Ilhan Omar Biography

Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is a well known American politician born on 4th October, 1982. Currently, the American politician Ilhan is serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019. Furthermore, Ilhan is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to her election to Congress, Ilhan served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, representing part of Minneapolis. Omar’s congressional district includes all of Minneapolis and some of its first-ring suburbs.

Moreover Ilhan is the first Somali American in the U.S. Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota. She is also one of the first two Muslim women (along with Rashida Tlaib) to serve in Congress. To add to that, she has been the target of derogatory comments from political opponents, for instance U.S. President Donald Trump, and has received several death threats.

Ilhan Omar Early Life

Omar was born on October 4, 1982, in Mogadishu, Somalia. Her mother passed away when Ilhan, the youngest of seven children, was 2. After this loss, her father, sisters and aunts took care of her. Omar grew up at her middle-class family’s compound in Mogadishu, where her grandfather didn’t enforce traditional gender roles.’

Ilhan’ s childhood was upended by Somalia’s civil war. When Omar was 8, her family fled the country. They ended up living at a refugee camp in Kenya for four years.

In 1995, Ilhan and her family were granted asylum in the United States. The family first settled in Virginia, where Ilhan confronted bullies while attending middle school.

When Omar arrived, she could read some English but couldn’t speak it. One tool her family used to get up to speed conversationally was watching reruns of Baywatch.m

Later in 1997 Ilahn moved oved to Minnesota. Where Her family settled in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, which is home to many Somali immigrants. Before getting a job with the Post Office, Omar’ s father was a taxi. She became a U.S. A citizen in 2000 at the age of 17.

Omar attended Minneapolis’s Edison High School and graduated from North Dakota State University in 2011.

Ilhan Omar Political career

Rep. Ilhan’ss interest in politics was sparked by accompanying her grandfather to Democratic caucuses so she could be his interpreter. Later, Omar served as a community organizer and volunteered on campaigns.

In 2016, Ilhan unseated a 44-year incumbent in a Democratic party primary and was subsequently elected to Minnesota’s House of Representatives. Her campaign for this seat was documented and covered in the documentary Time for Ilhan. Ilhan’s win made her the first Somali American woman in the Minnesota House.

In 1018, Rep. Ilhan was elected to the U.S. House to represent Minnesota’s 5th district, which contains most of the city of Minneapolis. Her positions include support for a $15 minimum wage, Medicare for All as well as the Green New Deal. Omar is the whip for the progressive caucus. Along with three other progressive congress women;  Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and — Omar is also a member of “The Squad.”

Upon her arrival in Congress, it resulted in the lifting of a 181-year-old ban on head coverings on the House floor so she could wear her hijab while fulfilling her duties.

In addition, Ilhan’s decision to wear the hijab was influenced by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as she wanted to signify her cultural identity. She further stated, “I knew we had a responsibility to help shape a narrative about our faith that is positive.”

Ilhan Omar Attacks

While Ilhan was running for the Minnesota House, conservative sites as well as online forums spread a rumor that Omar had married her brother in order to help him immigrate to the United States. She denounced the claim as “absolutely false and ridiculous.” Subsequent fact-checking by news organizations unleashed no evidence to support the accusation.

During Donald Trump’s presidency, he lied that Ilhan had said she was proud of Al Qaeda. He also called for Omar, including other “Squad” members, to “go back” to where they came from, and labeled Ilhan  “unpatriotic.” Chants of “send her back” about Omar were heard at President  Trump’s rallies.

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During the siege at the U.S. Capitol on 6 January, 2021, Ilhan was evacuated to the same place as senior leadership because law enforcement considered her a potential target (received numerous death threats). Omar said of the attack, “It was a very traumatizing experience, and all of us will be traumatized by it for a really long time.”

Ilhan Omar Personal Life; Husband, Children

In 2002,Ilhan married her first husband, Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi, in a religious ceremony. After having two children together, daughter Isra and son Adnan, the duo’s relationship deteriorated. In 2008, Ilhan and Ahmed followed Islamic procedure to end the union.

Omar had issues coping after the end of her marriage in 2008 and went so far as to shave her head.

Later, In 2009, Ilhan eloped with British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Nur the man who had been accused, without substantiating evidence, of being her brother.

In 2011, the couple’s (Omar and Elmi) relationship ended with a religious divorce. The following year, Ilhan reconciled with Hirsi, with whom she had a third child, daughter Ilwad, in 2012. Though Ilhan remained legally married to Elmi, she filed joint tax returns with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015. Later Omar, paid a fine and back taxes to rectify the matter.

In January 2018, after legally divorcing Elmi, Omar legally wed Hirsi. She filed for divorce the next year and their marriage officially ended in November 2019.

In March 2020, Ilhan Islamically and legally wed Tim Mynett, who had worked for her as a political consultant. Whose former wife had accused Ilhan of having an affair with her husband in her divorce petition.