US Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, has been named by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as the “Muslim American Public Servant of 2021” at the organization’s annual banquet attended by Muslim activists and three members of Congress on Saturday, December 4.
In her acceptance speech, Omar said she had had a “very difficult week” following his political feud with Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who has made negative comments about Omar at a campaign event calling Omar the “jihad squad.”
Boebert was quick to issue an apology, writing on Twitter that she apologized to anyone in the Muslim community she was offended with the comments she made about Rep.Omar. On November 29, the two representatives spoke in a tense phone call which Omar ended after she said that Boebert had refused to apologize to her directly.
At a press conference the next day, Omar argued Boobert’s words were calling her the “jihad squad ” and falsified a story suggesting she would blow up the Capitol, not only attacking Omar but also millions of American Muslims across the country. She added that the hate speech of the prominent politician had real consequences.
Omar, one of three Muslims currently in Congress, is pressing for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold a vote stripping Boebert from her committee duties.
By using Boebert as an example, Omar promised to encourage the formation of a global envoy for Islamophobia to be immediately submitted to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
In October, Omar and her partner Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., introduced the International Eradication of Islamophobia Act as the basis for the Department of State to elect a special envoy to monitor and combat Islamophobia worldwide, similar to the US special envoy created in 2004 to monitor and combat antisemitism.
Bush, a registered nurse and ordained pastor who has been active in the Black Lives Matter movement, also spoke at the event. Bush said that what we are currently witnessing is dangerous anti-Muslim racism perpetrated even by other members of Congress.
Bush also praised the extraordinary cooperation between the Muslim Community and other minority communities in building a just and free future.
