US state politician Ilhan Omar says she holds Trump ‘exclusively responsible’ for the rise in Islamophobia in the US.
Hers is a remarkable journey: from a refugee camp in Kenya to a state legislature in the United States. In 2016, Ilhan Omar became the first elected Somali-American Muslim legislator in the US, the same night that Donald Trump was elected president.
When asked about Trump’s role in the rise of anti-Muslim, far-right, white nationalist hate groups in the country, Omar says she would come very short of holding him “exclusively responsible”.
“I think when you … demonise and dehumanise, it is easy for people to commit acts of violence against those individuals because they no longer see them as a person, as someone who has feelings, who’s worthy of respect,” says Omar.
“We are moving away from this idea that we are supposed to be a welcoming nation.”
In this Special Interview, we speak with Minnesota State Representative Ilhan Omar about Trump and the rise of Islamophobia in the US.
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