Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi has urged Somalian Americans, including supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, to stand by Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, saying she was being singled out because of her Somali origins.
MOGADISHU, Somalia, Oct. 24, 2026 (Horndiplomat) — Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi has urged Somalian Americans, including supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, to stand by Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, saying she was being singled out because of her Somali origins.
In remarks addressed to Somalis living in the United States, Fiqi described Omar as a courageous politician who should not be left to confront political hostility alone, regardless of differences over American domestic politics.
“I want to send a message to Somalis living in the United States about our sister Ilhan Omar. She is facing a serious campaign of hostility, and she has been left to fight this battle alone,” Fiqi said.
“Ilhan Omar is a courageous woman. We may agree or disagree with her political positions in the United States, but we share the same ethnicity, blood and religion. She is one of our own.”
Fiqi said Somalian Americans were entitled to make their own political decisions but argued that disagreements over U.S. politics should not overshadow their shared identity.
“She left Somalia, and the reason she is being targeted by the conservative team, ‘Trump and his team,’ is because she comes from Somalia,” Fiqi said.
“Her political positions in America are her own. She may be outspoken and speak however she wishes, but the reason she is being attacked is her Somalian ethnicity and the country she comes from.”
The minister also appealed directly to Somali Americans who support Trump, urging them to stand by Omar despite their political differences.
Fiqi’s remarks come amid renewed controversy over Omar’s identity and immigration history, after Trump cited a Justice Department court filing that reportedly identified the Minnesota congresswoman as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar.”
Trump seized on the reported reference to question Omar’s identity and demand her resignation. He has also repeated longstanding allegations that she married her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to obtain immigration benefits.
Omar has denied the allegations concerning her former marriage and rejected claims that she used a false identity. The allegations have not been established in court, and the reported use of an alternative name does not, by itself, demonstrate wrongdoing.
The Minnesota congresswoman, who fled Somalia during its civil war and later became a naturalised U.S. citizen, has accused Trump of promoting conspiracy theories about her background.
The dispute has added to years of political disagreements between Trump and Omar over immigration, foreign policy and Somalia.
Fiqi’s comments reflect how the confrontation has attracted attention beyond the United States, with the Somalian minister framing the controversy as a matter of shared ethnic identity rather than political affiliation.
