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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2018)
November 21, 2018 Page 13 O PINION MCS Still in Business Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $50.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $50.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area and Hallway Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $30.00 Heavily Soiled Area: $10.00 each area (Requiring Pre-Spray) The ‘Blue Wave’ was also a ‘Muslim Wave’ Bringing more diversity to Congress D omenicA g hAnem With the Muslim Ban, the promotion of torturer Gina Haspel to CIA director, and in- creases in hate crimes, it’s been a rough year for us Muslims in the United States. So hearing the words “Salam Alaikum” as Ilhan Omar took the national stage on Election Night to accept her win as Representa- tive of Minnesota’s 5th District made it feel like I could finally breathe a little bit easier. The first Somali-American elected to Congress, Omar joined Rashida Tlaib, a daughter of Palestinian refugees, as the first Muslim women to be elected to U.S. Congress. The election of these women to Congress is a direct repudia- tion of the domestic and foreign policies of a country that’s been hostile to migrants and refugees from a number of countries, in- cluding Somalia, and has funded by Israel’s occupation and destruc- tion of Palestine. But even though Minnesota is home to the largest Somali popu- lation in the country, and Tlaib’s state of Michigan has a large population of Arab and Muslim Ameri- cans, this “Muslim wave” was about more than faith or ethnicity. Omar and Tlaib ran on unabashadley progres- sive platforms, joining other suc- cessful progressives like Alexan- dria-Ocasio Cortez in New York, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in Illinois, Veronica Escobar in Texas, and Sharice Davids — the first open- ly lesbian indigenous represen- tative, who flipped a red seat in Kansas. They’re also joined by more local progressive representatives like 26-year-old Mari Manoo- gian, who flipped a Michigan state house seat blue, and Suda- nese immigrant Mo Seifeldein, who joined the Alexandria, Vir- ginia city council. Both were endorsed by the Emgage PAC, which calls itself the “policy home of American Muslims.” These candidates ran on health care for all, taking on our corpo- rate welfare system, protecting black lives, and reversing our climate disaster. And many were unafraid to speak out against U.S. foreign policies that cause refu- gee crises and domestic policies that punish the desperate people feeling them. The progressive Muslim wave, with the most Muslims running for office since 9/11, thrived even as it faced one of the most Islam- ophobic elections of our time. A report by Muslim Advocates called Running On Hate out- lined how, though anti-Muslim politicians have been lurking on the fringe for decades, “Trump’s presidency emboldened a new wave of anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists to run for office nation- wide and at all levels of govern- ment.” Anti-Muslim hate groups falsely attacked Omar and Tlaib as anti-Semites supporting ter- rorism. Groups supporting Dave Brat, a Republican candidate from Virginia, attacked his op- ponent for serving as a substi- tute teacher at a Muslim school, calling it “terror high.” Kansas gubernatorial candidate Kris Ko- bach brought Trump a proposal to question “high-risk immigrants over support for Sharia Law.” Joe Kaufman, the head of anti-Mus- lim group Americans Against Hate, ran in Florida’s 23rd Dis- trict. But what many of those candi- dates have since learned the hard way is that smearing Muslims is not a successful campaign strat- egy. They all lost to Democrats, with Brat’s race flipping a Virgin- ia seat blue. And even some Islamophobes who did make it, like Reps. Steve King and Duncan Hunter, won by smaller margins in part because voters soured on their anti-Muslim, white supremacist rhetoric. What all of this tells me about the U.S. electorate is that they care about issues like raising the minimum wage, expanding Medicare, and funding for edu- cation at the same time that they reject racist Muslim and immi- grant-bashing. And I have a feeling this is just a drop in the bucket of an even bigger progressive, young, wom- an, Muslim wave to come. Domenica Ghanem is the me- dia manager at the Institute for Policy Studies. Distributed by OtherWords.org. Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning Regular Area Rugs $25.00 Minimum Wool Oriental Rugs $40.00 Minimum UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $70.00 Loveseat: $50.00 Sectional: $110 - $140 Chair or Recliner: $25.00 - $50.00 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949
