Omar, one of the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress and the first House member to wear a hijab , accurately pointed out that her community has faced everything from being the targets of secret surveillanc e to losing civil protections and facing an increase in discrimination and hate crimes since 9/11 . (The congresswoman was factually incorrect when she said CAIR was founded after the attacks. A spokesperson later clarified that she meant to say the organization expanded at the time.) The Minnesota Democrat also defended her criticism of Islamic countries such Saudi Arabia and Egypt over their human rights records. “It doesn’t matter if that country is being run by my father, my brother, my sister,” she told the audience. “I will still criticize that country because I know every country is capable of living up to its best.”