A former beauty queen who represented Iraq in the Miss Universe pageant and fled war-torn Iraq in search of a better life in America is hoping to run for Congress in California.
Twenty years on from the start of the Iraq War, Sarah Idan, who describes herself as a feminist and human rights activist, is looking to challenge was she believes to be the Democrats biggest weakness – its wokery.
Idan, 33, has spoken out against the extreme left of the Democratic Party and has openly criticized Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar for her comments on Jewish people and Israel.
‘I don’t stand for your anti-American, antisemitic, Muslim Brotherhood agenda, using this democracy to further your…Islamic socialism goals of dividing and weakening our country,’ Idan tweeted in 2019.
‘I would just be the opposite of Ilhan Omar. I’m a Democrat and liberal, but I don’t think like you – I don’t hate this country,’ she explained.
Sarah Idan fled war-torn Iraq in search of a better life in America and now plans to run for Congress in California
Idan is aiming to challenge what she perceives as the far left and woke voices in the Democratic party
Idan has also expressed her dislike for what she sees as the party’s obsession with so-called ‘white privilege’ and its failure to address public safety concerns and rising levels of crime in Los Angeles, where she currently lives.
Born in Baghdad in 1990, Idan was the second youngest of five children.
Her father was a military engineer for Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party, but privately her views at home did not reflect that party line. The family effectively had to ‘live as hostages under Saddam.’
She describes life as being extremely hard under the brutal dictator with limited access to food, water, and electricity. Politically, the family constantly feared accusations of ‘disloyalty’.
‘We couldn’t say anything against him. I learned everything I was taught by Saddam was a lie,’ she told the New York Post.
When she turned 18 Idan worked as a volunteer interpreter with the US Army in Iraq.
She was able to leave Iraq for the United States in 2010 on a green card provided by the military, later becoming an American citizen in 2015. He family stayed behind although they also eventually left Iraq some years ago.
Idan believes her difficult upbringing gives her a unique perspective on the American Dream.
‘They hate when I say anything good about this country, when I say I love it and have rights here. They want to hear you say, “No, this is a horrible country, a horrible government, and we have no rights.”‘
A one-time beauty queen, she represented Iraq in the Miss Universe competition in 2017 and even faced death threats after she befriended and snapped a selfie with Miss Israel.
Idan is now planning to make a run for Congress a rooting out ‘crazy far left and woke voices’ in the Democratic party.
Miss Iraq, Sarah Idan, is pictured at the 66th Miss Universe Pageant in 2017
Idan, 33, has spoken out against the extreme left of the Democratic Party and has openly criticized Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar for her comments on Jewish people and Israel calling her ‘anti American’ and ‘anti-Semitic’
The two women got into a Twitter spat following Idan’s comments in 2019
At the time, the Minnesota congresswoman hit back tweeting : ‘Hey, I might be wrong but I don’t think you are a #MN05 resident and like that makes be not your representative’
Idan believes her difficult upbringing gives her a unique perspective on the American Dream
‘There’s a voice missing. There’s the immigrant who f***ing suffered and came here and lived the American dream,’ Idan says.
She believes the party needs fresh young blood to call out what she describes as ‘communists pushing crazy policies.’
‘We need fresh people in office to take out the communists. I may have been born in Iraq, but my soul is American.’
She believes the Democratic party needs to address woke voices that have a far too powerful and influential voice, while the party also needs to tackle public safety concerns head-on and rising levels of crime in major cities across the country.