WASHINGTON – The US House of Representatives has approved a bill that proposes the establishment of a US State Department office to counter Islamophobia in the country.
The voting on the bill, which was penned by Democrats representative Ilhan Omar, was held on Tuesday after a Republican congresswoman hurled an Islamophobic slur against the former during a session.
The House approved the bill in a party-line vote of 219-212.
The bill would create a special envoy that will monitor and combat Islamophobia-related incidents and includes anti-Muslim violence in the state department’s annual human rights reports.
“We are in the midst of a staggering rise of anti-Muslim violence and discrimination around the world,” Omar said on the House floor. “Islamophobia is global in scope and we must lead the global effort to address it.”
A few weeks ago, Republican lawmaker Lauren Boebert called Omar, who is a Somalia-origin Muslim, a member of a “jihad squad”.
The disgraceful remarks drew criticism from Democrats who called for stripping Boebert, the first-term Republican, of her committee assignments.
PM Imran interacts with foreign envoys to discuss new authority to counter Islamophobia
