Omar & Ali
By Mowahid Hussain Shah

55 years ago, a voice arose in America. Muslim, black, vocal, assertive, and unapologetic. He – Muhammad Ali – was banished from the ring for merely speaking his conscience.
There was a sense that a dark chapter had closed and unlikely to be reopened. But, as they say, the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Comes now Ilhan Omar, a female refugee with roots in Somalia, who is black, Muslim, and fits the criteria of being a ‘woman of color.’ But seems like this ‘woman of color,’ who got elected to the US Congress as a Democrat from Minnesota, is not tongue-tied, and her utterances are making others ‘fit to be tied.’ Trump has already called her “ungrateful.”
The New York Times (April 25, 2019), citing Senator Cory Booker reported: “‘What Donald Trump has been saying about her is … trafficking in Islamophobia, and it should be condemned by everyone,’ adding that ‘the president’s language was fueling the far-right attacks that have been the most common type of terrorism in the United States since 9/11.’”
Predictably, Republicans have chimed in with vitriol and joined the chorus. But as Martin Luther King remarked: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
“Democratic leaders appear reluctant to embrace the diversity they claim to champion” and many American Muslims across the country have “a heightened sense that they are not welcome in the halls of power.” (New York Times, April 26, 2019). Bernie Sanders, who positions himself as a counter to Trump, was swift to distance himself from Ilhan Omar by telling Fox News: “Hold it, hold it, hold it. I’ve talked to Ilhan about twice in my life.” (NYT, April 17, 2019.) Representative Rashida Tlaib, of Palestinian origin and the only other Muslim woman in Congress, said: “They put us in photos when they want to show our party is diverse; however, when we ask to be at the table, or speak up about issues that impact who we are, what we fight for and why we ran in the first place, we are ignored. To truly honor our diversity is to never silence us.” (NYT, April 17, 2019.)
The ravages of racism and bigotry are deep and abiding, and they can flare up from unexpected quarters. When Hillary contested against Trump in 2016, she was presented as a paragon of feminism and liberalism. Females flocked to her as their anointed champion. In this anti-Omar bandwagon, Hillary has not been heard. But her daughter, Chelsea, has been quick to denounce Ilhan.
Many Muslims are queasy, suggesting the need to “take it easy” and that Ilhan “would have been better off keeping a low profile.” (New York Times, April 26, 2019.) This is similar to the reaction of quite a few blacks when Ali was asserting himself.
Let’s test the efficacy of this approach. In the 1930’s, European Jewry was similarly counseled to stay quiet and cute under the delusion that this submissive approach would keep them ‘safe’, enabling them thereby to dodge the Nazi juggernaut. But did it?