‘Malta is his country’: Omar Rababah’s wife speaks out about ‘hurtful lies’

Omar Rababah’s wife, Angel Mizzi, has hit back at the “lies” levelled against her husband after he announced he would stand as a PL candidate, describing them as “hurtful” and “unfounded”.

Rababah, the son of a Maltese mother and Syrian father, announced his decision to stand as a Labour candidate last week, after making his name as a vocal activist for human rights and social justice.

He has since faced a torrent of abuse, with some spreading Islamophobic conspiracy theories of a Muslim agenda to take over Malta.

In a heartfelt message posted to her Facebook page, Mizzi described Rababah as a doting father and a caring man, hitting back at the fearmongering over his Muslim faith.

“Malta is his country,” Mizzi said. “He was born here, he attended primary school here, then secondary school, and he went on to Junior College and university”.

“The picture some people are painting of him is absolutely not the truth,” she said, describing how some comments he has received have been hard to digest for herself and her children.

Mizzi also hit back at those stoking Islamophobic fears of a Muslim takeover if Rababah were elected.

“Our own children are baptised,” she said. “So, to those who say that everyone will become Muslim if he is elected, this has not even happened in his own household”.

She also brushed aside the suggestion that having a Muslim in parliament could restrict women’s liberties.

“Just as not every Catholic holds the same values, the same is true of Muslims,” she said. “As you can see, I don’t wear a burqa or hijab. It has never even crossed Omar’s mind to impose something like that on me,” Mizzi added.

Mizzi went on to describe Rababah’s love for many Maltese traditions, from setting up the household crib each Christmastime to attending several village feasts throughout the summer.

She also spoke about how Rababah, whose grandfather is an għannej, had developed a taste for playing għana music each morning, much to her dismay.

“I shouldn’t have to rebut lies, but the hatred hurts. We accept criticism, but some hatred and lies should be clarified,” she said.

'Omar is Maltese born and bred': Robert Abela

Mizzi’s words echoed those of Prime Minister Robert Abela, who, earlier in the day, described Rababah as “Maltese born and bred”.

“Omar is Maltese. He was born in Malta, in our hospital, in 1991. He lives in Malta. His children are baptised as Catholics. He’s a member of the Youth Advisory Forum. That’s Omar,” Abela said.

Abela also brushed off the suggestion that the party was considering turning down Rababah’s nomination in the wake of the backlash.

The party executive is set to meet on Tuesday to formally consider Rababah’s nomination as a Labour candidate.

Meanwhile, former president Marie Louise Coleiro Preca took to Facebook on Monday morning to say she was “ashamed” of the comments made against him.

“If these people claim to be Catholic, then they don’t know what Christianity is,” she said.

Rababah declined to comment when approached on Monday, saying he would prefer to wait for the party’s decision.

On Sunday, Rababah hit back at the critics, saying he believes in a “politics of love, not hate”.

Rababah would not be the first Muslim candidate on a party ticket, should his nomination be approved on Tuesday.

Mario Borg Farrugia, also a Maltese Muslim, had represented PN as a councillor in the Qormi local council for several years, before later switching to Labour and running as an MEP candidate on the party’s ticket in 2014.