Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar tweeted a video of a Singaporean worship leader playing his guitar and singing “How Great Is Our God” on an airplane. She sarcastically posted, “I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I am on a plane. How do you think it will end?”
Australian-born pastor Jack Jensz Jr. posted the video on TikTok to encourage friends who had been following his group’s effort to give humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees.
When Rep. Omar posted her tweet over Easter weekend, Jensz was surprised, but he says that he didn’t give it too much thought. “For us, we just came to share the love of God. We came just to reveal to people that Jesus loves them so much, and that’s our focus,” he said. “Our focus wasn’t a political agenda at all.”
Though Jensz’s TikTok video was not meant to be political, it quickly set off a debate on which many political personalities commented. Vernon Jones, a Republican congressional candidate in Georgia, replied, “Why do you hate Christians, Ilhan?” He continued, “If the freedom of religion we enjoy here in America disturbs you, feel free to pack your bags and head back to Somalia, Sudan, or wherever you’re from.”
Ben Shapiro commented, “You can’t whine about public practice of your religion and then demand respect for the public practice of your religion. As a religious Jew, this country is better with MORE of this, not less.”
A Republican candidate, Shukri Abdirahman, who is running against Omar for her Congressional seat this fall, took Omar to task on a recent edition of Fox and Friends. As a Muslim and U.S. Army veteran, as well as a Somalian native like Omar, Abdirahman took great exception to Omar’s social media comments.
“If you were a practicing Muslim, given your extensive travels by airplane, you would have had to perform one of the five Muslim prayer[s]—[at] least,” Abdirahman said. “Many of us have done so and never experienced Islamophobia. You should have taken the weekend off from fueling division.”
Although she’s a practicing Muslim, Abdirahman differs with Omar on most issues.
While Omar pushes for student loan forgiveness, Abdirahman tweets, “Not a single dollar of student loan debt should be forgiven.” Omar sides with a pro-choice platform, but Abdirahman tweets, “Abortion isn’t just [a] Godly issue, it’s a right to life issue.”
After immigrating from the socialist country of Somalia and growing up in the United States, Abdirahman spent over 10 years in the U.S. Army. After watching many concerning events happen in the past year, she decided to run. “Coming from a socialist dictatorship country, we are on the brink of that,” she told Fox News. “And I couldn’t stand on the sidelines to watch my country head that route.
“I’ve decided to run against Ilhan Omar in my district, realizing the divisiveness that she has done in my community and has painted America as a hateful nation toward minorities and Muslims. And here I am, someone from her background, Muslim, a woman, a refugee, a mother who has experienced a completely different treatment.” {eoa}
Rob Vischer is a freelance writer for Charisma Media.
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