December 31, 2021
All three Muslim members of the US Congress have banded together to call for an end to Islamophobia in the institution calling for a resolution to be led by Democrats condemning Islamophobia while demanding that Republicans take action against GOP members who regularly spout Islamophobic messages.
Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, whose parents are Palestinian; Rep. Andre Carson
of Indiana, a Black Muslim; and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, an immigrant
from Somalia. All three are Democrats.
Reps. Andre Carson of Indiana, a US-born Black Muslim, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, a Somali-born refugee, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, a Detroit-born woman whose parents are Palestinian all Democrats and the only three Muslim current members of Congress focused on Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and her recent anti-Muslim remarks. But two other current GOP members of the House have been similarly vehement Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Louis Gohmert of Texas.
“We are committed to ensuring a real consequence,” Carson, the senior of the three Muslims, said during a press conference held by the trio November 30. “Rep. Boebert’s comments are an insult to this institution and to American ideals. We are NOT anyone’s scapegoat.”
Carson told reporters that he was working on a resolution with the Democratic leadership.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib urged the Republican leadership to hold members of their caucus accountable and “end this now…. We may only be three among hundreds, but we are strong advocates that will not shy away from demanding justice for our community,” Tlaib said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, who spoke last, opened with the story of Salman Hamdani, a Muslim-American EMT who died helping others on 9/11 but was vilified by some because of his faith.
“Not all of us are as heroic, but almost all have experienced this suspicion,” Omar said, recounting anti-Muslim comments she weathered from Republican colleagues and former President Donald Trump.
“On my first day, my then-colleague Steven King [of Iowa] claimed that another member said there may be four pounds of C4 under my hejab that could destroy half of Congress,” Omar said.
She added that Islamophobia “pervades our culture, our politics, and even policy decisions.” Omar spoke of the treatment Keith Ellison, her predecessor and the first Muslim elected to Congress, faced during his tenure in Congress. He is now the elected attorney general of Minnesota.
“I myself have reported hundreds of threats on my life, often triggered by Republican attacks on my faith. And this week once again saw another increase. Here is just one voicemail my office received yesterday.” Omar said. She then played a minute-long voicemail that said:
“We see you Muslim sand [N-word] bitch. We know what you’re up to. You’re all about taking over our country. Don’t worry, there’s plenty that will love the opportunity to take you off the face of this f**king earth. Come get it. But you f**king Muslim piece of shit, you jihadist, we know what you are. You’re a f**king traitor. You will not live much longer.”
Omar said, “We cannot pretend that this hate speech from leading politicians does not have real consequences.”
The week before, a video surfaced showing Boebert telling a story about Omar that portrayed her as a suicide bomber.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters a decision had not yet been made over whether to censure the congresswoman. “There really hasn’t been significant discussion about it, so I don’t want to prejudge what action we think will be necessary,” he said. “Hopefully the Republican Party and its leadership would take direct action to cleanse itself from this toxic kind of conduct.”
But House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California has yet to comment on Boebert’s remarks publicly.
The controversy over Boebert began on Thanksgiving Day, when a video surfaced on Twitter showing Boebert at a campaign event recounting a supposed run-in with Omar at the US Capitol.
Boebert said she stepped onto an elevator without seeing Omar was in the elevator, prompting a Capitol Police officer to run toward the elevator with “fret all over his face.” Boebert describes being confused about the encounter before noticing Omar standing in the elevator with her. “Well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine,” Boebert said she told the officer to much laughter from Boebert’s audience.
Boebert said she then turned to Omar and added, “Oh look, the Jihad Squad decided to show up for work today.”
Omar has denied that any such encounter ever happened.
Boebert later tweeted: “I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar. I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly. There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction.”
That led to a fractious phone call between the two members, with Boebert claiming that Omar hung up on her while the Minnesota congresswoman’s team said that they ended the call after it became clear Boebert would not apologize more forcefully for her actions.
Robert McCaw, director of government affairs for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), denounced the attacks on Omar and said that rooting out Islamophobia within their party’s ranks should be an “urgent priority” for Republican leaders.
“The rhetoric in these anti-Muslim sneers being targeted at Congresswoman Omar is not new, and we have heard it for the past several years, since the election of the first Muslim member of Congress, Keith Ellison” in 2006, McCaw said. “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy needs to publicly, once and for all, make it clear that the GOP does not welcome anti-Muslim rhetoric, especially before the 2022 midterm elections. Anti-Muslim hatred cannot be a Republican Party talking point.”
But there has been no indication from McCarthy that he has any interest in doing so. He has remained silent and seems not to want to get involved, though he has not joined in anti-Islam rhetoric.
The civil rights group Muslim Advocates and the liberal Jewish group Bend the Arc: Jewish Action urged the House Ethics Committee to investigate Boebert over her “virulent, anti-Muslim” remarks, which they said had created a “dangerous environment,” particularly in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
Republicans have long been critical of Omar for her criticisms of Israel, and members of both parties have denounced some of her statements as anti-Semitic. In 2019, House Democratic leaders swiftly condemned Omar’s suggestion that Israel’s allies in American politics were motivated by money rather than principle; Omar apologized later that day.
But the attacks on Omar have intensified in recent years, going far beyond criticism of her policy positions and often suggesting that she is a threat because she is Muslim.
Rep. Greene, meanwhile, went on a rant against Omar. “She hates Israel. She’s pro-Hamas. She’s pro-al-Qaeda. She’s basically an apologist for Islamic terrorists. There is no need to apologize to that woman because she will never stop. She’s bloodthirsty. She wants Republicans completely taken out. She wants Republicans jailed. She does not care about our country. She’s anti-American.”
Carson summed up the issue by saying House GOP leaders must recognize that “words have consequences and can incite violence…. This is also about ensuring the safety of the Muslim community. Hateful words against Muslims from elected officials and public figures embolden many to engage in acts of violence that hurt our community. We cannot let this happen.”