Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are the first Muslim women elected to Congress Tlaib, from Michigan, won earlier in the evening; Omar, from Minnesota, will be the first headscarf-wearing member of Congress.

November 6, 2018   

(BuzzFeed) Even with the outcome expected, there was a sense of history-making when it became official Tuesday night: A Muslim woman was elected to Congress for the first time.

Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib, 42, won her election after running unopposed by a Republican. And 36-year-old Ilhan Omar of Minnesota won her race later in the evening. The Midwestern Democrats previously served as state lawmakers.

In addition to the “first,” she is expected to share with Tlaib, Omar will also be the first headscarf-wearing member of Congress, as well as the first Somali American US legislator, and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota in Congress.

Their election would be a milestone in any year but is especially symbolic as a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s fearmongering about Islam and immigrants.

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