Anger against Muslims: Congressman equates the United States with the Taliban

Friday 11 June 2021

Anger at Muslim women
The congressman equates the United States of America with the Taliban

A Muslim Congressman equates the United States and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban. Now there is criticism against democracy, from within its ranks as well.

American Muslim MP Ilhan Omar sparked outrage with her statements critical of Israel and the United States. Politicians from both Republicans and Democrats have harshly criticized democracy for its statements comparing the two countries to the extremist Islamist Taliban movement and Hamas. There were special calls from Republicans to impose sanctions on those who are thirty-eight years old.

Omar, who was elected to Congress as the first Muslim woman in 2016, teased US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken with questions about US responsibility for victims of crimes against humanity at a hearing on Monday. She then wrote on Twitter: “We have seen unimaginable atrocities committed by the United States, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.”

Then a group of Jewish Democrats wrote an open letter describing the “equation between the United States and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban” as “offensive as it is misleading.” “We urge Congresswoman Omar to clarify her words.”

Criticism also from the top of their party

The outspoken disapproval also came from the party’s leadership, including Speaker of Parliament Nancy Pelosi. The presidency of the six-member Democratic group said that “incorrect comparisons between democracies such as the United States and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism” are counterproductive to peace and security in the Middle East and the United States.

Many Republicans were sharper in criticism. “The anti-Semitic and anti-American comments are hideous,” said Conservative Representative Kevin McCarthy Omar. Without consequences for Omar, Democrats will point out that they “tolerate anti-Semitism and sympathize with terrorists.”

Republican Senator Tom Cotton suggested to Omar that she leave the United States if she finds the country too abhorrent. The 38-year-old is from Somalia who came to the US as a refugee in the 1990s and was later naturalized. This was not the first time that, with strong criticism of Israel’s policy toward the Palestinians, it had reaped headwinds from within its own ranks.