Following Ilhan Omar Coverage, Yemeni Bodega Owners Are Boycotting the New York Post
August 9, 2019As a Black Muslim woman from Somalia — one of the countries included in President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban — Representative Ilhan Omar has become an easy harassment target. Last week, at a Trump rally in North Carolina, attendees chanted, “Send her back! Send her back!”
While the cries for Omar to be “sent back” to Somalia are ugly, they’re unfortunately not a surprise for many Muslims, who have been targeted by politicians and the media before. But in New York City, Yemeni Americans are organizing to hold one outlet in particular accountable for its role as a U.S.-backed war in Yemen appears to be moving toward peace.
In April, Representative Ilhan Omar’s words during a March event for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) were used to launch yet another smear campaign against her. While discussing the importance of civil rights organizations, Omar stated, “CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”