((PKG)) MUSLIM AMERICAN CANDIDATES
((Banner: Muslim American Women))
((Reporter/Camera: Kane Farabough))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Detroit, Michigan))
((NATS))
((Rashida Tlaib, Congressional Candidate, Michigan))
I want to thank all of you so much. This is a lot of hard work.
Did you win?
Yes.
((Ilhan Omar, Congressional Candidate, Minnesota))
We’re going to Washington everyone.
((NATS))
((Rashida Tlaib, Congressional Candidate, Michigan))
This win would mean so much more than just a seat in Congress. It is a powerful message.
((Lawrence Jacobs, Professor, University of Minnesota))
This is a message to Washington to get ready for a new generation.
((Alvin Tillery, Professor, Northwestern University))
And to see these women potentially elected to the Congress of the United States is a huge statement. At the same time, you know, they are in sections of the country that have a greater degree of tolerance for different ethnicities and religions.
((NATS))
And they also have higher than average Muslim population in these districts.
It’s tempting to see Omar’s election as a kind of referendum on where America is on immigrants and on Muslims but I think that would probably be a stretch.
((Rashida Tlaib, Congressional Candidate, Michigan))
I had one of my campaign managers leave a non-profit organization. The woman said, you know, really sorry to see you leave and Diana said, “Oh, don’t worry about me. I am going to actually work for the first Muslim woman ever elected in the Michigan legislature. I am super excited.” And she said, “They are in our government?”
((Lawrence Jacobs, Professor, University of Minnesota))
Around America, it may seem odd that one of the whitest states in the country would be sending its second Muslim to Congress, but not so in Minnesota. The 5th Congressional district has a strong Muslim-Somali community. It’s also a very progressive community and there has been a push within the Democratic party in Minnesota, but particularly in the Minneapolis area to diversify and welcome new voices.
((Osama Siblani, Publisher, Arab American News))
And if she runs only on the platform that she is a Muslim, they’ll never win. They are not making a deal out of that. The public is making a deal out of that. And that’s okay. It’s okay because when John Kennedy ran, you know, everybody thought, this is the first Catholic that, would he make it to the White House? And he did. When Barack Hussein Obama ran, they said, this is the first African American. Would he make it? Are the African Americans enough voters to elect an African American? No. But did he make it to the White House? Yes, twice.
((NATS))
And if you could please say, I do, after I finish.
((Alvin Tillery, Professor, Northwestern University))
This is the quintessentially American story. It’s the story of, you know, Irish immigrants and Italian immigrants, Polish immigrants. It’s just playing out with different religion and ethnicities and that’s what America is supposed to be about.
((Osama Siblani, Publisher, Arab American News))
You have to believe that in America, anything can happen. The American dream is alive not only in private life and business, but also in public life. And like Obama came and became the president, like Trump became the president, there is a day in time where a person like Rashida Tlaib may seek the presidency and may win. I believe in that. I truly believe that America is a place where things like this can happen.
((Ilhan Omar, Congressional Candidate, Minnesota))
So many innocent people always have to pay.
((Khalid Mohamed, Minneapolis Voter))
As a refugee, she had experienced the struggles of being a refugee and the vetting process and something that Donald Trump not understood quite well. And I think with her experience and some of the things she has done as a state representative, she can help guide the reform process of our broken immigration system. So, I think she would be an asset in that process.
((NATS))
Welcome to the House of Representatives.
((Alvin Tillery, Professor, Northwestern University))
So there will be, in essence, a greater burden on them because of their identities and because of the historic change that they represent. They’ll have a larger portfolio and a larger set of expectations than the normal freshman Congressperson. That’s absolutely true.