Father of Somalia-born US Representative Ilhan Omar died on Monday night of complications from the novel coronavirus, local media reported.
“It is with tremendous sadness and pain to say goodbye to my father,” the Minnesota congresswoman tweeted late on Monday. “No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew and loved him.”
إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
Surely we belong to God and to him shall we return.
It is with tremendous sadness and pain to say goodbye to my father, Nur Omar Mohamed. No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew and loved him. pic.twitter.com/gb7q0gMXG2
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 16, 2020
Omar and her father Nur Mohamed came to the United States as refugees in 1995 from Somalia during the country’s civil war and eventually settled in Minneapolis, according to Politico.
Omar was elected along with Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib in November 2018 making them among the first two Muslim women to serve in the US Congress.
The Minnesota representative did not respond to Reuters request for a comment.
