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Democrats, Muslim lawmaker decry opening prayer as divisive

HARRISBURG, Pa.  -- The first female Muslim member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives said Tuesday she was offended by a colleague's decision to open a voting session with a prayer a day earlier that "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow."

 

Democratic Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell of Philadelphia said she felt the remarks by Rep. Stephanie Borowicz shortly before Johnson-Harrell took the oath of office on Monday used her religion against her.

 

"I thought that for the most part, the entire invocation was offensive," Johnson-Harrell told reporters, noting that her own religion respects Jesus. "But to use Jesus as a weapon is not OK."

 

Borowicz, a Republican and associate pastor's wife who was elected to represent a rural central Pennsylvania district in November, also thanked President Donald Trump during the Monday invocation for standing behind Israel.

 

Johnson-Harrell said she respects everyone's right to praise the president, but "we cannot weaponize what's going on with Israel and Palestine."

 

Prayer should not be among the things that Republicans and Democrats fight about, she said.

 

"It was directly a political statement, and I think we need to be very, very clear that everybody in this House matters, whether they're Christian, Muslim or Jew, and that we cannot use these issues to tear each other down," Johnson-Harrell said. "And not only that, it was made during my swearing in."

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.26.19, 21:40