Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted at Fox News on Monday after the network condemned its host Jeanine Pirro’s Islamophobic remarks attacking the lawmaker.
“Thank you, @FoxNews,” Omar wrote. “No one’s commitment to our constitution should be questioned because of their faith or country of birth.”
Pirro, on her show Saturday, questioned whether Omar’s Muslim faith prevented her from upholding the U.S. Constitution.
“Omar wears the hijab, which according to the Quran 33:59, tells women to cover so they won’t get molested,” Pirro said. “Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?”
The Constitution’s First Amendment protects religious freedom and free speech rights.
Fox released a statement on Sunday “strongly” condemning Pirro’s remarks.
“They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly,” Fox said.
Pirro also released a statement, claiming she didn’t intend to question Omar’s commitment to Constitution.
Pirro’s hijab comments were part of a larger attack on Omar over the freshman lawmaker’s criticism of Israel.
Omar has come under fire from both parties for recent remarks on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and U.S. financial ties to the nation. Some have accused her of peddling anti-Semitic tropes while others have viewed her comments as legitimate criticisms of U.S. foreign policy.
Pirro implied Omar wasn’t in a position to critique U.S. foreign policy due to her supposed debt to the U.S. after fleeing Somalia as a refugee and being “resettled by our government in Virginia to enjoy the cornucopia of rights, privileges and benefits the United States offers.”
Fox News has on many previous occasions has tolerated Islamophobic and birther comments from its hosts and commentators.
Pirro in 2016 called for “a conversation about surveillance in mosques,” and in 2017 defended President Donald Trump’s travel ban targeting Muslim-majority nations.
Before Trump became president, Fox frequently gave the then-reality star airtime to peddle a toxic conspiracy theory about President Barack Obama’s birthplace.