A coalition of 1,000 Yemeni American merchants is calling for a boycott of the New York Post after the paper juxtaposed images of 9/11 with an excerpt of a quote from Rep Ilhan Omar (D-MN), reports The Hill.
Omar is one of two women elected to Congress in 2018 to become the first elected Muslim congresswomen in the country.
Critics accused the Post of taking the quote out of context by publishing just a sentence fragment, and without context.
In her statement to the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Omar said “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,” she said.
The Post headline declared “Here’s Your Something. 2,977 people dead by terrorism.”
President Trump added fuel to the controversy by looping a video of Omar saying “some people did something” over video of 9/11 in a tweet.
“We support free speech, but we will not accept the incitement of violence against Muslims,” Debbi Almontaser, the secretary of the board of directors for the merchants, said to WRAL.
“What the New York Post is doing is endangering the lives of American Muslims and people of color,” Almontaser said.
Critics of Omar said her remarks were dismissive of 9/11.
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted her support for Omar and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she would take steps to ensure Omar’s safety.
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RE: Merchants Call for Boycott of NY Post after “Hate filled” headline: This is incorrect in your article “Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who is the only other Muslim woman elected to Congress, tweeted her support for Omar and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she would take steps to ensure Omar’s safety.”
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not a Muslim. Rep. Rashida Tlaib is the other Muslim woman in Congress.
RE:Merchants Call for boycott of NY Post after “hate filled headline: You are correct. We apologize for the error.