Ilhan Omar
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party.[6] Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, representing part of Minneapolis. Her congressional district includes all of Minneapolis and some of its first-ring suburbs.
Ilhan Omar
Omar serves as deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has advocated for a $15 minimum wage, universal healthcare, student loan debt forgiveness, the protection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A frequent critic of Israel, Omar supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has denounced Israel's settlement policies and military campaigns in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as what she describes as the influence of pro-Israel lobbies in American politics.[7][8][9] In February 2023, the Republican-controlled House voted to remove Omar from her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, citing past comments she had made about Israel and concerns over her objectivity.[10]
Omar is the first Somali American in the United States Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota. She is also one of the first two Muslim women (along with Rashida Tlaib) to serve in Congress.[11][12] She has been the target of several death threats, as well as derogatory comments by political opponents, including Donald Trump, as a result of her background.[13][14]
Early life and education
Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 4, 1982,[15][16] and spent her early years in Baidoa, Somalia.[17][18] She was the youngest of seven siblings, including sister Sahra Noor. Her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, an ethnic Somali from the Majeerteen clan of Northeastern Somalia,[19] was a colonel in the Somali army under Siad Barre and also worked as a teacher trainer.[20][21] Her mother, Fadhuma Abukar Haji Hussein, a Benadiri, died when Ilhan was two.[22][23][24][25] She was raised by her father and grandfather, who were moderate Sunni Muslims opposed to the rigid Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.[26][27] Her grandfather Abukar was the director of Somalia's National Marine Transport, and some of Omar's uncles and aunts also worked as civil servants and educators.[21] She and her family fled Somalia to escape the Somali Civil War and spent four years in a Dadaab refugee camp in Garissa County, Kenya, near the Somali border.[28][29][30]
Omar's family secured asylum in the U.S. and arrived in New York in 1995,[31][32] then lived for a time in Arlington, Virginia,[24] before moving to and settling in Minneapolis,[24] where her father worked first as a taxi driver and later for the post office.[24] Her father and grandfather emphasized the importance of democracy during her upbringing, and at age 14 she accompanied her grandfather to caucus meetings, serving as his interpreter.[27][33] She has spoken about school bullying she endured during her time in Virginia, stimulated by her distinctive Somali appearance and wearing of the hijab. She recalls gum being pressed into her hijab, being pushed down stairs, and physical taunts while she was changing for gym class.[24] Omar remembers her father's reaction to these incidents: "They are doing something to you because they feel threatened in some way by your existence."[24] Omar became a U.S. citizen in 2000 when she was 17 years old.[34][24]
Omar attended Thomas Edison High School, from which she graduated in 2001, and volunteered as a student organizer.[35] She graduated from North Dakota State University in 2011 with a bachelor's degree, majoring in political science and international studies.[36][33] Omar was a Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs.[37][38][39]
Threats and harassment
DFL caucus attack
On February 4, 2014, Omar was attacked and wounded by multiple attendees during a DFL caucus for Minnesota's House of Representatives District 60B.[188] She was organizing the event and was a policy aide to Minneapolis City Councilman Andrew Johnson at the time. She sustained a concussion and was sent to the hospital.[189]
Death threats
In February 2019, the FBI arrested United States Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Paul Hasson, who was allegedly plotting to assassinate various journalists and political figures in the United States, including Omar. According to prosecutors, Hasson is a self-described "long time White Nationalist" and former skinhead who wanted to use violence to "establish a white homeland." Prosecutors also alleged that Hasson was in contact with an American neo-Nazi leader, stockpiled weapons, and compiled a hit list.[190]
On April 7, 2019, Patrick Carlineo Jr., was arrested for threatening to assault and murder Omar in a phone call to her office. He reportedly told investigators that he did not want Muslims in the government.[191][192] In May 2019, Carlineo was released from custody and placed on house arrest.[193] He pleaded guilty to the offense on November 19.[194] Omar asked the court to be lenient with him.[195]
In April 2019, Omar said that she had received more death threats after Trump made comments about her and 9/11, "many directly referencing or replying to the president's video".[196] In August 2019, she published an anonymous threat she had received of being shot at the Minnesota State Fair, saying that such threats were why she now had security protection.[197] In September 2019, she asserted Trump was putting her life in danger by retweeting a tweet falsely claiming she had "partied on the anniversary of 9/11".[198]
Two Republican candidates for congressional office have called for Omar's execution.[199] In November 2019, Danielle Stella, Omar's Republican opponent for Congress, was banned from Twitter for suggesting that Omar be hanged for treason if found guilty of passing information to Iran.[194] In December 2019, George Buck, another Republican running for Congress, also suggested that Omar be hanged for treason. In response, Buck was removed from the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program.[200] Neither candidate won their primary election.[201][202]
"Go back to their countries" Trump tweet
On July 14, 2019, Trump tweeted that The Squad—a group that consists of Omar and three other young congresswomen of color, most of whom were born and raised in the U.S.—should "go back" to the "places from which they came".[203][204][205] In response, Omar said Trump was "stoking white nationalism" because he was "angry that people like us are serving in Congress and fighting against your hate-filled agenda."[205] Two days later, the House of Representatives voted 240–187 to condemn Trump's "racist comments".[206] On July 17, it was reported that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lists the phrase "Go back to where you came from" as an example of "harassment based on national origin".[207]
