Muslim Americans tend to consider various approaches for political involvement.
Some of them badly resist political participation, some propose the separation of dar al-Islam and dar al-Kufr and others are still fighting with other Americans after the 9/11 attacks.
They are facing troubles of strong anti-Muslim sentiments in America as every Muslim is now stigmatized and discriminated badly against other nations.
They perceive Muslims as their enemies, which is why most Muslims in America are failed to carve their space in the mainstream political world.
However, there are still many Muslims in America who wish to participate in politics so they can debunk all the bad stereotypes. They want to fight against hate, discrimination, and injustice, as well as promote social inclusion. Not most of the Muslim Politicians are making new waves in America, but 4 popular Muslim Politicians in America have recently become more visible, becoming active politically and confronting various challenges.
So, let’s scroll to know who are those Muslims in America that are working tirelessly.
Keith Ellison:
Keith Ellison was the first Muslim in Congress who converted to Islam in 1982 and then retired successfully for Minnesota Attorney General. He started his career in 2007 from a democratic party and then retired in 2019. He was the 30th Attorney General of Minnesota incumbent.
Keith also performed his duties as a titular deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2018. After that in Congress, he got elected as a vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus as well as a Chief Deputy Whip.
Not only this, but he also served well for House Committee on Financial Services. He was the first Muslim who got elected to Congress and also the very first African American representative who belongs to Minnesota.
He worked for human rights, the Iraq war, LGBT rights, the economy, Freedom of speech, and Iran. Besides his contributions to human wellbeing, he also worked in the era of Bush and Trump.
Andre Carson:
Andre Carson started his political career in March 2008 and is still an incumbent. He belongs to the democratic party and converts to Islam in the 1990s.
He is the Grandson of Julia Carson whose death triggered a special election as she was a US representative. He was the 2nd Muslim elected in the US congress. After Keith Ellison in 2006.
He contributed a lot to Afghanistan and Iran, consumer protection, disease prevention, economic recovery, education, energy and environment, healthcare reform, national and public security, and much more.
He also received many Caucus memberships such as the cancer action caucus, children’s caucus, climate change caucus, human rights caucus, and many more.
Andre Carson was born and raised in Indianapolis and completed his education from Concordia University Wisconsin, making him the highly qualified Muslim member of politics in America.
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Ilhan Omar:
Miss Ilhan Omar started her political career in 2019 and still serving as an incumbent in the democratic party. She was born to a Muslim family belonging to Somalia and then she immigrated as a Refugee in the US in 1995.
Ilhan Omar has got the honor of becoming the first Somali American woman as well as the first naturalized African citizen born in the United States Congress. She was also the first woman of color that proudly represents the community of Minnesota.
Not only that, but Omer holds the honor of being the first Muslim woman serving in Congress (along with another woman Rashida Tlaib). Due to his bravery and honesty, she has become a target of countless death threats. She was also harassed by political opponents who got jealous of her position and authority. She even becomes the victim of misleading claims by Donald Trump. But she still managed to survive with bravery, talent, and a high level of political sense.
She fought for human rights, education, healthcare, immigration, LGBT rights, military policy, Venezuela crisis, infrastructure spending, and much more.
Rashida Tlaib:
Rashida Tlaib is one of the two Muslim women who joined congress among the dominance of democratic males all around. Like Ilhan Omar, she also kickstarted her political career in January 2019 and still serving the community with her valuable and notable contributions. She is also part of the democratic party and was born to a Muslim family of Palestinian immigrants.
Rashida Tlaib has also won the Democratic nomination for the US House of Representatives seat in 2018 from Michigan’s 13th congressional district.
She successfully won the general election and then got the title of the first woman of Palestinian descent in Congress as well as the first Muslim woman who is going to serve in the Michigan legislature.
Besides, she is also one of the first two Muslim women elected for Congress, and the other popular name is Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
She has done great work in politics. Her contributions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are priceless. Tlaib also fought in the Trump administration and work for the democratic party, law enforcement, abortion, immigration, and much more.
Conclusion:
If we look at the past two decades, we will find that Muslim groups saw impeccable political action as there was a great spread in Islamic messages and the Muslim leaders tend to correct all the common misconceptions about Islam.
They also educated legislators and public officials about the religion and helped them learn the social, moral, and political concerns of all Muslims.
They said education plays an imperative role in both national and international concerns. Senior American political leaders played a crucial role in spreading hatred, it was evident due to increased hate crimes legislative initiatives in different states that wanted to make Islamic Laws, totally illegal.
After the 9/11 incidents, many young Muslims in America decided to pursue politics as a career. But unfortunately, due to increased hatred and challenges, only these four popular Muslim politicians managed to make their place in the American political system. Especially after Trump’s anti-Muslimism attitude and hate speeches created more problems for Muslims and other politicians.
In the end, we can only say that time will tell what steps will the next Muslim generations take in America and how they will help spread the message of peace through Muslim Politicians and leaders.
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