Politics

Ilhan Omar: Americans Treated Me As ‘Suspect’ After 9/11 Attacks

CBS screenshot

Justin Caruso Contributor
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Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar said that she faced Islamophobia after the September 11 attacks during a Sunday interview on CBS’ “Face The Nation.”

Host Margaret Brennan asked Omar about a 9/11 remembrance event that occurred last week, during which the family member of a victim got on stage and took issue with Omar’s previous description of 9/11 as “some people did something.”

“Do you understand why people found that offensive?” Brennan asked Omar about her language.

“I mean so, 9/11 was an attack on all Americans. It was an attack on all of us. And I certainly could not understand the weight of the pain that the victims of the, the families of 9/11 must feel,” Rep. Omar said.

“But, I think it is really important for us to make sure that we are not forgetting, right, the aftermath of what happened after 9/11. Many Americans found themselves now having their civil rights stripped from them,” she continued. (RELATED: Ilhan Omar: 9/11 ‘Was An Attack On All Of Us’)

“And so, what I was speaking to was the fact that as a Muslim, not only was I suffering as an American who was attacked on that day, but the next day I woke up as my fellow Americans were now treating me as suspect.”

The Minnesota Democrat is among the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress, along with Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) hold a news conference on August 19, 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

During the interview, Omar also continued to push for a boycott on Israel and Israeli businesses, saying, “I think the opportunity to boycott, divest, sanction is the kind of pressure that leads to that peaceful process.”

The congresswoman has been accused of anti-Semitism several times due to her use of rhetoric against Israel and her supporters.

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