US Election: Mauree Turner tried to recruit other Oklahoma City activists to run for state office, insisting that it was important to send underrepresented candidates into the capital. More than a year later, Turner — a queer, Black Muslim who wears a hijab and identifies as non binary — won a seat Tuesday in the Oklahoma state legislature‚ becoming the first openly non binary and one of the very few Muslim women, a state lawmaker in the country.
In what we understand as a groundbreaking election, with incumbent Republican President Donald Trump’s chances of re-election getting slim by the hour, a special mention goes to the minority Muslim Americans who championed against him.
Including Turner, here are the four Muslim women who created history in the 2020 US Elections, the results of which are yet to be declared.
Mauree Turner
Progressive community organizer Mauree Turner won the race in House District 88 and broke barriers in Oklahoma’s statehouse. Turner was raised in a Muslim and Baptist household and is a member of the Masjid Mu’Min mosque in Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma Democrat who has created history as the first Muslim in the Oklahoma Legislature and the first non binary legislator in America. She has taken over 71 per cent of the votes in Oklahoma’s 88th House District, which includes Oklahoma City, beating out Republican candidate Kelly Barlean, a retired attorney.
Turner hopes to be a role model for the next generation of Oklahomans. Speaking to USA Today said, “As a child, I honestly remember having conversations with my mom where I thought that things would just be better if I was white, or if I was just different in some way, shape or form,” Turner said. “So, it means a lot to be able to provide that visibility for other folks.”
Rashida Tlaib
An outspoken progressive and a Palestinian American, Rashida Tlaib, a member of the democratic party was a US Representative for Michigan, a 13th congressional district since 2019. She is a Palestinian American and won Michigan with about 66 percent of votes.
Tlaib is famously a part of the ‘Squad’ — staunch critics of President Donald Trump — along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. They all won the re-election from the respective constituencies this time too. The 44-year-old Tlaib has been shaking things up since she made history two years ago as the first of two Muslim women to be elected to the US House of Representatives.
Tlaib was always seen vocal over her critical views against Trump, speaking to Al-Jazeera she said, “I can’t work with a white supremacist, corrupt, lawless president.”
Ilhan Omar
Part of the ‘Squad’ along with Tlaib is Ilhan Omar, a Somali American congresswoman who held onto her US House seat in Minnesota after she won the re-election and defeated a well-funded Republican challenger.
Omar also became a high-profile target of criticism, facing attacks from congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump. Congressional Democrats have rallied around Omar in the wake of the attacks from the President.
In the year 2019, US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been at the center of controversy after she suggested former President Barack Obama is a “pretty face” who “got away with murder”.
In a statement issued after the sworn-in ceremony, Ilhan also the first woman to wear a Hijab or a head cover worn by Muslim woman, putting an end to the 181-year-old ban on wearing any type of headwear on the floor, said she would fight the Trump administration’s efforts to divide the American public and reject Trump’s ‘hateful’ border wall, Quartz Africa reported.
Iman Jodeh
Democratic party candidate Iman Jodeh has been selected as the congresswoman for the Colorado House of Representatives beating Republican candidate Robert Andrews in the polls.
Jodeh was born in Colorado to two Palestinian parents who immigrated to the US in 1974. She earned a BA in Political Science, and then a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Colorado Denver, where she is now lecturing.
In 2008, Jodeh founded the non-profit Meet the Middle East, a group seeking to build bridges of relationships and understanding between Americans and the people of the Middle East. She also works as a coordinator and community activist at the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, which seeks to empower communities to defend themselves in the US Congress.
In her campaign, Jodeh won the support of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a weighty figure in progressive political circles.