Omar Hangs Up On Republican Congresswoman Boebert During Call Over Boebert’s Islamophobic Comments

Photos: LinkedIn\Screenshot

WASHINGTON—Today, Rep. Ilhan Omar released the following statement after she spoke with Rep. Lauren Boebert.

“Today, I graciously accepted a call from Rep. Lauren Boebert in the hope of receiving a direct apology for falsely claiming she met me in an elevator, suggesting I was a terrorist, and for a history of anti-Muslim hate. Instead of apologizing for her Islamophobic comments and fabricated lies, Rep. Boebert refused to publicly acknowledge her hurtful and dangerous comments. She instead doubled down on her rhetoric. I decided to end the unproductive call.”

“I believe in engaging with those we disagree with respectfully, but not when that disagreement is rooted in outright bigotry and hate.

“To date, the Republican Party leadership has done nothing to condemn and hold their own members accountable for repeated instances of anti-Muslim hate and harassment. This is not about one hateful statement or one politician; it is about a party that has mainstreamed bigotry and hatred. It is time for Republican Leader McCarthy to actually hold his party accountable.”

Background:

Rep. Omar is subject to routine death threats and plots on her life, often responding to anti-Muslim rhetoric. Anti-Muslim hate is on the rise both here at home and around the world.

• In 2019, a white supremacist opened fire at multiple mosques in New Zealand, killing over 50 people.
• This summer, we witnessed a deadly anti-Muslim attack wipe out three generations of a Muslim family in Canada.
• This year has seen over 500 incidents of hate in the U.S.
• This included a sudden rise in anti-mosque incidents in May and June involving cases of vandalism and an attempted stabbing, and several physical assaults targeting Muslim women wearing hijabs.

In October, Rep. Omar introduced the Combating International Islamophobia Act, legislation to address the rise in incidents of Islamophobia worldwide that requires the State Department to create a Special Envoy for monitoring and combating Islamophobia.

Rep. Boebert has demonstrated a clear pattern for Islamophobic hate speech.

• Last week, she falsely claimed she met Rep. Omar in an elevator, claimed a Capitol Police Officer was fretfully chasing her, that Rep. Omar was a member of the quote- “jihad squad” and said “well she doesn’t have a backpack so we should be fine.”
• She said Rep. Omar and other politicians are “full time propagandists …for state sponsored terrorism,” and “politicians with suicide belts strapped their body.”
• On May 10, she called Rep. Omar “a full-time propagandist for Hamas.”
• On May 16, she said Rep. Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib “need to register as foreign agents?”
• On June 8, she called Rep. Omar an “honorary member of Hamas” and that we have “terrorist sympathizers” in Congress.
• This is not the first time she has fabricated a story about Rep. Omar. In September, she called Reps. Omar and Tlaib “evil” and said earlier this year she and a staffer were in an elevator with Rep. Omar when Boebert called Omar the "jihad squad."