In Congress and from Trump, horror over New Zealand mosque massacre

Rep. Ilhan Omar, the most outspoken Muslim member of Congress, responded to Friday’s targeted killing of worshipers at two New Zealand mosques that left 49 people dead and dozens more injured.

Taken from a verse in the Quran, the Arabic phrase she used means “We belong to Allah and to Allah we shall return.” “Jumu’ah” refers to the Friday prayers that Muslims attend just after noon, and “Jummah Mubarak” is a greeting Muslims exchange on Friday, the Islamic day of congregational prayer.

Omar, a Somali-American who represents a Minnesota district encompassing Minneapolis, is one of just three Muslim members of the 116th Congress. Her previous comments about the influence of American Jews on Mideast policy have been characterized by some as anti-Semitic, a charge she denies.

Democratic Rep. André Carson, who is also Muslim, condemned the attack as well. Carson represents Indiana’s 7th District, centered on Indianapolis.

President Trump, who signed an executive order in 2017 halting refugee admissions from seven countries with a Muslim-majority population, deplored “the horrible massacre.”

Trump said nothing about the suspected gunman, whom police have described as a white supremacist. In the past, he has described Islamic terror suspects as “evil” and “animals.”

Twenty-two minutes after his remarks on the Christchurch attack, Trump returned to one of his favorite current themes, why Jews should support the Republican Party.

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