Ilhan Omar in 2013: ‘Sadly’ Some Muslims Celebrate Christmas

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Dec 26, 2019

Minnesota’s Rep. Ilhan Omar apparently isn’t a fan of the Christmas spirit, and spoke in disapproving terms of other Muslims who choose to celebrate the Christian holiday in a 2013 tweet.

According to Omar, it’s unfortunate that some Muslim Americans should choose to celebrate a storied American holiday.

Islamic reformer Imam Tawhidi shared the old tweet on Thursday.

Some Muslims do in fact celebrate Christmas, and the practice isn’t as uncommon as Omar’s tweet might make it seem. Jesus is revered as a prophet in Islam. Perhaps ironically, it may be more common for Muslims in Islamic countries(usually with substantial Christian minority populations) to celebrate Christmas than in the west.

Some American Jews also celebrate Christmas in a secularized fashion.

Since being elected, Omar hasn’t spoken of the same spiteful anti-Christmas sentiment. She even went so far as to wish the constituents of her district a Merry Christmas, but her holiday greetings might seem hollow in light of her remarks about the tradition back in 2013.

Omar has increasingly become a progressive leader in the Democratic Party. There are other reasons to believe she harbors a fair degree of Islamist views, including a vote against official recognition of the Armenian genocide.

It’s hard to think of a cultural position more alienating to Americans- be they residents of a liberal district in Minnesota, or the most conservative areas of the country- than actively discouraging celebration of Christmas. Perhaps Omar would prefer living in a country where celebration of the holiday is actively repressed.