Is Ilhan Omar a traitor, a Somali loyalist, a troublemaker, a Muslim invader against Christianity?
All these charges — and worse — have been lobbed against the Somalian-born Congresswoman from Minnesota who immigrated to the U.S. with her parents when she was a child.
She’s not alone as a foreign-born member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In the current Congress, there are 18 foreign-born voting members in the House and one in the Senate, according to Pew Research. Together, they represent 3% of all voting members across both chambers. Another 63 lawmakers — 47 representatives and 16 senators — have one or more immigrant parent.
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But none have drawn the contempt experienced by Omar, who is a favorite target of conservatives.
One of the latest episodes involves her home country, Somalia.
In a Jan. 27 speech in Minneapolis concerning a controversial port deal that will give a breakaway region of northern Somalia, Somaliland, access to the sea, Omar was accused of saying something she and others claim she did not actually say. One cause for the confusion is that she spoke in Somali.
An ambassador from Somaliland posted a version of her comments online. The translation on that video clip claims she said this: “The U.S. government will only do what Somalians in the U.S. tell them to do. They will do what we want and nothing else. They must follow our orders and that is how we will safeguard the interest of Somalia.”
That translation set off her frequent critics, including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who accused her of prioritizing foreign interests over American interests.
Greene said Omar had “revealed herself to be a foreign agent acting on behalf of a foreign government.”
Greene said Omar had “revealed herself to be a foreign agent acting on behalf of a foreign government” and “flaunts using her position as Congresswoman to protect Somalia’s border while our border is invaded by MILLIONS of illegals who are a danger to America.”
Greene said of immigrants on the southern border — who have little to do with Somalia or Somaliland — “these people hate America and they’re so emboldened by the Democrats’ disdain for our country, they’re not even trying to hide it anymore.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis advocated for Omar’s expulsion and deportation to Somalia.
Then Rhoda J Elmi, Somaliland’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, piled on by saying Somaliland’s leadership was “profoundly surprised, even shocked” at Omar’s purported comments. “The language she employed was regrettably unbecoming of both the office she holds and the constituents she represents,” he said.
An investigation by CNN showed the Somaliland ambassador’s translation — which elicited 2.6 million views — was incorrect.
The correction translation, CNN reported, is this: “The United States government will do what we tell them to do. We need to have confidence as Somali people; we live in this country, this is the country that we pay taxes in, this is the country where a girl was born from you all who is sitting in Congress.”
Omar agreed the ambassador’s translation was “not only slanted but completely off.”
But she’s not surprised, she said, because this happens to her all the time.
“The truth is that islamophobia pervades our culture, our politics, and even policy decisions.”
“I wouldn’t expect more from these propagandists,” she said. “I pray for them and for their sanity. No nation state can survive if its states start to get involved in land lease negotiations with other countries without the consent of the federal government.”
She added: “Somalis in Somalia and in the diaspora are united in that effort and I stand in solidarity with them. No amount of harassment and lies will ever change that.”
She has been accused variously by her critics of championing an Islamic agenda and of expressing antisemitic views. With the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza claiming lives on a daily basis, she recently tweeted: “It’s been 100 days since I signed on to the cease-fire resolution. In that time more than 25,000 thousand Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers. I will continue to call for a cease-fire until there is an end to the atrocities and lasting peace. I urge my colleagues to do the same.”
Republicans used their slim majority in the House to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She has been attacked by former President Donald Trump.
Omar’s response is that some people are not comfortable having a Muslim in Congress. She is one of only four Muslims ever elected to Congress. She and two others serve in the current Congress.
“The truth is that islamophobia pervades our culture, our politics, and even policy decisions,” she said. “Cable news hosts, leading politicians in the Republican Party routinely spin hateful rhetoric about a religion that includes a diverse group (of) more than a billion peaceful worshippers around the world.”
Her identity as a Muslim, she said, is something she is not willing to sacrifice to please anyone. “It was never an option for me to take off my hijab to run (for office). Because I know that when we proudly stand up for our values — when we celebrate the diversity of this country, and the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution — others stand with us.”
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