America’s First Female Muslim Legislator Swears on Qur’an

Ilhan Umar 

As Trump era nears, Muslims and people of color have been in joy after Ilhan Umar, a Somali migrant was sworn into parliament to represent her district in Minnesota. Ilhan Umar who migrated to America fleeing war in Somalia at the age of 13, defeated 44 year old Phyllis Kahn in the November 2016 Democrat primaries and went on to defeat republican Abdimalik Askar in the general elections. Ilhan, who is the second Muslim in parliament after Keith Ellison, insisted on swearing on the Qur’an rather than the bible hence, she was allowed to swear on a copy of the Qur’an said to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson; the third President of America (1801 to 1809). Keith Ellison swore on the same Qur’an. There has been growing fears in the American Muslim and colored communities as inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20^th nears. It is believed that the presence of concerned individuals in parliament will bring some good to minority groups in the country. The 33 year old was heard saying after her election victory: "My election win offers a counter-narrative to the bigotry in the world. This is a land of immigrants, and most come here for opportunity, a second chance. It's our time to fight for the America we know we can have." Despite Ilhan's victory, 80% of the 115th congress are still white males.