Oregon: The Christmas Tree Bombing That Didn't Happen

Someone tried - unsuccessfully - to kill a whole lot of folks at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Oregon. The person is a college student, young adult, resident of Oregon, born in Somalia, and a Muslim.

Depending on someone's biases, this could 'prove' that you just can't trust:

• College students
• Those crazy kids
  • For me, anybody under about age 30 is a 'kid'
• Oregonians
• Somalis
• Muslims

Me? I think that anybody who wants to set off a bomb at a tree lighting ceremony isn't safe to have around. The same goes for folks who think it's a good idea to set off bombs in New York City's Times Square.

Motive Matters: Sort of

The motive for wanting to commit mass murder is interesting - and may be important at the trial.

In my opinion, though: it doesn't matter whether the wannabe bomber thinks God told him to kill people; is mad at the Federal Government; or believes that Discovery Channel isn't doing enough to cut the human race down to size. (You can't make this stuff up: A Catholic Citizen in America (September 1, 2010))

I do not think that blowing up people who came to watch a Christmas tree being lit is a good way to promote your religion. I think I can see how a practicing Muslim who lives in America might not want to attend a public event that's related - a bit - to a Christian holy day. But committing mass-murder? That's not the way we're supposed to act in this country.

Decades of secularist efforts to purge Christian symbols and ideas from America have made me quite aware of how disturbing an evergreen decked out in colored lights can be: to the hypersensitive anti-Christian, at least.

But - and this is an important distinction, in my opinion - I do not think that having your skivvies in a knot is a excuse for killing folks at a public gathering.

Muslims, Murder, and Minnesota

I'll admit to a bias. I think that people are individuals. I even think that people who are part of an identifiable group are individuals.

For example, not all Irishmen are shiftless drunkards who talk too much. I'm half Irish, myself, and - wait a minute. I had a drinking problem. Maybe that was a bad example.

Or, not.

Consider America's first Irish president. He did not, as far as I am aware, have a serious problem with drinking. And, whatever failings President Kennedy may have had: he does seem to have taken his job as chief executive seriously.

America's gotten over the 'Irish need not apply' attitude, as far as I can tell. These days, the sort of folks who didn't approve of the Irish and Chinese sometimes focus their hostility on America's newer citizens - like Somalis.

Muslims, Somalia, and America

Many Somali-Americans are Muslims. No big surprise there. Most Somalis are Muslims.

Many came here for the same reason that many of my forebears came to America: It's a whole lot easier to stay alive here, than back in the old country. And there's a whole lot more opportunities here for doing well, economically.

Then there are the occasional individuals who don't like the status quo: and think that committing mass murder will improve things.

Like the young Muslim who wanted to kill a lot of folks at an Oregon Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

Somalia and Minnesota

I'm particularly interested in this case of frustrated religious expression, because of the Somalia connection. I live in Minnesota, where a great many folks from Somalia are settling. They're not coming here for the climate: this is a state where they can find jobs. (December 4, 2008)

The old 'melting pot' metaphor for America doesn't seem to have been popular for years. Decades. I think what we've got is more of a 'crazy quilt,' anyway: Immigrants don't tend to entirely jettison their culture, not for a few generations anyway.

Which is fine by me. I'd start to worry if folks stopped trying to get into America.

About Muslims living in America? I've written about that before. A lot. These posts are a pretty good indication of where I stand, on living in a country where everybody isn't exactly like me:

• " 'They're all Muslims' - This Does Not Help"
  (December 29, 2007)
  • "The only good Indian is a dead Indian" got a makeover
• "Muslims Are Not All Alike"
  (August 19, 2007)

Aren't I Afraid of Those Murderous Muslims?

I think someone from any group might go off the rails and try to commit mass murder. Remember Timothy McVeigh? (June 6, 2009)

Besides: in this case someone who is a Muslim, living in America, was worried about a young man. And told American authorities who to look out for.

No: I'm not all that worried about 'those Muslims.' Whack jobs from any group? Those folks, I'll worry about.

