Will Muslim Officials in the US Lose Their Supporters in Light of Their Support of Homosexuality?

The switch in public opinion in favor of LGBTQ rights, represented by the legalization of gay marriage, has marked a defining feature of the political life in the United States over the past decade.

Despite many considering this shift as "gains," considerable disagreement is still existing over this issue as there are government officials who still oppose LGBTQ rights.

Muslim Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar was supposed to be among those who do not support gay rights, but she has recently appeared as a strong supporter of homosexuality despite her religious commitments; her backing stances have led to a big question: how can Muslims defend gay rights?

Thousands of the Somali community in Minnesota called her to leave the stage for her support of homosexuality and abortion at a music festival in Minneapolis last weekend.

 

'Booed by Thousands'

Far-left Representative, Ilhan Omar, was met by "a chorus of boos" and calls to leave when she appeared onstage at a music festival in Minneapolis over the weekend, The News York Post read.

A video circulated on social media showed Somali singer Suldaan Seeraar welcoming Ilhan, the first Somali American elected to Congress, with her husband, Tim Mynett.

The crowd was shouting, "Get out, get out of here," unleashing a torrent of boos for more than a minute.

Ilhan Omar did not know what to do, and she smiled while trying to calm the unruly gathering.

"OK, OK, OK, OK, OK, we don't have all night," Omar said as she made a "tamp it down" gesture with her hands, the New York Post reported.

What sparked the outburst against her was her support of LGBTQ issues and her stances against the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Jeers on social media were also a response to Omar's comments during a town hall event last week, saying she experienced more violence in her home state than in a Kenyan refugee camp.

"For four years [in the camp], I did not witness that kind of violence…My first year in Minnesota, I both saw a person shot at Peavey Park, dead on the floor, three weeks after my father and I arrived in Minneapolis," the congresswoman said on Thursday, June 30.

"Six months later, I watched the Minneapolis police put 38 bullets into the body of a mentally disabled Somali immigrant who didn't speak English, so [for] six years, I had the privilege of not seeing any violence until I moved to Minnesota."

 

Opposed to Values

In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to pass a law legalizing same-sex marriage, and since then, 37 other states have followed the decision. The Supreme Court decision asserted that in any state, same-sex marriage was legal anywhere in the country and that same-sex couples would receive the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples and would be protected by law.

The increasing support for LGBTQ+ has started from family members and straight "allies" to end with state officials, but the surprise has come from Muslim officials in the US.

Ilhan Omar may be the most recent famous example who supported homosexuality, dancing with transgenders in the streets and celebrating their special days.

The veiled American of Somali origin who defends leftist ideas has recently started to raise widespread controversy in the United States.

Many worldwide have questioned her support for LGBTQ+ rights, saying, "how can someone support gay rights and then claim that he defends Muslims?"

Born on October 4, 1981, Ilhan Omar started being in the spotlight at the local level in the US in 2016, when the Democratic Party elected her as a member of the House of Representatives from Minnesota.

She was the first Somali-American to be elected to this position in the United States.

On June 2, a United States lawmaker published a tweet supporting the LGBTQ+ community on the occasion of "Pride Month" to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and to call for ending "discrimination" against them.

Omar tweeted: "Happy Pride Month! We won't stop fighting until all LGBTQ+ Americans can live free from discrimination."

 

Unlikely to Win?

A video of two and a half minutes with more than 1.3 million views shows one person on stage pleading: "Don't do this," when Ilhan Omar struggled to speak over the crowd.

The public's unhappy welcome reflects predictions that Omar is far away from winning the elections again.

An expert on international relations who required anonymity told Al-Estiklal that "Muslims not only in the US but in many European countries, won't accept the election of representatives to defend Muslims' rights and support homosexuality at the same time.

"In fact, the Islamic position on homosexuality has become one of the most sensitive issues facing Muslims living in the West, particularly in Europe. It is the main key to some Muslim politicians' integration into Western culture; they, somehow, think that European culture and values could be reduced to homosexuality acceptance."

The expert said that "Ilhan Omar wanted to gain homosexuals' voices by supporting their presence; many like Ilhan forgot the fact that the contours of this European culture are in a state of constant flux, changing according to the topic of the day, Muslim representatives will definitely lose Muslim communities support. They will lose everything."

"The reason may be about the fact that many homosexual spokesmen and politicians who support gay rights are declaring during their speech, with reference to Muslims' rejection, that the integration of Muslims is currently depending on their acceptance of homosexuality," he concluded.