State senator facing backlash after reciting Muslim prayer
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — An Iowa State Senator is receiving criticism after reciting a Muslim prayer at the statehouse earlier this month.
Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott (D) told Iowa's News Now, Tuesday, she received derogatory messages on social media after she recited a Muslim prayer written by a Drake University student at the statehouse on Feb. 8.
"I knew it would be different but I thought that was important even if there was some pushback," Sen. Trone Garriott said. "Every single prayer has been a Christian prayer at the Senate. We really needed to have some diversity because that is our community. The Des Moines metro is very diverse religiously."
Sen. Trone Garriott is serving her first term in the Iowa Senate. She represents Senate District 22, which includes Windsor Heights, Clive, Waukee and parts of West Des Moines.
She's an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, she has served as a hospital chaplain and a parish pastor. She currently works for the Des Moines Area Religious Council Food Pantry Network as the Coordinator of Interfaith Engagement, bringing diverse religious communities together to respond to food insecurity.