Here's some of the news that set me off today:

"A Somali-born teenager was arrested on Friday for attempting to detonate what he thought was a car bomb at a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Oregon, officials said.

"Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in connection with an alleged plot to bomb the annual event in downtown Portland, the Justice Department said late on Friday.

"The bomb was a fake and had been provided to Mohamud as part of a long-term sting by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, federal officials said in a statement.

"Officials said Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen and student at Oregon State University, had been in contact with an unnamed individual believed to be in northwest Pakistan and involved in terrorist activities...."
(Reuters)

Reuters may think that the important part of this news story is that Federal investigators tricked Mr. Mohamud into thinking that he was getting help building is bomb. My take is that a really important point is mentioned, briefly, deep in the article:

"...The New York Times, quoting a federal law enforcement official on condition of anonymity, reported that the FBI received a tip from a Portland Muslim who was concerned about Mohamud's increasing radicalism. The Times said that tip prompted the FBI to monitor Mohamud's e-mail activity....

"...He told FBI agents that he had thought of waging violent jihad, or holy war, since the age of 15, federal officials said.

"Mohamud proceeded with the plot despite opportunities to back away, according to the complaint, which quotes him praising the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and expressing a desire to see 'body parts and blood' in Portland.

"According to the affidavit, Mohamud said, 'I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or injured.'..."
(Reuters)

That, I think, is an important detail: that "the FBI received a tip from a Portland Muslim who was concerned about Mohamud's increasing radicalism...."

Most folks here in Minnesota, who came from Somalia, don't get their names in the paper. They're doing what I've been doing: getting jobs; raising their families; being part of a community.

Not long ago, quite a few young Minnesotans were disappearing - some turned up later, in pieces, in Somalia. Someone had convinced them that their best career choice was to be a walking bomb.

Their folks 'back home' here in Minnesota - were not happy about the situation. At all. And that's another topic. Sort of.

Somewhat-related posts:

• " 'Loose Lips Sink Ships,' Times Square Bomber, and News Leaks"
  (May 11, 2010)
• "Anti-Islam Porno Posters in St. Cloud, Minnesota: 'Unacceptable' "
  (December 11, 2009)
• "Somalia, America, Assumptions, Terrorists and the Press"
  (October 7, 2009)
• "Terrorists, America, and Generalizations"
  (July 28, 2009)
• "Somali-Americans in Minnesota: According to The New York Times"
  (July 12, 2009)
• "Right-Wing Extremists Really Are Terrorists, Sometimes"
  (June 6, 2009)

In the news:

• "Somali-Born Teen Who Plotted Car Bombing Contacted Suspected Terrorist"
  FOXNews (November 27, 2010)
• "Somali-born teen arrested in car bomb sting"
  Reuters, Edition: US (November 27, 2010)

Bombs in Uganda: Islam, Martyrs, and Making an Impression

Over seventy people in Uganda were killed while they watched the soccer World Cup games. Al Shabaab, a "Somali Islamist militant movement" (CNN), says they did it. For Islam and country, of course:

"...'And the best of men have promised and they have delivered,' said an Arabic statement issued by Al-Shabaab's press office and obtained by CNN. 'Blessed and exalted among men -- (taking) full responsibility ...We wage war against the 6,000 collaborators; they have received their response.'

"The 6,000 is an apparent reference to African Union peacekeepers in Somalia. Uganda contributes troops to the peacekeeping effort.

" 'We are behind the attack because we are at war with them,' Al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamoud Rage told reporters at a news conference in Mogadishu, Somalia.

" 'We had given warning to the Ugandans to refrain from their involvement in our country. We spoke to the leaders and we spoke to the people and they never listened to us.'

