Ever wondered how these Muslim women could make it here, given the current highly anti-Muslim sentiment spread across the whole country? Well, this electoral milestone did happen and it’s for real!
Americans elected these two Muslim women, both Democrats, to Congress this Tuesday, 6 November 2018 as posted on CNN site. This incident surely marked a historic first in U.S. whereby the anti-Muslim rhetoric has been on the rise. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib in their respective districts achieve victory.
llhan Omar, a Somali refugee, achieved a House seat in a Highly-Democratic fifth congressional district in the Midwestern state of Minnesota. She will succeed Keith Ellison, who was the first Muslim man as well as first African American to be elected to the Congress. He vacated his seat to run in the state's attorney general race.
(Ilhan Omar)
Omar, who arrived in the US at the age of 14 after fleeing civil war in Somalia, campaigned on a similarly progressive platform, which calls for universal healthcare and tuition-free colleges. She said her political life began attending local Democratic Farmer Labor party caucuses with her grandfather after arriving in the US.
Rashida Tlaib, 42 of age, is a social worker born in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents. Tlaib took Michigan's 13th congressional district in a race in which she was the sole major party candidate, unopposed by a Republican candidate. Being an attorney and former state legislator in House of Representatives of Michigan, she snagged her district’s primary nomination.
She made history in 2008 by winning a seat on the Michigan Legislature, becoming the first Muslim woman to do so. Her campaign platform included pledges to secure a $15 minimum wage, preventing cuts to welfare programmes, such as Medicare and Social Security, as well as stopping tax relief to large corporations.
The two politicians have now increased the total number of Muslims in the House from one to three. This is because the Congressman Andre Carson, who is Muslim and African American, has won re-election in his Democratic district, in the state of Indiana.
These women winning elections to the US House of Representatives comes despite the widespread of negative feelings against American-Muslims by US compatriots. Undoubtedly, this serves as a great achievement indeed.
We pray to Allah (SWT) that such successes keep forging their way to the Muslim World. It’s about time that tables turn and Muslims have a practical say in countries as big as USA. We are proud of these women and this achievement is meant to be shared so that all the Muslims worldwide become aware. Surely, anything is possible by the will of Allah (SWT).
See: Dua for being Thankful.
