MARY MILLER, a Republican Congresswoman, is facing widespread backlash after saying that a Sikh, whom she initially mistook to be a Muslim, should not have conducted a prayer in the US House, as “America was founded as a Christian nation.”
An Illinois representative, Miller, on Friday (6) published, and then deleted, a post on X saying that Giani Surinder Singh, a Sikh Granthi from southern New Jersey, should not have delivered the House’s morning prayer.
Giani Singh, a member of the Gurudwara South Jersey Sikh Society in Vineland, New Jersey was introduced as the guest chaplain on Friday morning and delivered the House prayer.
Miller’s original post incorrectly identified Singh as Muslim. She subsequently corrected the post before deleting it entirely.
The House has historically welcomed guest chaplains from different faiths.
Singh was invited to lead the prayer by Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew.
Following Singh’s prayer, Van Drew praised him for his work leading a Sikh congregation in New Jersey.
He praised Singh for leading by example, "with peace, with humility, with service towards all.”
“These are not just Sikh values. They are American values,” Van Drew said on the House floor.
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, a group of Democratic lawmakers, accused Miller of “anti-Sikh and anti-Muslim bigotry.”
The Sikh Coalition, a nonprofit focused on protecting civil rights for the Sikh community, called on Miller to apologize for her “hateful rhetoric” and urged her to meet with Sikhs in her district.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has condemned Miller's Islamophobic targeting of a representative of the Sikh faith.
"It is deeply troubling that a member of Congress would be so ignorant of the diverse faiths in our nation and would express that ignorance by targeting a respected representative of the Sikh community with Islamophobic smears. This disturbing incident once again shows that bigotry is rooted in a lack of understanding of others.
"Such reckless rhetoric not only endangers Muslim and Sikh communities, it also undermines the core values of what it means to be American. We call on Miller to apologize for these anti-Muslim remarks and commit to educating herself on the religious diversity that strengthens our nation."
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Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) participates in a ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol on May 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) were both officially sworn-in as new House members on Tuesday morning.Getty Images