At a July 17 campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump made additional comments about The Squad: "They never have anything good to say. That's why I say, 'Hey if you don't like it, let 'em leave, let 'em leave'", and "I think in some cases they hate our country".[208] He made a series of false and misleading claims about Omar, including allegations that she had praised al-Qaeda and "smeared" American soldiers who had fought in the Battle of Mogadishu by bringing up the numerous Somali civilian casualties.[209][210][211] The crowd reacted by chanting, "Send her back, Send her back."[212][213] Trump later called the crowd "incredible people, incredible patriots" and accused Omar of racism and antisemitism.[214] On July 19, he falsely claimed that Omar and the rest of The Squad had used the term "evil Jews".[215]
Foreign media has widely covered Trump's remarks about Omar and The Squad. The social media hashtag #IStandWithIlhanOmar was soon trending in the United States and other countries.[216] Many foreign politicians condemned Trump's comments. On July 19, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "I reject [Trump's comments] and stand in solidarity with the congresswomen he targeted."[216]
Target of online hate speech
Omar has frequently been the target of online hate speech.[217][218] According to a study by the Social Science Research Council of more than 113,000 tweets about Muslim candidates in the weeks leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, Omar "was the prime target. Roughly half of the 90,000 tweets mentioning her included hate speech or Islamophobic or anti-immigrant language."[219][220] According to the study, "Key themes included Muslims as subhumans or 'Trojan horses' seeking to impose Shariah law on America.... A large proportion of these trolls were likely bots or automated accounts run by people, organizations or state actors seeking to spread political propaganda and hate speech. That's based on telltale iconography, naming patterns, webs of linkages and the breadth of the postelection scrubbing."[220]
9/11 comments and World Trade Center cover
On April 11, 2019, the front page of the New York Post carried an image of the World Trade Center burning following the September 11 terrorist attacks and a quotation from a speech Omar gave the previous month. The headline read, "REP. ILHAN OMAR: 9/11 WAS 'SOME PEOPLE DID SOMETHING'", and a caption underneath added, "Here's your something ... 2,977 people dead by terrorism."[221] The Post was quoting a speech Omar had given at a recent Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) meeting. In the speech Omar said, "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us [Muslims in the U.S.] were starting to lose access to our civil liberties." (CAIR was founded in 1994, but many new members joined after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.)[222][223]
On April 12, President Trump retweeted a video that edited Omar's remarks to remove context, showing her saying, "Some people did something."[224][225][226][227] Some Democratic representatives condemned Trump's retweet, predicting that it would incite violence and hatred. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Trump to "take down his disrespectful and dangerous video" and asked the U.S. Capitol Police to increase its protection of Omar.[228][229]
Speaking at an April 30 protest by black women calling for formal censure of Trump,[230] Omar blamed Trump and his allies for inciting Americans against both Jews and Muslims.[231]
Comments by Lauren Boebert
In November 2021, Republican Representative Lauren Boebert said she had shared an elevator with Omar, and that she and a Capitol Police officer both mistook Omar for a terrorist. Boebert referred to Omar as the "Jihad Squad".[232] Omar said that she had not shared an elevator with Boebert, that the story was made up, and that Boebert's comments were "anti-Muslim bigotry".[233][234]
Awards and honors
Omar received the 2015 Community Leadership Award from Mshale, an African immigrant media outlet based in Minneapolis. The prize is awarded annually on a readership basis.[242]
In 2017, Time magazine named Omar among its "Firsts: Women who are changing the world," a special report on 46 women who broke barriers in their respective disciplines, and featured her on the cover of its September 18 issue.[243] Her family was named one of the "five families who are changing the world as we know it" by Vogue in their February 2018 issue featuring photographs by Annie Leibovitz.[244]
Media appearances
In 2018, Omar was featured in the music video for Maroon 5's "Girls Like You" featuring Cardi B.[245]
The 2018 documentary film Time for Ilhan (directed by Norah Shapiro, produced by Jennifer Steinman Sternin and Chris Newberry) chronicles Omar's political campaign.[246] It was selected to show at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Mill Valley Film Festival.[247][248]
Following a July 2019 tweet by Trump that The Squad—a group that consists of Omar and three other congresswomen of color who were born in the United States—should "go back" to the "places from which they came",[203] Omar and the other members of the Squad held a press conference that was taped by CNN and posted to social media.
[249]
On October 19, 2020, Omar joined Ocasio-Cortez, Disguised Toast, Jacksepticeye, and Pokimane in a Twitch stream playing the popular game Among Us, encouraging streamers to vote in the 2020 election. This collaboration garnered almost half a million views.[250]
Personal life
In 2002, Omar became engaged to Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi (né Aden). She has said they had an unofficial, faith-based Islamic marriage. The couple had two children together,[2][4] including Isra Hirsi, one of the three principal organizers of the school strike for climate in the US.[251] Omar has said that she and Hirsi divorced within their faith tradition in 2008.[2][4]
In 2009, Omar married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British Somali.[2] According to Omar, in 2011 she and Elmi had a faith-based divorce and she reconciled with Hirsi, with whom she had a third child in 2012.[252][2] In 2017, Elmi and Omar legally divorced,[53] and Omar and Hirsi legally married in 2018.[34] On October 7, 2019, Omar filed for divorce from Hirsi, citing an "irretrievable breakdown" of the marriage.[253] The divorce was finalized on November 5, 2019.[4][5]
In March 2020, Omar married Tim Mynett, a political consultant whose political consulting firm, the E Street Group, received $2.78 million in contracts from Omar's campaign during the 2020 cycle.[254][255][256] The campaign's contract with Mynett's firm became a focus of criticism by her Democratic primary opponent and conservative critics that received significant local and national media attention.[257][258] On November 17, 2020, Omar's campaign terminated its contract with Mynett's firm, saying the termination was to "make sure that anybody who is supporting our campaign with their time or financial support feels there is no perceived issue with that support."[259]
In 2020, HarperCollins published Omar's memoir, This Is What America Looks Like, written with Rebecca Paley.[260]