00:00I am Muslim. My name is Anila Charanya. We've grown up in Texas almost 50 years now.
00:07We had no clue about all of this that I'm seeing here.
00:13I had known about some of the false propaganda that was being told about Sharia at the congressional level.
00:22I'm here. I'm a Muslim woman. Somebody was saying women are oppressed. I'm here.
00:26Fred still tells me. Diane still says you are her sister from another mother.
00:32I'm godmother to two Indian Hindu children.
00:36I started getting checked after 9-11. Pat it down because of my headscarf.
00:40Can I just say thank you to all of those people who have been so kind to me?
00:44There have been people here who have been really kind, so I just want to thank everyone.
00:51Thank you guys so very much. Sorry, I was actually not planning on speaking today, but I was very overwhelmed.
01:06Overall, I actually want to, well, I start, I'm just going to speak as long as I can and pray
01:15to God that he guides me to say whatever is best.
01:21We've grown up in Texas. I am Muslim. My name is Anila Charanya.
01:27We've grown up in Texas almost 50 years now, almost 40 years in Houston and almost 10 years in Austin.
01:36My husband and I just moved to Frisco about three months ago because we'd been here in Frisco. It's such
01:42a wonderful place to be.
01:44And we had no clue about all of this that I'm seeing here.
01:52I do follow politics nationally, so I had known about some of the false propaganda that was being told about
02:00Sharia at the congressional level.
02:05And I don't want to get into that conversation because I'm here.
02:10I'm a Muslim woman. Somebody was saying women are oppressed. I'm here.
02:16I've had my own corporate consulting practice for 25 years, by God's grace.
02:23I know there have been Muslim leaders of state, prime ministers and presidents of Muslim countries.
02:31And unfortunately, we haven't had that yet in the U.S.
02:34So and that's what I mean as an example of a lie, but that's not the reason I'm here.
02:40On my way here, I want to say that in Houston, I've had a wonderful, Houston, Austin, everywhere I've lived,
02:47I've had a wonderful experience with my beautiful Christian friends.
02:52Fred and Diane, I've known them for over 20 years.
02:55They go to church regularly, weekly, Sundays, Tuesdays.
02:59Fred still tells me, Diane still says you are her sister from another mother.
03:05And we've been friends of 20 years.
03:06I'm godmother to two Indian Hindu children.
03:11So to me, what I'm hearing here is just so foreign.
03:16And I remember growing up, we went through 9-11.
03:23And after 9-11, I used to travel for work because I was already working then.
03:29And I was traveling back and forth.
03:31And I started getting checked after 9-11.
03:34Pat it down because of my headscarf.
03:36And actually, I understood.
03:38I said, these people have been told lies.
03:41They're being told whatever they're told.
03:44And so they're just afraid.
03:45And that's okay.
03:46If this is what they need to do to get safety, I understand.
03:53Then, like the sixth time I traveled.
03:55Sorry, I know I'm running out of time.
03:57Thank you, ma'am.
03:58Okay.
03:59Can I just say thank you to all of those people who have been so kind to me?
04:03There have been people here who have been really kind.
04:06So I just want to thank everyone.
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