Rep. Ilhan Omar’s 9/11 Comments in Context

The controversy over Rep. Ilhan Omar’s reference to the 9/11 terrorist attacks continued to boil on the political talk shows on Sunday.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders claimed that Omar had spoken “dismissively” about the 9/11 attacks, while Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler said her comments were being misconstrued. Nadler said Omar mentioned 9/11 “only in passing” while talking about “discrimination against Muslim Americans.”

The comments made by Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, have been widely dissected. We thought it would be helpful to our readers to provide the context for Omar’s comments, which were made during a 20-minute speech she delivered at an annual Council on American-Islamic Relations event in California on March 23.

“Many people, referring to the American Muslim community. “But repeatedly we have shown them that we are not to be bullied. We are not to be threatened. We are not to be terrorized. We are strong and resilient, and we will always show up to be ourselves because we know we have a right to a dignified existence and a dignified life.”