Fox’s Jeanine Pirro Slammed For Insinuating Ilhan Omar Wears Hijab Because She Is Not Loyal To Constitution
Ilhan Omar, along with Rashida Tlaib, might have made history by becoming the first Muslim women to be elected to the U.S. Congress, but that hasn’t stopped conservatives from demeaning them in the most ludicrous of ways. The West Virginia Republican Party recently tried to suggest that Ilhan had something to do with the September 11 attacks, as reported by Esquire.
Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro, who has not shied away from praising Donald Trump over the course of his presidency, became the latest cable news celebrity to bash Omar, who has been at the receiving end of virulent jibes from Republican lawmakers and pundits recently. On Saturday’s episode of her show, Justice With Judge Jeanine, Pirro suggested that Omar wore a hijab because her loyalties didn’t lie with the U.S. Constitution, but with Islamic sharia law.
It has all stemmed from Ilhan Omar’s criticism of Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Twitter. The tweets didn’t go well with some members of the Democratic leadership, but it became the target of vitriolic attacks by conservatives who argued that Ilhan’s tweets amounted to anti-semitism. Judge Jeanine Pirro took it one step further.
“She’s not getting this anti-Israel sentiment doctrine from the Democrat Party. So if it’s not rooted in the Party, where is she getting it from? Think about it.”
As if not an inherently incorrect statement, considering that belonging to the Muslim faith doesn’t necessarily make someone anti-Israel, Judge Pirro then went on to quote a Koran passage on the hijab, saying the fact that Omar wore one meant she believed in sharia law above U.S. law.
“Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to sharia law, which is in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?” Pirro asked the audience.
Fox host suggests Ilhan Omar's hijab means she is loyal to Sharia law, against the Constitution https://t.co/0EAX1NjzWW pic.twitter.com/qFOzhBBq7e
— The Hill (@thehill) March 10, 2019
Pirro once again returned to her musings later during the show, saying Ilhan Omar’s made-up allegiance to sharia law was disturbing.
“It is somewhat disturbing if she is someone who is sharia complaint,” she said.
Pirro’s attacks on Omar’s religion have been criticized online, with pundits arguing that Judge Jeanine’s statements betray blatant Islamophobia and racism on her part. Some users suggested that Pirro would not dare to make the same statement about a lawmaker who belonged to some other minority group in America.
“Jeanine Pirro is a disgrace. Ilhan Omar’s right to wear hijab in accordance with her religious convictions is as constitutional as an Orthodox Jewish woman’s right to wear a sheitel. Anything less is un-American,” tweeted New York Times columnist Bret Stephens.
Editor’s note: Fox News reached out to The Inquisitr with a statement.
“We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro’s comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar. They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly.”
Fox conveyed a statement from Pirro herself as well.
“I’ve seen a lot of comments about my opening statement from Saturday night’s show and I did not call Rep. Omar un-American. My intention was to ask a question and start a debate, but of course because one is Muslim does not mean you don’t support the Constitution. I invite Rep. Omar to come on my show any time to discuss all of the important issues facing America today.”
