Laura Loomer (left) Tulsi Gabbard (right)

Far-right activist Laura Loomer and former congresswoman clash on social media Tulsi Gabbard Loomer accused Gabbard of “pretending to be a Christian” over a Bible verse she shared online.The controversy began when Gabbard posted a Bible verse on Instagram that read: “My eyes are on you, O Lord, my God; in you I take refuge – Psalm 141:8”.Loomer responded to the post and questioned Gabbard’s religious identity in an online rant.“It’s really interesting how Tulsi Gabbard pretends to be a Christian. If you remember, she did the same at Charlie Kirk’s memorial,” Loomer wrote on X.“Tulsi is a lifelong Hindu. Yet no one knows this. “He should embrace it,” Loomer said.Loomer also shared a screenshot from Gabbard’s YouTube channel showing highlights from their Hindu Vedic wedding ceremony. The video description reads: “Here are some highlights from Tulsi’s beautiful Hindu Vedic wedding on April 9, including the walk down the aisle and a fire ceremony that ended with a lively yoga kirtan.”Gabbard practices Hinduism and is recognized as the first Hindu member of the US Congress. He was raised in a multicultural family with Hindu spiritual influences. She has often spoken publicly about how Hindu teachings have shaped her life and politics. He took the Congress oath on the Bhagavad Gita and has often discussed concepts such as karma, selfless service, spirituality and meditation during political campaigns and interviews.Meanwhile, Loomer is known in the US for radical far-right activism and support of Christian nationalist, MAGA politics. Over the past few years, he has faced criticism for inflammatory comments about Islam and immigration. He has previously described Islam as “cancer” and supported restrictions on Muslim immigration, leading to a backlash over his comments and a temporary ban from major social media platforms. Loomer has also faced criticism for her comments about Indians and the H-1B visa program. He argued that foreign workers on H-1B visas underpay American workers by accepting lower wages.Loomer apologized for some comments during a visit to India earlier this year but continued to oppose the visa system.

TOI correspondent from Washington: In an already busy week of US-Iran peace talks, the energy crisis and Trump’s visit to China, few expected the hottest geopolitical confrontation to involve Marco Rubio, the Taj Mahal, and an Iranian consulate armed with architectural claims and Persian pride.The latest chapter of US-Iran adversarial diplomacy began innocently enough when the US Secretary of State and his wife Zeenat visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on Sunday. Braving 45C temperatures, Rubio dutifully posed on the famous marble bench – which was so hot that his butt turned to bacon, someone noted – and described the Taj as “one of the true treasures of the world”.“I’ve never been there. I only knew about the casino in New Jersey that the president used to have,” Rubio joked to reporters, referring to Trump’s long-closed Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City.This should have been the end of it. Instead, Iran’s Consulate in Hyderabad chose to act as a troll patrol as if stopping Hormuz was not enough. “If Rubio had any knowledge of history or architecture, he would not have posed here,” the consulate posted onHistorians were quick to note that the problem was that the text of the Consulate’s history itself needed some historical fact-checking. Yes, Mumtaz Mahal – born Arjumand Banu Begum – was of Persian descent from her aristocratic family. But he was born not in Isfahan but in Agra. And while Persian influence is deeply embedded in Mughal architecture, the Taj Mahal was hardly an exclusively Iranian project assembled by a team from Tehran.Architectural historians describe the Taj as one of history’s great multinational collaborations: Mughal patrons, Persian aesthetics, Indian craftsmen, Central Asian influences, Ottoman inspirations, and artisans from across the Islamic world all converged on Shah Jahan’s dream of flaming marble.The chief architect, widely believed to be Ustad Ahmed Lahauri, was from Lahore in undivided India, not modern Iran. Persian calligraphers and designers such as Amanat Khan Shirazi certainly contributed. But claiming that the Taj was only “built by Iranian architects” is like claiming that the samosa is exclusively Indian. Others pointed to the awkward identity politics inherent in the consulate’s flexibility. The present Islamic Republic is not actually the uncontested heir of the ancient Persian civilization, but rather the guardian of Las Vegas Roman democracy.The Taj Mahal, meanwhile, remains bipartisan catnip for visiting American dignitaries. Vice President J.D. Vance visited with his family last year. Ivanka Trump famously posed there during the first Trump administration. Trump himself visited the memorial with Melania during her 2020 visit to India, praising its grandeur, while perhaps privately wondering whether Atlantic City zoning laws had failed him.