With all of the whining here about how threatened democracy would be with a
Trump presidency , nobody bothers to mention this? weird. (not really weird for
this website)
If US senators are openly Islamophobic, what hope is there?
Representative Ilhan Omar
Senator Kennedy’s remarks were just the tip of the iceberg. It is incumbent
upon all of us to call out hate speech when we see it
Fri 20 Sep 2024 06.23 EDT
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On Tuesday, Senator John Kennedy told the only Muslim American witness
during a committee hearing to “hide [her] head in a bag”.
The intended purpose of Tuesday’s historic Senate judiciary committee hearing
was to bring attention to the rise in hate against Muslim, Jewish, and Palestinian
Americans. The rise of antisemitism has sparked many hearings in Congress. In
contrast, this was the first hearing since 7 October that addressed hate
targeting Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian Americans. Fighting bigotry requires us
to condemn it wherever we see it. For far too long, hate speech made against
Arab, Muslim and Palestinian Americans goes ignored.
The increase in threats, hate speech and violence across the country demands
serious attention. Instead, Kennedy used his time to verbally attack the witness,
Arab American Institute executive director Maya Berry, for her identity. It was
telling that Kennedy along with his Republican colleagues could not avoid
actively engaging in anti-Muslim hate speech during a hearing about the rise in
hate crimes.
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In the face of vile accusations, Maya Berry answered Kennedy’s remarks with
grace, sensitivity and poise. She used her time to educate the sitting senators
on the committee about the uptick in hate that too many communities face
daily. As unfair remarks were hurled at her, the American people witnessed the
very purpose of the hearing in plain view for all: the normalization of hate
speech is alive and well.
During Kennedy’s questioning, he repeatedly tried to make his line of
questioning about foreign policy in the Middle East, instead of making it about
the rise of hate crimes impacting Americans. Kennedy did not get the answers
he wanted so he resulted in telling the witness to hide her head in a bag. To be
clear, Kennedy’s bigoted comments were unacceptable for anyone, let alone a
sitting member of the US Senate. Not only should his comments be
unequivocally condemned by every single sitting member of Congress, but his
remarks raise serious concerns about the normalization of Islamophobic hate
speech in our country.
Regrettably, we know that espousing anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-
Palestinian bigotry resonates well within the base of the current Republican
party. During the committee hearing, senators Cruz, Hawley, Graham and
Kennedy were competing for the top bigot award. Islamophobia sells to their
base and that is why they remain hellbent on ginning up hate speech at the
expense of communities across this country they deem as “other”, including
their own constituents. The reality is, Kennedy will face no consequences for
his actions because of his power, position, privilege and incompetence. But for
millions of Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian Americans across this country, it is
imperative that we call out this speech in order to bring needed change and for
the safety of those communities.
As Maya Berry clearly stated in her testimony, the hateful stereotypes of Arab,
Muslim, Palestinian Americans normalized in our media and by our elected
officials contribute to the widespread hate felt by millions of Americans. We
cannot afford to let Kennedy’s comments slide because this is not a one-off or
an isolated comment, it is reflective of a harmful trend.
We have seen the tangible consequences of this play out in communities
across the country. In November, three college students of Palestinian descent
were gunned down in Vermont, leaving one of them paralyzed. Last December,
Wadee Alfayoumi, a six-year-old Palestinian American child was brutally
murdered in Chicago and his mother hospitalized. Another horrific hate crime
happened when a Pakistani American woman was stabbed multiple times in
Texas.
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In Minnesota, we have seen an uptick in anti-Muslim attacks throughout my
own district, including residents being shot and physically assaulted, many of
the incidents going unreported. During the protests across college campuses,
many of the Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian students were unjustly censored,
suspended and arrested. Even Donald Trump and JD Vance’s false claims
about Haitians in Ohio have resulted in bomb threats across Springfield.
Hate-filled rhetoric has dangerous implications. As someone who has been the
subject of frequent death threats and offensive Islamophobic speech, I know
the harm of hate speech first hand. From former president Donald Trump telling
me to go back where I came from, to the outrageous words by sitting
congresswoman Lauren Boebert when she suggested I was a suicide bomber,
to mainstream media including CNN and Fox News peddling Islamophobic
tropes in their coverage – this harmful language not only endangers my life, but
the lives of all Muslims and people who share these identities with me. This
speech is corroding our democracy, the fabric of our communities, and the
future of our country. In the US, we should be better than this.
As Berry rightfully pointed out: “Hate against any one group is inseparable from
hate against all and hate prevention should be done collectively – in coalition
and partnership with all communities affected by hate.” Hate in all its forms
should have no place here in the US.
Kennedy’s comments were just the tip of the iceberg. It is incumbent upon all of
us to call out hate speech whenever we see it because fighting bigotry of any
kind means fighting bigotry of every kind.
Ilhan Omar is an American politician serving as the US representative for
Minnesota’s 5th congressional district
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