A translated speech from Minnesota socialist congresswoman Ilhan “Some People Did Something’ Omar went viral this week and sparked new calls for her resignation after the “Squad” member was caught reminding her fellow Somali migrants that they’re an “organized society” of “Somalians first, Muslims second” who give “orders” to the U.S. government in favor of Somalia.
Now, to be fair, I don’t speak Somali. I’m guessing you don’t either, and I should note that MRCTV has not independently verified the translation in this now-viral video. But according to the captions, which have been verified by multiple people including native Somali speakers on social media, Ilhan Omar reminds her predominantly Somali audience that she - and they - are Somalis first and Muslims second, and that “the U.S. government will only do what Somalis in the U.S. tell them to do” when it comes to protecting Somalia’s land interests.
“We are an organized society, brothers and sisters, people of the same blood, people who know they are Somalians first and Muslims second, who protect one another and come to each other’s aid and to the aid of other Muslims, too,” Omar told the crowd, per the translation.
(Oh, and context: Omar’s speech concerned an ongoing dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia over Somaliland, an area that claims its independence as an otherwise urecognized state but that Somalia claims as its own. Somaliland recently struck a deal with Ethiopia for sea access via Somaliland's coastline along the Gulf of Aden, which Somalia says infringes on its territory. Now, moving on.)
The congresswoman went on to say that some of her fellow Somalis in the U.S. have called on her to persuade others in the federal government to back Somalia’s claim to the land.
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“My answer to Somalians was that the U.S. government will only do what Somalis in the U.S. tel them to do. They will do what we want and nothing else. They must follow our orders and that is how we will safeguard the interest of Somalia,” the Minnesota Democrat continued, per the translated video.
Suffice it to say, there were more than a few people alarmed at Omar’s “Somalian first, Muslim second” devotion to Somalia - even, it would seem, over the United States and its own foreign policy interests. The video sparked calls for Omar to resign, with critics pointing out that anyone who identifies with another nation and who demands the U.S. government follow the “orders” of any one ethnic group is not fit to serve in Congress. Others pointed out that while Omar was more than happy to label herself Somali and Muslim, she mentioned nothing about identifying as American, or as having the best interests of the United States in mind.
For her part, Omar has claimed the subtitles are “not only slanted but completely off,” though other Somali speakers on X have confirmed the translation is accurate, and even those who’ve attempted to post Omar-friendly alternative translations of her speech haven’t notably differed.
It also lends credence to the translation's accuracy that Rhoda Elmi, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister, said she was “profoundly surprised, even shocked" by Omar's comments, accusing the Squad member of using “ethno-racist rhetoric” that was "unbecoming of both the office she holds and the constituents she represents.
“Her expressions were lacking in common decency and revealed a significant lack of understanding of basic facts," Elmi went on.
Seems like if anyone would know if the video's translation is accurate, a government official who speaks the same language would probably be it.
All that's for Somali speakers and linguistics experts to sort out. But you have to admit - for a woman who whitewashed 9/11, regularly dogwhistles to terrorists who murder Jews, and who has a history of spewing anti-Semitic and anti-American rhetoric to the point of facing congressional censure, this would be pretty on-brand.
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