Who are Ilhan Omar's parents and what are their backgrounds?

1. Family origins and early loss: the mother named Fadhuma Abukar Haji Hussein

Multiple profiles state Ilhan Omar’s mother was Fadhuma Abukar Haji Hussein and that she died when Ilhan was around two years old; that loss left Omar to be raised by her father and grandfather in Somalia before the family fled the country ^{[4] [3] [5]}.

2. Nur Omar Mohamed: military rank, educator, and father figure

Reporting and biographical summaries identify Nur Omar Mohamed as Ilhan Omar’s father and describe him in overlapping ways: some sources call him a retired Somali Army colonel, others emphasize roles such as teacher-trainer or educator; Omar herself has said she was raised by her father and grandfather ^{[5] [3] [8] [6]}. Her congressional office acknowledged his passing in 2020 under his full name, Nur Omar Mohamed ^[7].

3. Refugee journey that shaped the family narrative

Omar’s family left Somalia during the civil war, lived for about four years in a Kenyan refugee camp, and then resettled in the U.S. in the 1990s—an arc she and her office recount as central to her biography and political identity ^{[2] [9] [1]}.

4. How family background is used by supporters and critics

Supporters emphasize the family’s refugee experience, the loss of Omar’s mother, and the formative role of her father and grandfather in teaching democracy and civic engagement—framing her story as one of resilience and public service ^{[9] [4]}. Critics and some later outlets have questioned aspects of her father’s past; at least one outlet alleges Nur Omar Mohamed’s senior military role connected him to atrocities in northern Somalia during the 1980s and 1990s, an accusation framed there as probable involvement rather than documented fact ^[10]. Available sources do not mention independent, broadly accepted documentary proof in mainstream reporting tying Nur Omar Mohamed to specific abuses; the claim appears in partisan or advocacy-focused publications ^[10].

5. Discrepancies in descriptions and why they matter

Sources vary in how they describe Nur Omar Mohamed—“colonel,” “teacher trainer,” “teacher,” “retired army colonel”—reflecting both the limits of public records and the way biographies compress complex lives. Those discrepancies have been amplified by political opponents and some websites that draw different conclusions about his role in Somalia’s military-era policies; readers should note that mainstream biographical outlets emphasize his military and educational roles without the severe allegations found in targeted pieces ^{[5] [3] [10]}.

6. What mainstream and official sources say (and what they don’t)

Official material from Rep. Omar’s office and standard biographical entries recount the mother’s early death, the father’s name, the refugee years in Kenya, and resettlement in the U.S.; they do not provide detailed public records of Nur Omar Mohamed’s service record beyond the general descriptions cited in multiple bios ^{[7] [2] [6]}. Available sources do not mention independent corroboration in mainstream press of the more serious allegations about his direct involvement in documented atrocities ^[10].

7. Bottom line for readers assessing competing claims

The consistent, verifiable facts across mainstream sources: Ilhan Omar’s mother was Fadhuma Abukar Haji Hussein (died when Omar was ~2), her father is Nur Omar Mohamed, and the family fled Somalia and lived as refugees in Kenya before moving to the U.S. ^{[4] [5] [2]}. Claims that her father was implicated in large-scale human-rights abuses exist in some outlets and should be treated as contested: those allegations are advanced by specific sites and are not corroborated in the mainstream biographical records cited here ^{[10] [6]}. Readers should weigh source provenance, look for primary-document corroboration, and note that Omar’s own office and standard biographies emphasize the refugee-and-education narrative ^{[7] [9]}.