"Rage said young suicide bombers carried out the attacks, but did not specify their nationalities. 'May Allah accept these martyrs who carried out the blessed operation and exploded themselves in the middle of the infidels,' he said...."
(CNN)

My guess is that folks in Uganda are thinking about Al-Shabaab now. Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, raised a significant, if rhetorical, question:

"...'If you want to fight, why don't you attack soldiers or military installations instead of fighting innocent people watching football?' said Museveni, who on Monday visited a rugby sports center where two of the blasts occurred Sunday...."
(CNN)

The two targeted sites mentioned in the CNN article were an Ethiopian restaurant and a rugby center.

This is speculation, but I suggest three possible reasons for picking such sincerely civilian targets:

1. Killing lots of innocent people makes the survivors feel bad
2. By now, hitting civilian targets is a tradition among 'defenders of Islam' like Al-Shabaab
3. Civilians often can't shoot back
   • Soldiers can

With Friends Like This, Islam Doesn't Need Enemies

My guess is that the people Al Shabaab wound up and sent to commit suicide and kill rooms full of people were quite sincere. They probably believed that they'd get a celestial whoopie house, or whatever Al Shabaab's recruiting line is.

Whoever's running Al Shabaab may really believe that they're setting up their 'martyrs' to get a grade-A-number-one harem, or a ever-full hookah, or whatever their clerics dreamed up as a reward.

That seems to work for the folks who get sent out to kill themselves. I doubt that praising "martyrs" who kill themselves and take dozens of football (soccer, here in America) fans with them is going to help Islam's image.

There are already quite a few folks who assume that all Muslims are homicidal maniacs following an insane religion. Al Shabaab's efforts won't change their minds - and might convince others that the anti-Islam crowd is right.

I've said this before: With friends like these, Islam doesn't need enemies.

Related posts:

• "Ali Hussain Sibat, Islamic Law, and Getting a Grip"
  (March 19, 2010)
• "In the News: Shaking it for Islam; Wannabe Jihadist Stopped"
  (October 21, 2009)
• "Terrorists, America, and Generalizations"
  (July 28, 2009)
• "Saudi Cleric Wants Women to Use One Eye - I'm Not Making This Up"
  (October 4, 2008)
• "Pro-Islamic Ads Coming to New York City Subways: There's a Real Danger Here, of Becoming Informed"
  (July 21, 2008)
• "With Friends Like These, Does Islam Need Enemies?"
  (January 22, 2008)
• "Juashaunna Kelly's Track Suit Disqualifies her: Islamophobia? an Official on a Power Trip? or Bureaucratic Cluelessness?"
  (January 16, 2008)

In the news:

• "Somali militants claim responsibility for Uganda bombings"
  CNN (July 13, 2010)

Anti-Islam Porno Posters in St. Cloud, Minnesota: "Unacceptable"

A little background: Quite a few Minnesotans came here quite recently, from Somalia. They came here for the same sort of reason that brought my ancestors to the new world: probably, if you're an American, and your ancestors weren't already here here when Columbus landed, yours, too. these sincerely non-Norwegian-Minnesotans came to America because conditions here are better than they are in Somalia.

Which, lately, doesn't take much. I hope that Somalia recovers, but right now it's a mess.

Somalis come to Minnesota because this is one of America's major poultry producers. All those birds need to be processed, and that's a job where you don't need fluency in English. It's great for immigrants.

Which, let's remember, is what most 'real American' families were, not all that long ago.

St. Cloud's Porno Anti-Islamic Cartoons

Somebody went to a bit of trouble - and walked through the recent snowstorm - to put "graphic, sexually explicit cartoons...on utility poles in the 10 block of Second Avenue Northeast and the 300 block of Fifth Avenue South...." (St. Cloud Times, print edition, December 10, 2009)

From the national news:

"St. Cloud police investigate anti-Muslim cartoons"
USA Today (December 10, 2009)

"Police in the central Minnesota city of St. Cloud are investigating anti-Islamic cartoons found on at least two utility poles.

"The St. Cloud Times reports the posters included hand-drawn and digitally-altered photos derogatory toward Muslims. It says they included depictions of the Prophet Mohammed and a swastika, among other images.

"Five of them were found posted Tuesday on a pole outside a store that caters to Somalis...."

