ADDS APOSTROPHE IN HEADLINE
By Umar Farooq
WASHINGTON (AA) – Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called out a conservative TV talk show host's “dangerous ” comments that questioned her loyalty to the U.S.
“This is dangerous incitement, given the death threats I face. I hope leaders of both parties will join me in condemning it, ” the Muslim lawmaker tweeted. “My love and commitment to our country and that of my colleagues should never be in question. We are ALL Americans! ”
The criticism Omar faced was in response to comments she made about the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, in which she said Muslim Americans should not be considered second-class citizens because of it.
“Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, ” Omar said at an event for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “And frankly, I’m tired of it. And every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something, and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. ”
Fox network host Brian Kilmeade of Fox & Friends, responded with “you have to wonder if she's an American first. ”
Dan Crenshaw, a congressman from Texas, was also critical of Omar, saying her description of the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks as “some people ” is unbelievable.
“First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as 'some people who did something', ” Crenshaw tweeted. “Unbelievable. ”
Omar, a Democratic representing Minnesota's 5th district, is one of the first two Muslim lawmakers to be elected into U.S. Congress.
She has been faced by a slew of attacks and death threats in recent weeks, a part of ongoing criticisms and attacks she has faced since she made comments criticizing Israel.
Last Friday, a man in New York was charged with threatening to assault and kill Omar, after he reportedly said “she's a [expletive] terrorist. I'll put a bullet in her [obscenity] skull. “
