Palestinian Descent Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar Win; To Be First Muslim Women In US Congress
Two Democratic Candidates – Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar – have become the first two Muslim women to serve in the United States Congress. Both won re-election to the US house of Representative. Tlaib, a Palestinian descent emerged victorious for fourth term as a representative for Michigan.
Tlaib’s victory comes on the backdrop of Israeli genocidal war in Gaza and the US support to the aggression, which killed over 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7. Tlaib defeated Republican Party’s James Hooper by securing 77 percentage of votes against 19 percent won by the rival candidate.
Notably, Tlaib had declined to endorse Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for US president while urging people to vote in the elections. Dearborn in Michigan is one of the Arab-American strongholds in the US, and the community is believed to have voted overwhelmingly to Tlaib.
Moreover, Tlaib has been a staunch critic of the war and the US weapons transport to Israel. With her support for pro-Palestinian protest on university campuses, Tlaib had drawn flak both from Democrats and Republicans.
Omar is a former refugee and Somali American, retained her seat for a third term in Minnesota. She is also one of the strong critic of the US support for Israel in its aggression in Gaza, West Bank and now in Lebanon.
After winning the elections, Omar took to her social media platform X, stating that the victory was for all of those who believe a better future is possible.
“Our hard work was worth it. We knocked on 117,716 doors. We made 108,226 calls. And we sent 147,323 texts. This is a victory for ALL of us who believe that a better future is possible. I can’t wait to make you all proud over the next two years,” Omar wrote on X.
Thank you, CD5. Our hard work was worth it. We knocked on 117,716 doors. We made 108,226 calls. And we sent 147,323 texts. This is a victory for ALL of us who believe that a better future is possible. I can’t wait to make you all proud over the next two years. pic.twitter.com/FMDUNo2Jb8
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 6, 2024
