Republican representative Mary Miller from Illinois roused national condemnation when she said this. This incident followed the beautiful Sikh prayer rendered by Giani Singh, a Granthi from southern New Jersey, to the House during its morning session. Miller’s comments mistakenly described Singh as a Muslim. She then deleted those remarks after making it clear that she found it “deeply troubling” for a person of that faith to give the opening prayer.
The firestorm was sparked by Miller’s recent X (Twitter) post. In the blog post, he argued that Singh’s inclusion in the morning invocation was a bad decision. She remarked that it “should never have been permitted” for an individual of that religion to offer the invocation. After public outcry, Miller edited her post to correctly identify Singh as Sikh. Even in conceding, she remained critical.
Miller’s remarks set off a firestorm of criticism from fellow lawmakers and civil rights groups. Miller’s response drew the condemnation of Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader who called her the “most ignorant and hateful extremist” to take a seat in Congress. Grace Meng, a Democratic congresswoman from New York, said that Miller’s comments were “deeply disturbing.” She highlighted the all too obvious racism and xenophobia faced by the Sikh as well as Muslim community.
In response to this major uproar, Bonnie Watson Coleman, a Democrat congresswoman from New Jersey, sprung into action. She called on Miller to apologize to the Sikh and Muslim communities for her statements. David Valadao, a fellow Republican and California congressman, weighed in as well. He is convinced that America’s bedrock assumption of a free people must be reflected on the behavior and professional demeanor of that country’s legislators.
The Sikh Coalition issued a statement urging Miller to do more than delete her post:
“To be clear, deleting the tweet is not enough. Congresswoman Miller should apologize for her remarks – to both the Sikh and Muslim communities, because no one should be targeted on the basis of their identity.”
Similarly, the Hindu American Foundation criticized Miller’s remarks, asserting that regardless of her chosen wording, her comments were “racist, xenophobic and plainly un-American.”
Miller’s remarks attracted even more criticism from other lawmakers. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) got in a funny jab at Miller’s perspective. He implied that collaborating with her was like being in the company of “18th century men.”
Meng highlighted the ongoing issues faced by marginalized communities in her response:
“I often say that I serve in Congress with some of the greatest minds of the 18th century. With [representative] Miller I may need to take it back a few more centuries.”
Even amid the still-ongoing backlash, Miller’s office had yet to comment immediately available on dramatic turnaround.
“I’m troubled by my colleague’s remarks about this morning’s Sikh prayer, which have since been deleted. Throughout the country – and in the Central Valley – Sikh-Americans are valued and respected members of our communities, yet they continue to face harassment and discrimination.”
Meng highlighted the ongoing issues faced by marginalized communities in her response:
“What’s deeply disturbing is the blatant ignorance and anti-Sikh, anti-Muslim xenophobia coming from my colleague across the aisle. There is no place in our country, and especially the halls of Congress, for this hate and intolerance.”
Despite the backlash, Miller’s office has not provided an immediate comment on the situation.