Iowa Democrat's 2021 Muslim Prayer Resurfaces in Tight Congressional Race Against Nunn

State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-Iowa, drew notice from the international Muslim community in 2021 when she read a Muslim prayer on the Iowa Senate floor. An ordained minister with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Garriott made the move as a newly elected state senator.

"We can all benefit as people of faith and as citizens to grow stronger as a community. So today I’m sharing a prayer from an accomplished young woman in my district," she said while offering a prayer that highlighted several names and characteristics of Allah.

Later, Garriott appeared on British Muslim TV with Mohammed Shafiq to discuss the event. "The Senate begins every day with prayer. And they almost always share Christian prayers. And for me, it’s really important to make sure that the diverse religious communities here and in Des Moines get to have their voice heard," she told Shafiq.

"I’ve made a commitment to only be praying prayers from those other communities," Garriott added.

Iowa is 93 percent Protestant, Catholic or unaffiliated, per the Pew Research Center. Less than 1 percent of the state's population is Muslim, according to the Public Religion Research Institute.

Garriott said at the time that Muslims in Iowa had faced discrimination. "I just think there is some horrible animosity towards our Muslim neighbors. And we have a significant Muslim population in this metro area, and those voices deserve to be heard," she said. She described the prayer as one way for lawmakers to fight religious discrimination.

The episode fits a pattern. Garriott has raised concerns about homogeneity in state government, especially among white Christian men. "By being in state government, I can see we have a long way to go in representing our community. It’s not a very diverse group of leaders. We don’t have people from many religious backgrounds — it’s mostly white, mostly Christian," she said in another interview.

Garriott did not respond to questions about how far lawmakers should go to represent other beliefs or if such actions risk insincere displays of faith.

Republicans pushed back. Her opponent, Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, addressed her remarks on race and religion at a campaign event Tuesday. "I don't need a lecture from someone who pretends to preach from the pulpit while at the same time doing things like tell Americans that they're too white and too racist, or wag their finger to say ‘hey, most of Iowa is bigoted.’ I don't believe that's true," Nunn said.

One Republican strategist said Garriott has used the prayer and her comments to stand out from other Democrats. "It is downright shameful to go on a foreign television show and call Americans racist and backwards, but this is exactly how Sarah Trone Garriott has risen up the ranks in the Democrat Party," said Zach Kraft, an RNC spokesperson.

The issue has resurfaced as Garriott campaigns to unseat Nunn and flip one of the nation's most competitive congressional districts.