“Why Muslims Roar in Congress While Indians Whisper”
Muslim congresspersons in America—Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, André Carson, and now Lateefah Simon—enter the political arena with their religion on their sleeve and their cause in their mouths. They are unafraid to say “I am Muslim,” unafraid to attack American foreign policy in defense of Muslim peoples, unafraid to confront Israel or accuse Washington of complicity in war crimes. Every vote, every speech, every committee fight is tied to the larger narrative of Muslim identity, and they wield it like a weapon. Their politics is faith-infused, their rhetoric incendiary, their posture combative. They see representation as a mandate to defend Islam, not merely to serve constituents, and they are praised for their defiance.
Now look across the aisle of identity to the Indians—Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Shri Thanedar, Suhas Subramanyam. Their numbers are greater, their community wealthier, their diaspora more powerful. Yet not one of them has the courage to declare: “I am Hindu, I am Indian, I will defend my civilization.” Instead, they dissolve into liberal abstractions: pluralism, democracy, civil rights, health care, infrastructure. When India is mentioned, it is often through apologies, warnings, or lectures about human rights, as though defending the homeland of their parents would be an embarrassment. They tiptoe when their Muslim colleagues roar. They seek cover in universalism while the others fortify themselves in identity.
The contradiction is stark. Muslims in Congress treat politics as war, identity as ammunition, and every policy battle as a stage for Islamic solidarity. Indians treat politics as etiquette, identity as a liability, and prefer to vanish into the wallpaper of American liberalism. One group, though numerically small, is feared for its voice; the other, though larger and richer, is pitied for its silence. That is why the Muslim name echoes in every debate about the Middle East, while the Hindu name is never heard when India is smeared. It is not numbers that matter, it is nerve—and in Congress today, Muslims have it and Indians do not.
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