Hearing Omar use the Islamic phrases in the acceptance speech felt affirming, authentic and relatable, Margaret Hill, managing director of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, told HuffPost.
“For any Muslim who draws on their faith for strength, these are natural phrases,” Hill said. “They are everyday phrases. I see a Muslim, I give them that greeting. I often say it when I address a crowd.”
The weight of authority in Islam — Muhammad’s own words — is that the greeting “salaam aleikum” should not be used to initiate a greeting with a non-Muslim. Note that Margaret Hill said that “I see a Muslim, I give them that greeting.” She carefully does not say that “I see someone, and I give them that greeting.” It is a greeting whose selective use separates humanity into two groups: the Muslims, to whom the greeting may be given, and the non-Muslims, to whom it should not.
An Islamic website explains when the greeting of salaam is impermissible:
A good number of Islamic scholars are of the view that it is prohibited to initiate the greeting of salaam to non-Muslims. They say salaam is meant to be exchanged among Muslims and that the verse of the Qur’an which spoke of greeting with salaam is referring to Muslims alone. This was the view of Ata’ bin Rabah They went further to say that salaam is to Muslims as shalom is to Jews. They backed their position with the Hadith reported by Abu Hurairah, where the messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said: “You must not initiate the (greetings of) salaam with Jews and Christians,”. They say, salaam is a greeting of honor and a non–Muslim (kafir) does not deserve to be honored. Ahmad Bin Hanbal commented on the above Hadith: “Going by this Hadith is better than any other contrary opinion”. Ibn Hajar is of similar opinion, while commenting on the above Hadith, he said: “The most credible of all these (views) is what is evident in the above Hadith, although it is specific to the People of the Book. Ibn Katheer also, while commenting on the verse on greeting (Qur’an 4:86) said: “But as to non-Muslim citizens (Alum Dimmit) one should not initiate to them the greetings of salaam.” Abu Haneefah and Malik Bin Anas detested initiating salaam with non-Muslims.
Proponents of this opinion argue further that the salaam meant for greeting is among the peculiarities of this Ummah of Prophet Muhammad as reported by Anas bin Malik, who said that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah has given my Ummah three things that were not given to any other Ummah before me: saying salaam, and it is the greeting of the people of Hannah (Paradise)…”
Imam An-Nawawi reconciled between the ahadith that enjoined greeting and those that prohibit initiating salaams to non Muslims as follows: “The ahadith that enjoined spreading the greetings of salaam is a generalization (A’am), from which the people of the book were excluded”
This group go further to assert that the salaam that Prophet Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) said to his father in Qur’an 19:47 was a mere farewell and good will, and it was not meant as a greeting.
Omar’s “As-salaam aleikum” was thus “affirming, authentic, and relatable,” but only for those it was addressed to — the Muslims in her audience. Instead of a normal victory speech, addressed to all of those who helped elect her, contributed money, put up signs, knocked on doors, and got out the vote, Ilhan Omar first addressed only her Muslim supporters with that “as-salaam aleikum” greeting and thrice-repeated “alhamdulillah.” Even before Omar’s greetings, the room was transformed by the surprising spectacle of a Somali dance. It was a most peculiar moment, reminding the crowd that parts of Minneapolis were now a Little Mogadishu. This was a moment of triumphant celebration, telling the world that not a Democrat, but a Muslim Somali, still rooted in her culture, had won.
It’s also not at all uncommon for Christian politicians to use religious language to give thanks, with phrases like, “praise God,” and “to God be the glory.”
Nonsense. “Not at all uncommon…”? It is most uncommon for Christian politicians to “praise God” or claim that “to God be the glory” of a political victory. When was last time you heard a “Christian politician” at a victory rally “praise God” or say “to God be the glory”? No doubt there may be a handful of holy-rollers among our politicians, but they would be looked at askance — no, raked over the coals — for thanking God in such a public way for their political triumphs. But when Ilhan Omar, smiling, photogenic, gives thanks to God for her victory — three times uttering in Arabic alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah — “praise be to Allah” — the very people, at The New York Times or Washington Post or at NPR, who would be most offended by a Christian political figure doing the same thing, that is, thanking God for ensuring that he, or she, had won an election, apparently found nothing wrong with Ilhan Omar’s exclamation.
These Muslim propagandists quoted in the article are simply engaging in Tu-Quoque, claiming — falsely — that “Christian politicians do” routinely what Omar did. When she turned her victory rally into a display of Islamic solidarity and triumphalism, she was not merely doing, as her defenders claim, “what so many non-Muslim politicians do.”