"St. Cloud authorities say posters may be hate crime"
(St. Cloud Times print edition (December 10, 2009))

"...St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization Executive Director Mohamoud Mohamed said it appears the images were downloaded from the Internet. Some of them were written in multiple languages.

" 'It's an insult to our religion,' he said.

"Someone spent a lot of time downloading the images and putting them together, Mohamed said. Then the person spent time walking through Tuesday's snow and cold to post them.

" ' It's very scary,' he said.

"Mohamed said the community needs to come together and say it will not tolerate such behavior from 'a few very bad apples.'

" ' It's unacceptable,' he said...."

"...Anyone with information or who found similar images elsewhere can contact police at 251-1200 or Crime stoppers at 255-1301"
(St. Cloud Times (December 10, 2009)) [phone numbers are for St. Cloud, Minnesota, residents or visitors]

I'm no great fan of the idea of "hate crimes," since prosecuting such crimes can be a matter of criminalizing ideas.

That said, the sort of harassment and - arguably - intimidation that these "graphic, sexually explicit cartoons", some of which depict "the prophet Mohammed and a swastika" (USA Today, St. Cloud Times), are, in my opinion, "unacceptable." (Mohamoud Mohamed, via St. Cloud Times)

What's an American Doing, Defending Foreigners?

First of all, someone doesn't have to be melanin-deficient, with ancestors from somewhere in northwestern Europe, to be a Minnesotan. Or an American. Quite a few of these Somali-Minnesotans are American citizens. Whether or not they've become citizens on paper yet, they're all living, working, and raising their families here.

That still seems to come as a shock to a few red-white-and-blue-blooded Americans.

Some of 'Those People' are My Cousins, Nieces, and Nephews

I have no complaints about my ancestors. They were, for the most part, peasants in Norway, Ireland and Scotland. These days, that's no problem. Happily, the 'good old days' of "Irish Need Not Apply" signs are gone. America's having survived an Irish president's administration helped a little, I suspect.

That was then, this is now. I've got cousins who are Oglala Sioux¹ the way I'm Irish, and the extended family has roots in the southwestern Pacific. Even if I were so inclined, the kinds of folks I can call 'those people over there' gets smaller by the generation.

As American as Tacos and Pizza

America's still getting new waves of immigrants: bringing fresh, new ideas; the sort of energy and enthusiasm that some families lose after the first few generations; and new customs to America. I like it. But then, I don't mind living in a country where pizza, hamburgers, and tacos are all "American" foods.

So, why do I hope that whoever put those "unacceptable" posters up gets caught? And, that people in St. Cloud make it clear that they don't, as a rule, treat their neighbors that way?

• Somali Muslims living in Minnesota are Minnesotans
  • Like me.
• I appreciate it when people don't trash my religious beliefs.
  • And so I need to at least say something when someone else is the target of that sort of disrespect.
• It's the right thing to do.
  • I know that sounds corny: but there it is.
• I have some experience, having religious beliefs which are not shared by the majority.
  • I'm Catholic.
  • One of 'those people.'

A German pastor, Martin Niemöller, made the point I'm trying to make. Quite a few times, it seems.

He's credited with writing a poem. Several, actually, all with the same general message. Here are a few:

"When Hitler attacked the Jews
I was not a Jew, therefore I was not concerned.
And when Hitler attacked the Catholics,
I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned.
And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists,
I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned.
Then Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church --
and there was nobody left to be concerned."
(Niemoller's address to the U.S. Congress (Congressional Record,
October 14, 1968, page 31636), Martin Niemoller poem and address on Hitler and the Nazis)

Or maybe it was

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me." (MARTIN NIEMÖLLER: "FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE SOCIALISTS...", United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

Or

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me."
(Martin Niemöller's famous quotation: "First they came for the Communists"..., a page by Harold Marcuse, UC Santa Barbara)

The version you ran into probably isn't there. Some are rather politically correct, some were edited from a more conservative point of view. Although I don't quite agree with the UC Santa Barbara professor's assumption that the guy from the Small Business Administration was subverting the pastor's message ('everybody knows' what those capitalists are like?), the professor's page is one of the best resources I've found online, for studying Niemöller's remarks.

