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  • 2018-09-20 (xsd:date)
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  • Was Ilhan Omar Sworn in with Her Hand on the Quran? (en)
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  • On 3 September 2018, the website Deplorable Kel published an Islamophobic flashback article to remind readers that Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American politician, took part in a ceremonial swearing-in for the Minnesota House of Representatives with her hand on a Quran in January 2017, and to urge readers to vote for her opponent in an upcoming election for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives Deplorable Kel didn't offer any explanation for why readers should vote against Omar, other than the obvious implication that her religion makes her an unsuitable choice. Ilhan Omar became the first Somali-American legislator elected to office in the United States when she won a race for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives in November 2016: When she was sworn in a few weeks later in January 2017, Omar chose to use a commemorative copy of the Quran for the ceremonial aspect of the event. The ceremony can be glimpsed in the following news report from VOA News: Bibles are traditionally used during the swearing-in ceremonies of politicians in the United States, but that practice is merely customary and not a legal requirement. President John Quincy Adams, for example, was sworn into office on a book of law rather than a Bible, and fellow Minnesota politician Keith Ellison also used a Quran when he was sworn into Congress in 2007: It should be noted that occasions like the one pictured in the Deplorable Kel article above are merely optional ceremonial events staged for family members and photographers, which take place after the official swearing-in procedure has been completed. In U.S. legislative bodies, including the U.S. Congress and most state legislatures, newly elected and re-elected members first participate in an official swearing-in ceremony in which everyone takes the oath of office simultaneously without the use of any books or props, as seen below: Ilhan Omar is currently running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Minnesota's 5th Congressional District, potentially positioning her to become the United States' first Muslim congresswoman (possibly alongside Detroit's Rashida Tlaib). We reached out to Omar to find out if she planned to use a Quran again if she won the upcoming election but did not hear back from her by press time. (en)
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