'We are NOT a cult': Not all of Rep. Ilhan Omar's Muslim 'sisters' want to be lumped in with her

One nice thing about being a Democrat (or being the social media intern for a Democrat) is that you never have to come up with an original tweet; you can just retweet whatever was published that day in Salon or Slate or HuffPost or Mother Jones and be on your way.

Rep. Ilhan Omar this week tweeted a piece from HuffPost in which she declares, “If you attack our Muslim sisters and brothers, you are attacking the entire community. We don’t vote blindly.”

“The Muslim vote isn’t insignificant. In NY alone, nearly 400,000 Muslims came out to vote in 2016. In MI, nearly another 120k Muslims voted.

If you attack our Muslim sisters & brothers, you are attacking the entire community. We don’t vote blindly.” ?? https://t.co/PYSc2XqgnE

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 17, 2019

You don’t vote blindly, and you don’t necessarily vote the same. England’s Nervana Mahmoud, a doctor and independent political commentator, reminded Omar that she’d rather not be lumped in with her just because they’re both Muslim.

Many ask me why I oppose #IlhanOmar? Because of this??
Lumping #Muslims in one basket and assuming they all agree her, (or risk being labelled as bad) is dangerous.
Her identity politics is divisive. We are NOT a cult Ilhan and we should not be treated as one.
No to Islamism https://t.co/1KOV4S9j7C

— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) April 18, 2019

Hey, you can’t imply Omar’s an Islamist just because she urged “compassion” for an ISIS recruit “who chose violence to combat direct marginalization.” Or because she described the 9/11 terrorist attacks as, “Some people did something.”

#IdentityPolitics is a modern form of sectarian racism. It forces individuals loyalty based on religion, tribe, race and it castigates and frames critical minds. It is fascism disguised as solidarity and empowers politicians based on ID instead of expertise.

— ShantyRuby (@Shamayim2) April 18, 2019

Good point. Muslims are nothing more than a scarf to many people, lumping people together is dangerous, simplistic, wrong.

— Mike Staresinic (@MikeStaresinic) April 18, 2019

Or you could oppose her because she is an anti Semite, Islamist who supports groups & people that support terrorist groups.

— Paradigm Shift (@reasonvalues) April 18, 2019

What does that mean? "We don't vote blindly"?

— Kit (@Kithurst_Close) April 18, 2019

This tweet kind of implies you do

— I don’t shine if you don’t shine (@peteboehme) April 18, 2019

So you are all birds of a feather. I thought that was racist or profiling or something, but I guess you all act in a pack huh, you said it not me, but nice to know.

— Blue Nosed Gopher (@BlueNosedGopher) April 18, 2019

Classic Muslim Vote Bank advocacy. Liberals are doing the same in India and now we will be seeing it practice in US also. Asking for votes along the religious lines is so classic progressive and liberating?

— Arjun H. Patel, MD (@ArjunPatel80) April 18, 2019

We separate religion from our government for a very good reason.

— Ron Murphy (@GRIP2013) April 18, 2019

Political appeasement on full throttle

— Chowkidar Jatin Chaudhary (@chjatin115) April 18, 2019

I am in complete agreement with religious freedom, but you were voted to be a representative of the Americans in your district, which is not all Muslim. You should focus on other issues for those people and not dictate all of your political thoughts and views on your religion.

— Andrew Tousaw (@ATousaw) April 18, 2019

The only community which is never pilloried for voting along religious lines in democratic setups around the world. Victimhood guarantees some serious mileage.

— Chowkidar Dhruva Prasad (@prasad_dhruva) April 18, 2019

Good thing that they don't all see you as their unquestioned spokesperson, and that they don't vote monolithically.

— Sparktacular (@TheMainSpark) April 18, 2019

You have to decide whether American Muslims are a monolith and you are a representation of all of them or not.
I sincerely doubt all American Muslims are ignorant antisemites like you so I'm gonna go ahead and say no, you do not represent them and no they are not a monolith.

— Claire Voltaire (@Claire_Voltaire) April 18, 2019

It’s alarming to say the least. It’s time for Hindu Americans with 6 million Hindus to vote republican. Can’t stand with Democrat Muslim appeasement. In NY-NJ – Hindus are 1million.

— Adi (@AdityaSatsangi) April 18, 2019

I’m okay with denouncing any group I want.

— Michael (@MichaelIsAWorm) April 18, 2019

Michael I already like the way you think

— Desiree (@Carpenter_JD) April 18, 2019

Wow, if Ben Shapiro was pilloried for noting the religious and philosophical roots of the Notre Dame cathedral, this should make some heads explode:

the horrible Notre Dame news has also made me think of the historic mosques that have recently been destroyed in China, as part of the ongoing attempt to destroy the Uighur culture https://t.co/VJdHv9SYlb

— charlotte geater ? (@tambourine) April 15, 2019

Comparing the incomparable :
•A tragic accident that destroyed the top visited site in Europe is different than a deliberate destruction of a historic mosque but not even known outside China
Apple and orange for the sake of what? https://t.co/Bl1lNt7uAl

— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) April 16, 2019

There is an alarming trend of magnifying Muslim ( legitimate) grievances, while downplaying the grievances of others.
It is as if Christians and Jews should just shut up and do not mourn their losses. I find that very disturbing tool of asserting victimhood among Muslims.

— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) April 16, 2019

And we all know who likes to play the victim.

Related:

'This is appalling!' Ilhan Omar is STILL trying 'to justify her words' about the 9/11 terrorists [screenshots, video] https://t.co/eEg6mDdcpe

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 16, 2019