Between Islamic crazies and white supremacists, there's a whole lot of hate - concentrated in, I trust, "a very few bad apples," but dangerous nonetheless. "My end of the boat isn't sinking" is not a prudent attitude.

Related posts:

• "Danish Newspaper's Cartoons Back in the News"
  (October 27, 2009)
• "Somalia, America, Assumptions, Terrorists and the Press"
  (October 7, 2009)
• "Bikinis, Burkinis, and Modesty: The Other Guy isn't Always Wrong"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (August 16, 2009)
• "Hijabs, Myths, and Flashing Flesh"
  (August 12, 2009)
• "Canadian Mosque's 'Specialized De-Radicalization Intervention Program' - Sounds Good"
  (February 26, 2009)
• "(Allegedly) Christian Terrorists? Yes, They Exist"
  (December 31, 2008)
• "Why I Call 'Knights in Support of the Invasion' Islamic"
  (December 20, 2008)
• "Islamic 'Knights in Support of the Invasion' Group on Facebook Shut Down: Censorship, or Common Sense?"
  (December 20, 2008)
• " 'Self-Satisfied Ignorance?' Eucharist, Quran, and Atheist Book Trashed"
  (August 5, 2008)
• "The Subway Project and 'Why Islam?' - Terrorists in the Subways! Or, Not"
  (July 23, 2008)
  Particularly the poems attributed to Martin Niemöller.
• "'Will the Real Islam, Please Stand Up?' "
  (February 6, 2008)
• "Three Killed in Tel Aviv Gay Youth Club: There's No Excuse"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (August 1, 2009)
• "Honor Killing is Against Islam, Islamic Party Members Say"
  (September 7, 2008)
• " 'They’re all Muslims' - This Does Not Help"
  (December 29, 2007)

In the news:

• "Anti-Islamic cartoon investigation continues"
  St. Cloud Times (December 11, 2009)
• "Reward Offered Over St. Cloud Anti-Muslim Cartoons"
  WCCO (December 11, 2009)
• "JCRC Condemns Hateful Cartoons Targeting Muslims in St. Cloud"
  Minneapolis Star-Tribune (December 10, 2009)
  • A remarkable number of Jews haven't forgotten Dachau
• "St. Cloud police investigate anti-Muslim cartoons"
  USA Today (December 10, 2009)

Related posts, on tolerance, bigotry, racism, and hatred.

---

¹ Or, if you like, Oglala Lakota. The family has been saying "Sioux," which was the term most Americans would have understood up to a few decades ago. Turns out, "Sioux" is the Anglicized version of the Chippewa word for "snake." Euro-Americans had apparently asked the (Chippewa) American Indians (that's probably not PC today, but you know what I mean) what the people living a bit west of "here" were called. The Chippewa, who weren't on the Lakota "A" list any more than the Euro-Americans were, said that those 'people' over there were snakes. "Sioux."

The name stuck.

Sort of like "Yankee," but that's another topic.

I've learned that, possibly because we're all supposed to feel warm fuzzies about each other, that the folks who lived around here and points south and east (if memory serves) didn't call the foreigners to the west "snake." Could be.

And, that "Oglala" isn't PC any more. No surprises there. What's politically correct and what's not shifts.

In the News: Shaking it for Islam; Wannabe Jihadist Stopped

The war on terror (which no longer exists, officially (March 30, 2009)) was in the news this week: quite a bit.

Since I'm more limited than, say, The New York Times when it comes to having resources to research and write about events and issues, I have to pick my topics. Out of the welter of bombings, talks, and assertions this week, two items stood out.

Shaking It for Islam

Or, 'with friends like these, Islam doesn't need enemies.'

