Representative-elect Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who wears a scarf, is quite right to seek a religious exemption to the House’s ban on head-coverings. Several religions, including Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism require the wearing of headwear, like scarves, caps, and turbans, and the First Amendment ought to secure the right for a believer to wear such a thing and still participate in the work of Congress.
But the new Congresswoman ought to apply this logic consistently. In the case of religious people who have refused to express messages that would violate the rules of their religion, such as Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop, she has sided with the state’s attempt to force that message. Customers at Masterpiece sought a cake for a same-sex wedding. Philips was willing to sell them ordinary baked goods (so he was not by any stretch refusing business), but could not produce a custom wedding cake because that would entail expressing a view prohibited by his religion. On the same grounds, Mr. Phillips refuses to make Halloween and divorce cakes.
This is the same rule that applies to believing Muslims, as Ilyas Alexander Lahoz (who is also a lawyer) of the Safina Society breaks down in a detailed podcast. Islamic scholars have pointed out that if a Christian refused to make a custom cake for an Islamic holiday on similar grounds, they would respect the refusal, rather than demand coercion.
If the Representative-elect were being consistent, she would recognize the ironclad rights of people like Mr. Phillips (or a Muslim equivalent, or a Jewish baker asked to make an Easter cake). But so far, she has not. In fact, she received an endorsement on the strength of her opposition to religious liberty protections.
I hope that her experience facing down a government ban on her own religious expression makes her understand the situation of religious people who are forced by the state to face a choice between violating the commands of their own religions, or leaving their livelihoods altogether. Religious liberty has become a partisan issue, but it should not be one. If Omar revises her views in light of experience, it would be a gain for all Americans.