Politics & Government
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Father Dies From COVID-19 Complications
"No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew him," the congresswoman from Minnesota wrote in a statement Wednesday.
MINNEAPOLIS—The father of Rep. Ilhan Omar died from complications of coronavirus, the congresswoman from Minnesota announced Monday evening.
"إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'cuun. Surely we belong to God and to Him shall we return," Omar wrote. "It is with tremendous sadness and pain that I share that my father, Nur Omar Mohamed, passed away today due to complications from COVID-19."
"No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew him. My family and I ask for your respect and privacy during this time," she added.
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23 years ago, from a refugee camp in Kenya, my father and I arrived at an airport in Washington DC. Today, we return to that same airport on the eve of my swearing in as the first Somali-American in Congress. #Hope #Ilhan pic.twitter.com/jVeP3DOipN
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 2, 2019
Omar is among several public figures in Minnesota that have been personally affected by COVID-19. The husband of Sen. Amy Klobuchar contracted the virus in March, but soon recovered.
The brother of Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan died from COVID-19 in March.
Find out what's happening in Southwest Minneapolisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Jacqueline Towns, the mother of Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, died from complications resulting from COVID-19 in April.
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