"Women in Somalia forced by hardliners to shake their breasts"
Zimbabwe Star (October 20, 2009)

"Somalia's hardline Muslim extremists have ordered women to shake their breasts to determine if they are wearing 'un-Islamic' bras...."

"...The Daily Mail has reported that some women have been publicly whipped for wearing hidden undergarments, with insurgents claiming that it is a 'deceptive' act to violate Islam by wearing bras...."

American psychologists in the fifties and sixties would have had a field day with an item like that. If any of them had decided to write a book about Al Shabaab's 'shake it, babe' version of Islam, they'd have probably outsold "The Naked Ape" (1967).

"Somali Islamists whip women for wearing bras"
Reuters Africa (October 16, 2009)

"Somalia's hardline Islamist group al Shabaab has publicly whipped women for wearing bras they say violate Islam by constituting a deception, north Mogadishu residents said Friday.

"The insurgent group, which seeks to impose a strict form of sharia Islamic law throughout Somalia, amputated a foot and a hand each from two young men accused of robbery earlier this month. They have also banned movies, musical ringtones, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer.

"Residents said gunmen had been rounding up any woman seen with a firm bust and then had them publicly whipped by masked men. The women were then told to remove their bras and shake their breasts.

" 'Al shabaab forced us to wear their type of veil and now they order us to shake our breasts,' a resident, Halima, told Reuters, adding that her daughters had been whipped Thursday.

" 'They first banned the former veil and introduced a hard fabric which stands stiffly on women's chests. They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat.'..."

Islam isn't the only religion that's had its crazies. Back in 1616, Thomas Tuke, a Puritan, won lasting fame of a sort with "A Treatise against Painting and Tincturing". his strong antipathy toward women who 'deceive' men by dying their hair or using makeup has been discussed for decades. I was introduced to the story in the sixties, and I found a reference to it as recently as 1994.

I'll say this for Al Shabaab, although I certainly don't support their actions: Having their guys tell well-stacked chicks to shake it for Islam is probably great for their morale. The Al Shabaab dudes, I mean. I get the impression that the women aren't quite so happy about the situation.

Terrorists Stopped or Religious Expression Repressed: Take Your Pick

This story is getting attention in traditional American news media. I suspect the choice of targets helped.

"Feds: Boston terror suspect planned to kill officials, attack mall"
CNN (October 21, 2009)

"A Massachusetts man was charged Wednesday with one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists abroad, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts said Wednesday.

"Tarek Mehanna, 27, of Sudbury, Massachusetts, traveled overseas, sought training from the Taliban, wanted to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq and hoped to kill one or two members of the executive branch of the U.S. government, said Michael K. Loucks, the acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts....

"... Mehanna and the others were unable to get automatic weapons to carry out the mall attack, Loucks said.

"The complaint affidavit alleges that Mehanna and co-conspirators sought to participate in 'violent jihad against American interests and ... would talk about fighting jihad and their desire to die on the battlefield.'..."

From the looks of it the 'battlefield' might have been a place like Mall of America, here in Minnesota. As I said, I think that targeting politicos and American shopping malls got the American press's attention. I even heard something about this on NPR.

Times being what they are, I doubt that anybody's going to try excusing Tarek Mehanna and company on the basis of religious freedom. After all, the argument could be made, all he wanted to do was follow his (sincerely held) religious beliefs.

After 9/11, that sort of open-mindedness seems to have been on the wane.

But, as I've said before, I could be wrong.

