Rep. Scott Perry alleged that Rep. Ilhan Omar, who is Muslim, is affiliated with terrorist groups during House debate on her bill to combat Islamophobia

• Ilhan Omar wrote a bill that would create a special envoy to internationally combat Islamophobia.
• During the debate, Scott Perry alleged Omar is antisemitic and affiliated with terrorist groups.
• The House parliamentarian found that Scott Perry’s remarks about Omar were inappropriate.

During a debate on a bill to internationally combat Islamaphobia, the House parliamentarian found that Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., made inappropriate remarks that were “not in order” with the House Rules and Manual when he alleged that Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat and the bill’s author, is antisemitic and affiliated with a terrorist organization.

—House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) December 15, 2021

—House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) December 15, 2021

“We all agree that nobody should be persecuted based on their faith. We all agree on that. But American taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay terrorist organizations, organizations that the maker of this bill is affiliated with like the one that’s an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terror finance case in the United State of America’s history,” Perry said.

—Acyn (@Acyn) December 15, 2021

Perry and several others who spoke in opposition of the bill, which seeks to establish an Office to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia within the State Department, cited a lack of definition for Islamophobia in the bill, which he argued would be “made up” based on individuals’ “political proclivities.”

“By intentionally leaving the definition of Islamophobia blank in this bill, the gentlelady and my friends on the other side of the aisle are creating an office in our State Department that will likely spew antisemitic hatred and attack Western ideas throughout the world under the farce of protecting Islam,” Perry said. “As you can see by this debate, the goal is to silence dissent and critiques of terrorism.”

Last week, Perry said that he was “assailed” by Democrats during the bill’s markup in the House Foreign Affairs Committee who called him “Islamophobic, nasty, mean, and rude.” He claimed that they criticized him for offering amendments that would prevent American tax dollars from going to organizations with ties to terrorism.

Both Perry and Omar are members of the committee.