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Ilhan Omar draws criticism for glaring omission in response to devastating Notre Dame fire

April 16, 2019 | | Print Article
TOPSHOT - Smoke billows as flames burn through the roof of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral on April 15, 2019, in the French capital Paris. - A huge fire swept through the roof of the famed Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15, 2019, sending flames and huge clouds of grey smoke billowing into the sky. The flames and smoke plumed from the spire and roof of the gothic cathedral, visited by millions of people a year. A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze. (Photo by Fabien Barrau / AFP) (Photo credit should read FABIEN BARRAU/AFP/Getty Images)
(Photo credit FABIEN BARRAU/AFP/Getty Images)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., tweeted a response to the tragic fire that destroyed much of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday, but she left out an important detail in her remark and was quickly reminded online of the omission.

As the world looked on in horror, the 850-year-old cathedral was engulfed in flames as firefighters battled for hours. The devastating fire destroyed the iconic structure’s roof and collapse its spire.

“Art and architecture have a unique ability to help us connect across our differences and bring people together in important ways.,” Omar said in a tweet. “Thinking of the people of Paris and praying for every first responder trying to save this wonder.”

But Omar, a Somali refugee and one of the first two Muslim women to be elected to Congress, treated the place of worship as if it were a museum or an art display.

An ironic take, given that conservative commentator Mark Steyn all but compared the Notre Dame Cathedral to a museum.

Appearing on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Steyn said that “Christendom is in retreat in Europe,” adding that the secular French are “among the most Godless people in that sense.”

“There is no sense of Christianity outside of the walls of that cathedral,” Steyn said. “And it was after that that I went to then Notre Dame because you do have the sense that a living, breathing faith is just becoming actually a museum.”

Photo credit FABIEN BARRAU/AFP/Getty Images)

An observation he supported by saying he has previously visited a Catholic church outside of Paris in Saint Denis, describing it as a “Christian museum in the heart of what is now a Muslim suburb in effect.”

According to The Economist, Paris and its metropolitan area has the largest number of Muslims of any city in the European Union — up to 1.7 million.

Omar’s Notre Dame tweet was criticized because, much like her remark belittling the 9/11 terrorist attack at the hands of Islamic extremists, it is insensitive. At its best. At its worst, it is disrespectful.

Her remark that “some people did something,” which came as she spoke at a CAIR fundraiser about being “tired” of being treated like a “second class citizen” because she is Muslim, became fodder for her critics:

Here’s a sampling of some of the more popular responses from Twitter:

https://twitter.com/NoahPollak/status/1118003706086080514

https://twitter.com/Mel_Med_/status/1118190125702422528

The only question in all of this seems to be does Omar  know what she’s doing here, as Erielle Davidson, senior contributor for The Federalist, suggests.

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Tom Tillison
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