Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/tag/somali-communities/page/6/)
Somali-Americans assembled November 24 for a profound and, sometimes emotional, discussion in Minneapolis that sought ways to rebuild their war-torn homeland.
When the civil war erupted in Somalia more than two decades ago, Abdi Daud left everything he had known and loved about the country for the unknown lifestyle and culture of the United States.
Somali Americans in Eden Prairie are staging an election rally on Saturday November 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the Eden Prairie Community Center. The event will be attended by Senate District 48 candidates Laurie McKendry, house candidates Tori Hill and Yvonne Selcer and others. Community leaders Ahmed Jama and Jeff Strate have prepared a Somali language election guide and a video urging people to vote “NO” on the photo ID amendment and have produced this video through DFL Senate District 48’s program Democratic Visions.Free Speech ZoneThe Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. The opinions expressed in the Free Speech Zone and Neighborhood Notes, as well as the opinions of bloggers, are their own and not necessarily the opinion of the TC Daily Planet. Continue Reading
A federal jury found a Minneapolis man guilty of helping other local men travel to Somalia to fight with terrorist group al-Shabab on Thursday.Mahamud Said Omar, 46, was convicted of aiding a terrorist group and conspiring to kidnap, maim or kill overseas.The government built its case over nine days with telephone records showing contact between Omar and six men who left the U.S. for Somalia in November 2008. The trial was the public’s first look at a massive FBI investigation into the exodus of a total 20 men from Minneapolis to Somalia. They left to join al-Shabab and fight against what they saw as invading Ethiopian troops in their home country.Two of those men were University of Minnesota students at the time of their departure. Both are now presumed dead.The defense maintained that Omar was a “little man” without the means to organize and fund such a large-scale effort.The jury spent less than 10 hours deliberating — the government and defense did their closing arguments just Wednesday afternoon. The jurors, eight women and four men, deliberated for a couple hours Wednesday afternoon and came to a consensus Thursday at about 3:30 p.m.The courtroom was full for the reading of the verdict. Continue Reading
A jury will now deliberate the fate of the first man to go to trial in the FBI’s investigation into al-Shabab recruitment in Minneapolis.
Updated, 9/25: When nearly a thousand Minnesota Somalis gathered at the Minneapolis Convention Center September 22 in celebration of their newly elected president and parliament speaker, three things were prevalent: blue, white and music.The blue and white colors, which comprise the Somali flag, adorned the auditorium, while Somali singers and musicians entertained the audience and commented on current social issues in Somalia through their song lyrics.About a dozen of Minnesota’s finest Somali singers took the stage to convey a message of hope as they inspired the audience to stay positive and hopeful about the country’s conditions, despite the 22 years of turmoil.While terror attacks, perpetuated by the Somali’s al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabaab, continue to kill people in Mogadishu, event participants were hopeful that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Parliament Speaker Mahamed Osman Jawaari would make a difference.“This president is unlike others who held office in the past,” said Abdikadir Elmi, a Somali community member who was a student of President Mohamud seven years ago when he studied at Simad University in Mogadishu. “He can bring stability to the country. He’s well-educated, innovative and honest.”For Elmi, the event had a personal connection. It wasn’t just a celebration for a new Somali president, but rather a celebration of the success of a teacher and mentor.Nearly a thousand Minnesota Somalis gathered to celebrate the election.In a secret ballot two weeks ago, political newcomer Mohamud unexpectedly won the election against outgoing President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed by the legislative vote of 190 to 70.“I urge you to stand up and support the president,” Sheikh Abdirahman Sharif, Imam of Masjid Darul Hijra of Minneapolis, told the people at the event. “And we ask him to share his visions and plans for the government with us. Continue Reading
A month after its official launch, the New Americans Political Action Committee organized a forum that served a dual purpose: to familiarize the East African — largely Somali and Ethiopian — commun
With the Olympics underway in London we’re hearing a lot about the very strong Team USA and the other major nations counting up their gold medals.
But the Olympic movement is also about the small nations, the ones that can send only a few athletes from places in the world where the fun of sports comes in a distant second to the bleak day-to-day reality of just trying to stay alive.
Ramadan is a month-long time of fasting, with the date determined by the lunar calendar. This year Ramadan ends at sunset on August 18. Fasting means no food and nothing to drink (not even water!) When that’s in the heat and long days of summer, as it is this year, fasting from sunrise to sunset is particularly difficult. Continue Reading
For Aden Hassan, sending $100 a month to his uncle and cousins in Somalia felt like the least he could do.