Related posts:

• "Anita Dunn, John Ensign, and Beliefs"
  (October 21, 2009)
• "Indonesia, Islam, Adultery, Stoning, Burkinis, Divisiveness and the West"
  (October 13, 2009)
• "Somalia, America, Assumptions, Terrorists and the Press"
  (October 7, 2009)
• "Saudi Arabia Lashes a Man - Credit Where Credit is Due"
  (October 7, 2009)
• "Attack on New York City Thwarted; or Your Constitutional Rights Threatened: Depends on Your Point of View"
  (October 6, 2009)
• "No More "War on Terror" - Officially?"
  (March 30, 2009)
• "Saudi Women Protest Lingere Shops - It's Not What You Might Think"
  (March 26, 2009)
• "With Friends Like These, Does Islam Need Enemies?"
  (January 22, 2008)

In the news:

• "Feds: Boston terror suspect planned to kill officials, attack mall"
  CNN (October 21, 2009)
• "Women in Somalia forced by hardliners to shake their breasts"
  Zimbabwe Star (October 20, 2009)
• "Whipped for wearing a 'deceptive' bra"
  Canada Free Press (October 19, 2009)
• "Perverted religious hardliners force women to wobble breast"
  MalaysiaNEWS.NET (October 20, 2009)
• "Somali Islamists whip women for wearing bras"
  Oddly Enough News, Reuters Africa (October 16, 2009)

Somalia, America, Assumptions, Terrorists and the Press

It's a fact: Somalia is not a shining example of a law-abiding, peaceful, prosperous nation. Somalia has

• Pirates and Al-Shabaab (or the Shibab, al-Shabab, the Shebab (November 23, 2008) shooting it out from time to time
• A national government that has occasionally controlled many parts of the capital city
• An economy that would be better off if pirates and religious crazies weren't fighting each other

Somalia is not a very pleasant place to live.

It's gotten to the point where many Somalis have come to America, looking for a better life. Quite a few came to Minnesota, because there's work here. (December 4, 2008) I'm pretty sure they didn't come to the gopher state for its climate. Somalis in Minnesota have been doing pretty well, as far as I can tell, apart from some oftheir sons dropping out of sight now and again, to reappear in pieces, over in Somalia.

Meanwhile, back in Somalia, "crucial humanitarian aid" is being delayed by America. Whether it's big, bad America or sensibly cautious America depends in part on your preferred reality, and on which papers you read. Here are some of the more reasonable examples:

"The U.S. government is delaying 'tens of millions' of dollars in crucial humanitarian aid over concerns that the money is being diverted to a notorious militant group, a senior U.N. official said...."
(CNN)

"For the first time, the FBI director has stated on the record that the Al Qaeda-linked group al-Shabaab is no longer content to strike within the East African nation of Somalia...."
(FOXNews)

"One in five Somali children is wasting away from malnutrition. Tens of thousands need urgent medical care to survive. The whole middle belt of the country is teetering on the brink of famine. United Nations officials say Somalia has not been in such perilous shape since the central government collapsed in 1991 and is in desperate need of help...."
(The New York Times)

People try to break out of some countries, in the world where I live. (June 20, 2009) They try to break into America. Some may be drawn by government handouts. I think many come for the same reason my ancestors did: it's better here, than where they came from.

Quite a few people, of course, don't "break into" America at all. They enter the country legally, find jobs, and go about the business of earning a living and raising a family.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

From "Irish Need Not Apply" to "What is Radicalizing Young Somali Men?"

It's been a long time since some of my ancestors kept seeing "Irish Need Not Apply" signs, and the Chinese Exclusion Act was finally repealed (January 22, 2009)

America hasn't been perfect, and isn't now. Take the FBI, for example. I remember when J. Edgar Hoover inadvertently became a sort of poster child for mandatory retirement, doing the FBI no favors in the process.

Some people in Washington may not have gotten the memo, and don't realize that J. Edgar is no longer with us. Or, maybe they like the idea that the FBI can be counted on to trample rights, bungle investigations, and generally be available when a Congressional Investigation might boost voter confidence. Confidence in the deeply caring congressperson, of course. Not in the oppressive FBI.

That may not have been what a congressman had in mind, when one of his staffers came to Minnesota and asked, 'what is radicalizing young Somali men?' (March 22, 2009) I think it's quite possible that the staffer didn't realize the implications of that question.

Not all young Somali men were "radicalized." Only about 20 have disappeared, presumably drafted by Al Shabaab or a similar group in Somalia.

