Ms Saad is running for Congress is Michigan’s 11th district,

The child of immigrants and a practising Muslim, Ms Saad grew up in the heavily Arab-American city of Dearborn, Michigan. Up to that point, she said, she hadn’t personally experienced much harassment or discrimination. But her parents, who had immigrated from Lebanon some 40 years earlier, were concerned.

“That day, my parents came and picked me up and they took me home, because they were worried about anti-Arab and anti-Muslim backlash happening on campus,” Ms Saad told The Independent.

“And I’ll be honest,” she added, “that was the first time that I ever even realised that this was a thing – that there was a stereotype against Arabs and Muslims in this country.”

Her parents kept her out of school for days. When she returned to the University of Michigan, she had no idea what to expect. And she certainly did not predict what she found waiting for her: a line of friends and neighbours outside her dorm room, waiting to welcome her back.

independent.co.uk September 29, 2017