The first Muslim women elected to the US Congress: who are they?

The results of the mid-term elections in the United States this year can be called a turning point in American politics: Muslim women will come to Capitol Hill for the first time, one of whom intends to come to the headscarf meeting.

Rashid Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were Democratic candidates and strongly criticized President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Both women went down in history, becoming the first Muslim women elected to the House of Representatives.

Now Tlaib and Omar will represent the states of Michigan and Minnesota in the US House of Representatives.

They actively opposed the immigration restrictions imposed by Donald Trump and called for the abolition of US immigration and customs (ICE).

The elections were a record for the number of Muslims elected at the regional and federal levels - in total, about 100 such candidates took part in the campaign.

“Here in Minnesota, we not only welcome immigrants, but we also send them to Washington,” Omar said in a speech after winning the election.

Ilhaн Lobster — ba week from Somalia

“I stand here before you today as an elected member of Congress and I feel your support. “I am the first woman of color to represent our state in Congress, the first woman to wear a hijab, the first refugee elected to Congress, and one of the first Muslim women elected there,” she said.

As a child, Omar left Somalia with his family and lived for a while in a refugee camp in Kenya. They then managed to move to Minneapolis thanks to the support of the Lutheran Church.

In an interview with Elle magazine, Ilkhan Omar noted that she decided to go to Congress, because she wanted to show what representative democracy should be.

She advocated for universal health care, an issue that has been a bone of contention between Republicans and Democrats for a decade.

She also proposed introducing a compulsory minimum wage of 15 dollars per hour and subsidizing higher education for poor students.

Earlier, 36-year-old Ilhan Omar became the first native of Somalia in the House of Representatives of the State of Minnesota, where she was elected in 2016 year.

“This was a real victory for an 8-year-old girl from a refugee camp. This was a victory for the girl who was forced into marriage. This was a victory for every person who is told that their dreams have limits,” the congresswoman said after her victory.

Ilhan Omar will take the place of Democrat Keith Ellison, a Muslim who now intends to compete for a position in the Attorney General's Office.

Another Muslim congressman, Andre Carson, is expected to be reelected in Indiana.

Rashida Tlaib - «fighter for worker Class"

Rashida Tlaib, a social worker from Detroit from a family of Palestinian immigrants, will represent Michigan in the US House of Representatives.

The 42-year-old was the eldest of 14 children, and in 2008 she became the first Muslim woman legislator in the Michigan House of Representatives.

She says she decided to run in the election to oppose Trump's policies, in particular the ban on people from Muslim countries entering the United States.

“I was not elected because my victory would go down in history. I was elected because of injustice and because of my sons who doubt their commitment to Islam. I'm not one to stay away," she told ABC.

Rashida Tlaib was elected from a predominantly African-American region and calls herself a "working class champion."

In 2016, she was among those who booed presidential candidate Donald Trump during his speech in Detroit.

Scandalous ban

One of the first laws Trump signed after moving to the White House was a temporary ban on entry into the United States for citizens of seven Islamic countries - Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya.

Photo: facebook.com/WhiteHouse

The law was revised twice: Sudan was later removed from it and Chad, the DPRK and a number of Venezuelan officials were added.

In June, an updated version of the law was approved by the US Supreme Court.

In the course of his campaign, Trump specifically mentioned the Minnesota Somali community, stating that poor inspection of refugees makes this state and the country as a whole less secure.

In April, 2017, Ilkhan Omar, told the BBC that Trump's words did not intimidate the community, but only gave him the strength to speak out for change.

“We have the opportunity to work together. But we have to worry not only about being Somali, but also about being Muslim, about being a minority, about being a refugee. We worry about the fate of women and children, because all this is at risk under the Trump administration,” she noted.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, almost half of Muslims in the United States felt discrimination last year.

Three-quarters of those polled said they had severely discriminated against Muslims, and 74% called Trump hostile to them.

According to the Pew Research Center, there were 2017 million Muslims of all ages living in the United States in 3,35—one million more than 10 years ago.

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