The New York Times examined Rep. Ilhan Omar’s past marriages and highlighted a detail it called “murky”: the certificate for her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi was signed by a Christian pastor, not an imam, even as the paper described Omar as an observant Muslim.
What the New York Times flagged
Quoting the Times’ report: “Several aspects of the marriage to Mr. Elmi have long been murky. For instance, although Ms. Omar is an observant Muslim, the couple’s marriage certificate was signed by a Christian pastor rather than an imam.”
What Omar wrote and what records show
According to the Times, citing Omar’s memoir, “This Is What America Looks Like,” Omar previously married Ahmed Hirsi in a religious ceremony that was not legally recognized. The paper reported that Omar identified her 2009 spouse only as a British man and described that marriage as impulsive during a difficult period of her life, based on her book.
The Times also recounted that Omar filed joint tax returns with Hirsi in 2014 and 2015 while she was married to Elmi; Omar and Elmi did not legally divorce until 2017. Omar then legally married Hirsi in 2018 and divorced him in 2019. The two have three children, according to the account summarized in the Times’ report. The Western Journal article adds that Omar is now married to Tim Mynett.
What others reported
The Western Journal, citing the New York Post, noted that Elmi identified himself in an academic paper published in August as “a gay man of the East African diaspora.” That characterization is attributed to the Post via the Western Journal; the original document is not reviewed here.
Allegations vs. what’s established
The Western Journal refers to longstanding speculation that Omar’s 2009 marriage involved a familial relationship and immigration fraud. Those allegations are not established in the Times passages cited here. The Western Journal also asserts that the federal government is investigating; that claim is not independently substantiated in the provided material.
