5 Times Rep. Ilhan Omar Has Been The Target Of Right-Wing Hate

The first Black Muslim woman in Congress has constantly been attacked and threatened for her identity and advocacy.

December 02, 2021 at 12:56 am

Once again, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar has been the subject of bigoted right-wing attacks. This time, the hate comes from fellow congresswomen Lauren Boebert, who posted a video of herself telling supporters in Colorado a story — one that Omar says is made up — of the two representatives sharing an elevator. In the video, Boebert refers to Omar as a member of the “Jihad squad” and implies that she feared the Minnesota Democrat could be a suicide bomber — remarks that brought laughter from the crowd.

Such ridiculous, hate-filled comments have sadly been a common experience for Rep. Omar. Since taking office in 2019, Omar and other members of The Squad have been the target of numerous racist, sexist and otherwise hateful attacks. Rep. Omar, a Black, hijab-wearing Muslim woman who immigrated to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia, is often singled out for various aspects of her identity. Here are a few that are the most enraging.

Rep. Boebert doubles down on attacks against Omar

Rep. Boebert has apologized for offending the Muslim community, though she has not taken back the comments she made or apologized directly to Rep. Omar — a phone conversation between the two reportedly went very poorly. Boebert has since appeared on Fox News — of course — to double down on her criticism of Omar and bemoan cancel culture. Meanwhile, CNN recently posted a video of Boebert making similar Islamophobic remarks about Omar at a different event in September.

While the attempts of people like Boebert to start their own racist version of Def Jam may seem like they're just tasteless and racist jokes, they have serious consequences. Rep. Omar recently revealed a violent, racist, expletive-laden death threat she has received after the Boebert video went public — one of hundreds of such threats she has received while in office.

Editor's Note: The threats can be heard below — the language is graphic, disturbing and NSFW.

Other members of Congress have publicly disparaged Omar and continue to do so

Boebert is not the first member of Congress to attack their colleague Omar. Earlier this year, republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina created a post with Omar’s picture, with the accusation that “Far-left Democrats have chosen terrorism over tolerant freedom” and have sided with the Muslim Brotherhood. The post, meant to condemn Omar’s criticism of Israel, was made on Telegram, a messaging app that has attracted widespread use among far-right and racist groups like the Proud Boys. Unsurprisingly, the post led to commenters replying with Islamophobic remarks and graphic death threats against Omar.

Equally unsurprising has been Cawthorn’s backing of Rep. Boebart. The New York Post reports Cawthorn recently took to Twitter to support Boebert and accuse Omar of wanting Boebert “canceled;” Cawthorn even added a Donald Trump-like “Sad!” to the end of his post. Not to be outdone, unhinged Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also went on Twitter to pile on against Omar, repeating the “Jihad Squad” slur. So far, Republican leaders in Congress have done nothing to rein in these attacks against a colleague.

Former President Trump attacks Omar with xenophobia, racism and conspiracy theories

Former President Donald Trump, perhaps fearing that he would lose the title of loudest and most unhinged Republican, also jumped into the attacks against Omar, releasing a statement attempting to tie Omar to all kinds of conspiracy theories and accusing her of “essentially abandoning her former country, which doesn't even have a government.”

This tirade against Omar and the entire country of Somalia echoes remarks Trump made while president, in which he demanded that the members of The Squad “go back and fix the broken and crime-infested places from which they came." As Business Insider reports, such remarks ignored the fact that all four women are American citizens, and that only Omar was born outside of the U.S. Trump often singled out Omar during his time in office, repeatedly attacking her religion, nationality and patriotism.

Controversies about Omar’s stances on Israel fuel attacks on her religion and patriotism

While fending off hate-filled remarks, Rep. Omar has been accused of bias. Omar is a staunch defender of Palestinian rights and a fierce critic of Israel, and she has opposed American funding for programs like Israel’s anti-missile Iron Dome. Omar has been accused of anti-Semitism, as some of her remarks about Israel and pro-Israel lobbying interests have appeared to some as dipped into anti-Semitic tropes, for which Omar has apologized for in the past.

Rather than simply criticizing Omar for her comments or disagreeing with her over Israel, many of her opponents have used these instances to engage in Islamophobia and to smear Omar as a traitor and terrorist. For example, Omar recently called out the Minneapolis Star Tribune for equating Omar’s opposition to Israel with terrorism, according to the Jerusalem Post:

US Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted an open letter against the Minneapolis Star Tribune last week after the paper republished a New York Times opinion piece that criticized The Squad for opposing Iron Dome financing.

The main issue that the letter discussed regarding the piece was the headline. In the New York Times piece, the headline was "A Foul Play by Progressives Over Israel's Iron Dome," but the Star Tribune changed the headline to "Omar, 'Squad' Launch Another Anti-Israel Strike" and accompanied it with a photo of Hamas rockets launched at Israel.

Rep. Omar also condemned the paper, tweeting, “The Star Tribune regularly uses Islamophobic and racist language in their coverage of communities of color.”

We can no longer be silent. The @StribOpinion regularly uses Islamophobic and racist language in their coverage of communities of color. Proud of the Minnesotans who led and signed this letter calling for systematic changes to their personnel and policies. https://t.co/1COC844N1r

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 15, 2021

Omar has faced genuine threats to her life — and still managed to show grace to her opponents

In April 2019, a New York man was arrested after he threatened to kill Omar. The man, Patrick Carlineo, called Rep. Omar’s office in March 2019 and accused her of being a “terrorist” and an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, before threatening to shoot her in the head. Although Carlineo was arrested and pleaded guilty to the threat, the incident obviously hasn’t stopped right-wing figures from attacking her publicly and fueling more hate.

Omar has generally taken the high road. In the case of Carlineo, he was ultimately sentenced to a year in jail after Rep. Omar asked that he be shown compassion after he threatened her life.

Sharing my full letter on the the sentencing of Patrick W. Carlineo, a man convicted of threatening my life.

We must apply a system of compassion to criminal justice.

Who are we as a nation if we respond to threats of political retribution with retribution ourselves? https://t.co/O6ooPx5aL6
pic.twitter.com/RUik17VfnZ

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 19, 2019

Sadly, given the radical shift of the Republican party and the polarized nature of American politics today, such attacks against Rep. Ilhan Omar and those she represents will likely continue. Omar, however, remains hopeful. "Do not despair," the congresswoman recently tweeted to a supporter. "We are fighting for the betterment of our country and people will stand with us. Better days are ahead for all us. Inshallah!"

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