Representative Ilhan Omar attends (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
For anyone who is not aware, a great deal of public discussion has ensued over comments made by Representative Ilhan Omar at a benefit last month hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Here is what she said:
For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen. Frankly, I’m tired of it. And every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.
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Rather predictably, interpretation of these comments has varied wildly depending on which side of the political spectrum one subscribes to. For Republican’s such as Representative Dan Crenshaw, or the President, Representative Ilhan Omar’s comments were portrayed in an absurdly dishonest manner. Seemingly given a cue, the New York Post and pundits within the populist right piled onto the absurdity by engaging in the same kind of politically correct, virtue signaling, outrage exhibitionism these same outlets and pundits continually criticize woke liberals for.
The blunt fact underlying all this behavior however, is that if you expect human biases not to be as prominently figured in the media as they are with human beings generally you are going to live in a constant state of disappointment. As with all human beings generally, when interacting with human media one has to take on the task to sort the good from the bad. The only other option is to disconnect entirely, something that in reality is not possible or broadly desired. The task itself however can be very rewarding. For example, Tom Rogan at the Washington Examiner, a notoriously right-wing leaning publication, mind you, had one of the better takes on Representative Omar’s comments.
More to the point, the issue Representative Omar was discussing in her original comments is worth the effort to understand. For one thing, Republicans themselves have had to confront elements on the right seeking to collectively blame and punish every sect of Islam and indeed every individual Muslim for 9/11. This kind of religious bigotry should necessarily provoke a reaction in condemnation here in the United States. If the reactors utilize the same type of collective blame game and ignore the nuances between the actions of a few as opposed to the many, however, then the mainstream response will only present another problem we have to acknowledge. Which is that a great deal of the left now categorizes all criticism of Islam, including criticism of ideas within the doctrine of Islam, as a version of right-wing bigotry and that this is a serious problem for anyone who wants to discuss the issues Representative Omar was referring to.
Here at Above The Law, I have written piece, after piece, after piece, criticizing conservative American Christians’ notions of law and culture. The responses I have received to some of these works has been … colorful, but to date, never has a liberal responded unfavorably. Simply switch these same conservative Christian Americans’ notions of modesty I have discussed “with brown Muslim ones,” however, and one can reasonably expect to see liberal outrage.
To use one example, like many female, Muslims Representative Omar wears a head covering known as a hijab. To those who may not be familiar, the hijab is representative of a conservative Muslim concept that equates concealing the female form with “modesty.” In other words, if a woman shows her hair or reveals her figure, she is seen by many Muslims as being immodest. As Maajid Nawaz, who heads the globally active organization Quilliam that focuses on matters of religious extremism will tell you, the hijab represents:
a not-so-subtle form of bigotry against the female form, and it has real consequences, including rising social-conservative attitudes across Muslim communities around gender and sexual freedom. In too many instances across Muslim-majority societies, including those embedded in Europe, this “modesty theology” has led to slut-shaming of women who do not cover. Worse yet, it can lead to so-called honor killings.
Of course, Representative Omar is not advocating for honor killings and has every right to wear a hijab, regardless of what I or figures such as Maajid think of the concept behind it. In fact, this ability to choose to wear the hijab or not is precisely what separates the United States from other, objectively worse places in the world. But, my criticism of Representative Omar goes well beyond the idea behind the hijab to her policy positions towards certain religions. Because when it comes to Israel, Representative Omar seems to view a policy of sanctions as an effective way to force the regime to change their behavior towards populations under its control. Yet, when it comes to Venezuela and its dictator, suddenly sanctions are described as “economic sabotage” that will only serve to starve the people. In addition, Representative Omar has expressed some alarming anti-semitic tropes, for which she has repeatedly apologized for, such as that Israel is “hypnotizing the world.
Like Representative Omar, I want to discuss these issues without having to defend against some mind-forged manacle trying to confine me within a convenient collective to blame. It is only by taking the effort to work through complex issues with reason, logic, and debate that we will see any human progress. Although human bias is inevitable in this process, simply walking away and leaving the narrative to the extremists, obfuscators, and hypocrites does not help matters either.
Tyler Broker’s work has been published in the Gonzaga Law Review, the Albany Law Review, and is forthcoming in the University of Memphis Law Review. Feel free to email him or follow him on Twitter to discuss his column.