In a staunch rebuttal to US President Donald Trump’s disparaging comments about Somalia and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Somalia’s Defence Minister, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, has publicly sided with Ilhan heritage and highlighted the progress of her homeland.
President Trump’s remarks, shared on his Truth Social platform, criticized the state of Somalia, linking its challenges to Ilhan Omar amid local political tensions in the US.
He highlighted issues such as poverty, hunger, and violence
“Ilhan Omar’s country of Somalia is plagued by a lack of central government control, persistent poverty, hunger, resurgent terrorism, piracy, decades of civil war, corruption, and pervasive violence,” President Trump noted on a post to his social-media platform Truth Social
In response, Minister Fiqi condemned Trump’s statements as a “blatant attempt to scapegoat” Ilhan Omar for her origins. He asserted that targeting her based on her Somali heritage is unacceptable and risks perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
“Rep. Ilhan Omar is an American elected official whose contributions and service should be assessed within the context of her work and principles—not her country of origin,” Fiqi stated in a Facebook post.
“If our sister is being targeted because of her ethnicity, then we stand firmly by her side. She has brought great honour to her name and to the place she originally hails from,” Minister Fiqi said in his post
Born in Mogadishu in 1982, Ilhan Omar moved to the United States, where she proudly embraced her Somali roots while making significant strides in politics.
Fiqi praised her achievements and the contributions of the Somali diaspora
“Somalis are a proud people, with a longstanding history; wherever they live, they leave their mark and are recognised around the world.”
