In a surprise move, the US House of Representatives approved a bill to appoint a special envoy to combat Islamophobia. The bill was authored by Minnesota Democrat Representative Ilhan Omar and was passed with a 219-212 in the House for establishing a US State Department office to address anti-Muslim bias. Ironically, the bill was moved weeks after Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert had hurled racist slurs at Omar. In a viral video footage doing rounds on social media, Boebert can be seen calling the Democrat lawmaker, who hails from Somalia, a member of a “jihad squad”. Following the video, calls to vote to strip Boebert off her committee assignments were made but no action was taken. It is then a wonder how the US envisions to monitor Islamophobia in the world when it fails to put its own house in order.
Post the traumatic 9/11 attacks in the US, Islamophobia in the state has witnessed a worrying surge. Cases of attacks on Muslim women wearing hijabs or Muslim families and surveillance by the state have become a common occurrence, changing the lives of countless Muslim Americans. In the aftermath of the attack, hate crimes against Muslims have remained high with the FBI recording 219 incidents in 2019 alone. The fact that 212 people had opposed the bill is a stark reminder of anti-Muslim prejudice, which is prevalent even in power corridors of Washington. Whether the bill will also help keep the US in check of its systematic oppression of Muslims is anybody’s guess. But what it can do is help keep some of the US allies in line, if records of their gross human rights violations are reported by the designated envoy.
Both Israel and India have proven to marginalize its minority Muslim communities. The state oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza strip for more than 50 years with even their homes encroached upon by Israeli occupation forces and hundreds of people killed, have only been met with silence from the US. India’s Hindutva ideology under the ruling BJP too has created a sectarian divide in the country with scores of Muslims killed at home and in the occupied Kashmir. It is hoped that once the bill becomes law, following its passage in the Senate, the US envoy on Islamophobia will call out this state-sponsored terrorism of its allies.
