NEW YORK (AP) - Yemeni-Americans are criticizing the New York Post over its front page last week that featured a photograph of the burning World Trade Center and a quote from Democratic Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar that some say was dismissive of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
On Sunday, The New York Times reports the Yemeni American Merchant Association announced a formal boycott of the tabloid after Yemini bodega owners in New York had earlier agreed stop selling the newspaper.
Last week’s front page featured a quote that came from a recent speech the Minnesota Democrat gave to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in which she described the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center as “some people did something.”
“We support free speech, but we will not accept the incitement of violence against Muslims,” said Debbi Almontaser, the secretary of the board of directors for the merchants.
“What the New York Post is doing is endangering the lives of American Muslims and people of color,” Almontaser said.
The merchants are demanding that the newspaper apologize to Omar and to the Muslim-American community in New York.
A spokeswoman for News Corporation, the parent company of the New York Post, declined to comment.
Also on Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she has taken steps to ensure the safety of Omar after President Donald Trump’s retweet of a video that purports to show the congresswoman making the remark along with news footing of the hijacked airplanes hitting the Twin Towers. Trump captioned his tweet with: “WE WILL NEVER FORGET!”
Neither Trump’s tweet nor the video included Omar’s full quote or the context of her comments, which were about Muslims feeling that their civil liberties had eroded after the attacks.
Pelosi was among Democrats who had criticized Trump over the tweet, with some accusing him of trying to incite violence against the Muslim lawmaker. An upstate New York man recently was charged with making death threats against her.
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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com
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