disabilities."

"You can count on me, your Palestinian Muslim sister, to keep her voice loud, keep her feet on the streets, keep my head held high, because I am not afraid," she said.

Ellison is the first ever Muslim congressman in the United States. He was elected in 2007 and is currently a primary contender to become the new chair of the Democratic National Committee.

In the wake of Trump's candidacy and presidency, Ellison has been a leading voice defending the Muslim and black community. He boycotted Trump's inauguration all together and has raised concerns about Islamophobia in the U.S.

Ellison told CNN that his Muslim constituents have expressed fear of hate crimes and deportation. He also said it's "harder now" for Muslims in America than it was after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Muhammad made headlines around the world as the first American athlete to compete at the Olympics wearing hijab. The sabre fencer took home a bronze medal along with her teammates, but her performance at the Olympics was also a big win for all Muslim American women.

"When I heard that there had never been a Muslim woman on the U.S. team to wear the hijab, that is when I made this conscious decision to go for 2016," she told CNN. 

"I knew that I had it in me to qualify for the Olympic team, and I wanted to hopefully be that change, that other minorities could see that with hard work and perseverance, anything is possible."

As a prominent journalist, TV host and author, Zakaria has a unique platform to address issues important to Muslim Americans.

Currently, Zakaria hosts CNN's flagship foreign affairs show, Fareed Zakaria GPS, and also writes a weekly column for the Washington Post. He regularly focuses on minorities, immigration and globalization in his program and writing.

Zakaria has argued prominently that Islamic extremism is not fundamentally rooted in Islam. He also returned an award by the Anti-Defamation League after it opposed the construction of an Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site in New York.

He said he could not "in good conscience keep [the award] anymore."

Khalid was a lead reporter for NPR's coverage of the recent U.S. election. With Islam and Muslim immigrants becoming such a significant issue during the campaigns, Khalid stood out as she covered Trump rallies wearing a hijab.

She got called every stereotypical and racist name in the book, from "raghead" to "terrorist" and "jihadi." But she was determined to accurately report and cover the intersection of demographics and politics.

Talking to ordinary Americans across the country, Khalid later reflected: "No doubt, for many folks, particularly Trump voters, I was the first Muslim they had ever met."