List of Muslim members of the United States Congress

This is a list of Muslim members of the United States Congress.

As of 2025^[update], only six Muslim Americans have ever been elected to Congress, the first being Keith Ellison in 2006.[1] Five Muslims currently serve in Congress, all in the House of Representatives. All but one are members of the Democratic Party. Abraham Hamadeh, who is a member of the Republican Party, is the only exception.

Senate

Further information: Religious affiliation in the United States Senate

No Muslim has ever served in the United States Senate. In 2022, Mehmet Oz became the Republican nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, making him the first Muslim to be nominated by a major party for the U.S. Senate.[2][3] Oz lost the general election to Pennsylvania lieutenant governor John Fetterman.

House of Representatives

Further information: Religious affiliation in the United States House of Representatives

In addition to the representatives below, former representative Hansen Clarke (D) of Michigan, was raised in a Muslim family but converted to Catholicism.[4]

Representative		Party		District	Term			Notes
					Start	End	Length of service
	Keith Ellison		Democratic	MN-05	January 3, 2007	January 3, 2019	12 years, 0 days	First Muslim in Congress. Converted to Islam in 1982. Retired to run successfully for Minnesota Attorney General.[1]
	André Carson		Democratic	IN-07	March 11, 2008	Incumbent	16 years, 326 days	Raised Baptist, converted to Islam as a teenager.[5]
	Ilhan Omar		Democratic	MN-05	January 3, 2019	Incumbent	6 years, 28 days	First of two Muslim women in Congress. First Muslim to succeed another Muslim. Born to a Muslim family in Somalia and immigrated as a refugee to the United States in 1995.[6]
	Rashida Tlaib		Democratic	MI-13	January 3, 2019	Incumbent	6 years, 28 days	First of two Muslim women in Congress. Born to a Muslim family of Palestinian immigrants.[7]
	Abraham Hamadeh		Republican	AZ-08	January 3, 2025	Incumbent	28 days	First Muslim in Congress who is a member of the Republican Party. Identifies as non-Denominational. [8]
	Lateefah Simon		Democratic	CA-12	January 3, 2025	Incumbent	28 days	[9]

See also

• List of Buddhist members of the United States Congress
• List of Hindu members of the United States Congress
• List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
• List of Mormon members of the United States Congress
• List of Quaker members of the United States Congress
• List of Arab and Middle Eastern Americans in the United States Congress

References

1. Lohn, Martiga (September 14, 2006). "Islamic Convert Wins House Nomination". Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
2. Hammond, Joseph (December 2, 2021). "Celebrity surgeon Dr. Oz seeks to be first Muslim elected to the US Senate". Religion News.
3. Gabriel, Trip (June 3, 2022). "David McCormick Concedes to Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania GOP Senate Primary". The New York Times.
4. James, Frank (August 4, 2010). "Rep. Kilpatrick Vanquisher, Hansen Clarke, Has Some Story". NPR. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
5. Garsd, Jasmine (January 13, 2013). "Rep. André Carson To Become First Muslim On House Committee On Intelligence". NPR.
6. Golden, Erin (November 7, 2018). "Ilhan Omar makes history, becoming first Somali-American elected to U.S. House". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minn. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019.
7. Herndon, Astead W. (August 8, 2018). "Rashida Tlaib, With Primary Win, Is Poised to Become First Muslim Woman in Congress". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
8. Kavaler, Tara (June 5, 2024). "A Nasty House Primary Gets Even Nastier Over Religion". NOTUS. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
9. mushfiqahmad (November 7, 2024). "Muslims now have a fourth Congressperson elected". Muslim Network TV. Retrieved November 9, 2024.