I wish I had more context on this video. I'm not sure who the woman leading the prayer at the Illinois State Capitol is — maybe a state representative. The prayer was probably in honor of Eid al-Adha. I plead ignorance. I thought we'd already done Eid, but that was a different holiday. I wouldn't have known today was the Festival of Sacrifice if I hadn't read this morning about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez donning a hijab to address the audience while New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sported a custom Arsenal thobe. I'm still not sure what a thobe is.
You'd think I'd know more about Islam, seeing how it's woven into the fabric of our nation.
"Islam in America did not begin in 1965 or in the 1800s. It's woven into the fabric of this nation."
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 27, 2026
Illinois State Capitol 2026 pic.twitter.com/Hwd1yFHcEJ
That's funny, because I haven't seen it until recently, but now I'm seeing it everywhere. But then I was reminded of its place in American history.
In that we created a whole branch of the military in order to fight it.
— Bleu Cheque (@VERBAL_CHANCLA) May 27, 2026
Is she referring to young America's battles against the Barbary pirates? Or all the people who have come here to escape Islam?
— Tea Party Barbie (@laurahollis61) May 27, 2026
No. It’s not.
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) May 27, 2026
She's right, Muslims are mentioned in the famous Marine's Hymn when our brave Marines won against them in 1805 during the Barbary War.
— Abby (@NoCRTinSchools) May 27, 2026
American's have been fighting Muslims since the beginning of the USA.
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/8ThP8kDdDr
Muslims have been fucking with us since before 1794. pic.twitter.com/x2wUSHOn0g
— Backadamoon (@backadamoon) May 27, 2026
She's right. Islam has been here from our beginning. The Barbary Pirates were trying to exact tributes from our ships. The first battle of our new Navy was against them. And then there were the slave traders who brought Black slaves to our shores - they were also Islamic.
— Charles (@MadisonCKS) May 27, 2026
Islam is so woven into our fabric the US Marines reference them in the Marine Corps Hymn.
— Brian Dreyer 🇺🇸 (@Bwdreyer) May 27, 2026
She refers to black Africans being sold by Muslim slave traders as if it were a good thing.
— DoctorEd (@dr_isin) May 27, 2026
Nobody thinks this. Some people might try to convince themselves of it, but everyone knows it's not true at face value.
— Moron Mine ⛏️ (@MoronMining) May 27, 2026
Yeah. That Barbary Pirates War definitely had a huge impact on U.S. history, prompting the Naval Act of 1794 which authorized the construction of the first six frigates of the U.S. Navy! It also provided combat training for early Navy officers that proved vital in the War of 1812… pic.twitter.com/ITNVUJEoPZ
— Mister Knauf 👹🌎 (@daniel_knauf) May 27, 2026
This is historically ignorant. While Islam existed in the whole trans Angola region at the time, almost all of the slave traffic that made it to the US were people of native beliefs. She doesn't know what she's talking about.
— Erik Surbaugh (@Sniperactive) May 27, 2026
Yes indeed it was. America fought a war against Muslims who were kidnapping American sailors in the Mediterranian and enslaving them.
— Thayer (Tim) Allison (@ThayerAllison2) May 27, 2026
One thing I've learned about "whiteness" is that one of its components is "worship of the written word." I don't see any mention of Islam in the nation's founding documents.
Imagine having to stand there and bow your head for this.
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