Rashida Tlaib: ‘People Hear You Differently’ as ‘First’ Muslim Congresswoman

Rep.-elect Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., pauses to speak to media as she walks from member-elect
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Katherine Rodriguez

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) tweeted Tuesday that one of the hardest things about being the “first” Muslim woman to serve in Congress is that “people hear you differently,” subtly referring to her critics in the House.

“No matter how much we take on the hate & stay true to who we are through are experiences, our voices are shushed and reduced,” Tlaib wrote in the viral tweet, which got more than 22,000 likes. “We aren’t perfect, but neither is the institution.”

It is unclear what prompted Tlaib’s tweet, but her tweet comes not too long after her fellow Muslim colleague, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was criticized by her Democrat colleagues in the House and others for penning a series of antisemitic tweets suggesting that lawmakers who support Israel are motivated by money.

Omar apologized for the remarks Monday, but then took the opportunity to bash the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as “problematic.”

Despite her comments, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other House Democrat leaders allowed Omar to keep her committee seats, including one on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Tlaib was also accused of writing an antisemitic tweet in January which stated that Americans who support Israel “forgot what country they represent.”

The calls accusing Tlaib of promoting of antisemitic views grew louder this week after a recent report found that she also wrote an op-ed for a website run by Louis Farrakhan, an open anti-Semite.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.