Social media went nuclear this week over a video of yet another part of Representative Ilhan Omar's notorious private speech to the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in March. In the same speech where she urged US Muslims to "raise hell" in the face of pervasive discrimination and "make people uncomfortable" if necessary, the Somali-born Muslim lawmaker described the 9/11 attacks as "some people did something."
"CAIR was founded after 9/11, because they recognize that some people did something, and then all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties," Omar said during her speech.
Summarizing 9/11 as ”Some people did something” is as compassionate as summarizing the Nazis as ”some guys that did some stuff.” pic.twitter.com/2WUfZz7JUP
— Matt’s Idea Shop (@MattsIdeaShop) 9 апреля 2019 г.
Needless to say, the vague description of the deadliest terror attack in US history sparked outrage among social media users, who expressed frustration over Omar's failure to use the word "terrorist."
“Some people did something”. No, @IlhanMN, those were not people. Those were animals who didn’t value life. Don’t downplay what they did.
— David B (@dbar200) 9 апреля 2019 г.
Omar also erred in saying CAIR was founded after 9/11: in reality the council was founded in 1994, the same year Hollywood's "True Lies," a comedy and action movie featuring a Muslim terror group, was released.
"Some people did some stuff"? @IlhanMN, what these Jihadis did on 9/11 was murder and terrorism.
— Steve Adams (@Nursedudesteve) 9 апреля 2019 г.
In an earlier video of the same speech, Omar can be hear calling for US Muslims to "raise hell" and "make people uncomfortable" as a protest against what she sees as being treated as "second-class citizens."
This is what @IlhanMN describes as "some people did something", before inciting Muslims everywhere to "Raise Hell", yet Judge Jeanine is blamed for questioning her oppressive anti assimilation hijab? Someone please explain to me how antisemite @Ilhan is a victim? pic.twitter.com/uOcq4mOuci
— Michele Napier (@shellbum1) 9 апреля 2019 г.
"Here's the truth: Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen. And frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," the lawmaker said.
That footage also generated controversy, with many commenters pointing out that Omar, a Muslim, was elected to a high-ranking office. Others stretched the definition of "raise hell" to speculate that she was inciting terror attacks on US soil.
Omar perpetuated the narrative that Muslims in the U.S. are “second-class citizens,” encourages them to “raise hell, make people uncomfortable.”
— Jo Michigan (@JoPreibus) 8 апреля 2019 г.
Victimizing and villianizing.
pic.twitter.com/GjeMSeUomB
CAIR itself is controversial. The organization's stated goal is to fight for Muslim rights in the US and work towards reconciliation of Muslims and people of other religions; however, the US Department of Justice has listed CAIR as an "unindicted co-conspirator in funneling millions of dollars to Hamas," according to The Daily Caller. CAIR is also often accused of being a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate, and, while the organization denounces the connection, it has also repeatedly opposed legislation and executive orders aiming at designating the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
