At a speaking event with fellow Muslims, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) refused to answer a question about female genital mutilation.
Ani Zonneveld, president of Muslims for Progressive Values, asked Omar to condemn the medieval practice, still widespread in some parts of the world.
Omar called the question “appalling,” before going on a tirade about how often she and Rep. Rashida Tlaib reportedly have to condemn the radical elements of Islam. (Mediaite)
“Should I make a schedule? Like, does this need to be on repeat every 5 minutes? Should I be like, ‘so, today I forgot to condemn Al-Qaeda, so here’s the Al-Qaeda one. Today I forgot to condemn FGM so here it goes. Today I forgot to condemn Hamas so here it goes.’ It is a very frustrating question that comes up. You can look up my record. I’ve voted for bills doing exactly what you are asking me to do.
Omar went on to say she was “quite disgusted to be honest that as Muslim legislators, we are constantly being asked to waste our time speaking to issues that other people are not asked to speak to because the assumption exists that we somehow support [it].”
Omar is a Somali refugee, having fled the war-torn nation with her family when she was 12 year-old. Traditional Somali culture still includes what many see as the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation, however that practice has abated significantly with global attention.
She continued to ask for questions that other members of Congress might receive, and not questions that “come an accusation that we might support something that is so abhorrent, so offensive, so evil, so vile.”
AAN Staff
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