The United States Congress is set to welcome its first-ever Muslim congresswoman after Palestinian-American Rashida Tlaib won the Democratic primary election earlier this week.
With no Republican candidates in the race, Tlaib secured her seat in Congress by winning the party's primary election to represent Michigan's 13th district.
Tlaib is thus poised to make history in November's election when she officially becomes the first Muslim and the first Palestinian-American congresswoman.
The 42-year-old politician and lawyer, who was born to Palestinian immigrants, won 33.6 percent of the Democratic votes after raising over one million dollars in her grassroots campaign.
"Thank you so much for making this unbelievable moment possible. I am at a loss for words. I cannot wait to serve you in Congress," she wrote on Twitter after the results were announced.
Speaking to ABC News last week, Tlaib revealed that the ongoing prejudice against Muslims and immigrants pushed her to run for Congress.
"I didn't run because my election would be historic. I ran because of injustices and because of my boys, who are questioning their [Muslim] identity and whether they belong. I’ve never been one to stand on the sidelines," she explained.
Tlaib's victory was celebrated in her mother's hometown in Palestine, Beit Our Al-Foqa, where her extended family gathered in her honor.
"It's a great honor for the Palestinian people to have Rashida in the Congress. For sure she will serve Palestine, for sure she will serve the interests of her nation. She is deeply rooted here," Mohammed Tlaib, the village's former mayor and a distant relative, told the >Associated Press.
Who is Rashida Tlaib?
Born in Detroit in 1976, Tlaib was reportedly the first in her family to earn a high school diploma. She went on to graduate from college and law school, all the while >helping raise her 13 siblings.
In 2008, the lawyer became the first Muslim woman in the Michigan Legislature.
When it comes to her stance on U.S. President Donald Trump, Tlaib is a "strong anti-Trump voice."
In 2016, the soon-to-be congresswoman was forcibly removed from a luncheon in Detroit after heckling Trump, who was the Republican presidential nominee at the time.
"He doesn't love Detroit. He doesn't love no one who isn't Donald Trump," she shouted while Trump was giving a speech on economics.
Representation in the U.S. Congress
It is worth noting that Tlaib would not be the first Palestinian lawmaker in the U.S. Congress. Justin Amash, the son of a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother, currently represents the Republicans in Congress.
As for Muslim representation in the legislative body, there are currently >two Muslim congressmen, Keith Ellison and Andre Carson.
Ellison had become America's first-ever Muslim congressman back in 2007 when he was >elected to represent a district in Minnesota.
Controversy over her suspected support for U.S. military aid to Israel
While Tlaib's win has been widely celebrated among Muslims and Palestinians, Chicago-based online publication Electronic Intifada has raised some questions regarding her stance on the Israeli occupation.
This comes as Tlaib is >endorsed by J Street, which the publication describes as a "liberal Zionist Israel lobby group."
"The political home of pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans," J Street's logo reads.
"When it comes to the peace process, she believes that the U.S. should be directly involved with negotiations to reach a two-state solution. Additionally, she supports all current aid to Israel and the Palestinian Authority," writes JStreetPAC - J Street's political action committee - on the page soliciting donations for Tlaib's campaign.