And not all young Somali men are the same. Somalis, as far as I can tell, are individuals who by and large are members of families, live in a neighborhood, have jobs, raise their children, and worship - or not - as their conscience guides them.

Nobody's going to mistake someone whose ancestors came mostly from Somalia with someone whose ancestors came mostly from Sweden. But they're not a homogeneous mass. They're people. Individuals.

And, it looks like a few of them haven't been behaving themselves at all well, by American standards. American law doesn't approve of the actions like the Oklahoma City bombing - Timothy McVeigh was executed for his roll in that attack. And American law (finally) regards the disappearance of young Somali men as kidnapping - and again, doesn't approve.

Actually, I think America may have, as a country, learned that immigrants aren't intrinsically dangerous. I think it helped that we rather liked our first Irish president - and that by now quite a number of people in responsible positions are the children and grandchildren of 'smelly, shifty, dirty foreigners.'

That's the Good News

Problem is, it's possible that some Somalis in America will try to replicate the 9/11 attack. I doubt that airliners will be used: The TSA has gotten a little crazy about protecting the flying public from flash cards and nipple rings.

I'm not sure that a terrorist leader would try to get a real terrorist through a system with that sort of full-bore paranoia.

On the other hand, Minnesota has targets like the Mall of America - it's not inconceivable that someone would take a shot at blowing that up, or releasing poison gas inside.

I rather hope that if an attack like that is planned, it'll be stopped as effectively as the latest one on New York City apparently was.

If Somalis are involved, which again is not inconceivable, I also hope - sincerely and strongly - that 'real Americans' don't assume that all Somalis are terrorists. I don't think all Somalis are terrorists, any more than I think all Irishmen and -women support the IRA.

Related posts:

• "Somali-American Jamal Bana: You are Missed"
  (July 13, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Minnesotans Recruited for Terror: Why I Take it Personally
  • Comments
• "Somali-Americans in Minnesota: According to The New York Times"
  (July 12, 2009)
• "Somali-American Rally in Protest Against Terrorism in Minneapolis Today: Probably"
  (July 3, 2009)
• "Somali-Americans Rally Against Extremism Tomorrow: But Who Cares?"
  (July 2, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, Traditional Journalism, and Unpleasant Realities"
  (July 1, 2009)
• "Another Minnesotan Dies in Somalia: Not Your Stereotype African"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, and Common Sense"
  (March 22, 2009)
• "Minnesotans Recruited for Terror?"
  (March 10, 2009)
• "Al Shabaab May Be Running Somalia Now: Just What We Need"
  (January 26, 2009)
• "Recruiting for Terror? Somali Minnesotans Missing, One Found Dead"
  (December 4, 2008)
• "Somali Piracy, Islamic Law, and Maybe a Piece of the Action"
  (November 23, 2008)
• "About Somali Monkeys, Mohammed's Mother, and Other Strange Comments"
  (October 16, 2008)
• "Monkey Pirates, Jews, and Zionists? Get a Grip!"
  (October 14, 2008)

In the news:

• "U.S. delaying millions in aid to Somalia, U.N. says"
  CNN (October 2, 2009)
• "FBI Director: Al Qaeda-Linked Somali Group Could Attack U.S."
  FOXNews (October 2, 2009)
• "U.S. Delays Somalia Aid, Fearing It Is Feeding Terrorists"
  The New York Times (October 2, 2009)

Somali-American Jamal Bana: You are Missed

A third Minnesotan has turned up dead in Somalia.

Jamal Bana had been a top student at Washburn high School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before he began studying engineering. Then, last November, he disappeared.

His parents found a photo of his body, quite dead, online. He had been killed in Somalia.

Somali-Americans, particularly people in families of the young Minnesotans who have disappeared recently, aren't at all happy about what's happening.

"The family of a Somali-American man who died in Somalia have said they want to know who is responsible for recruiting him to join an al Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgency.

"Jamal Bana is the third Somali-American from the city of Minneapolis to head to Somalia and die there. He is one of more than a dozen missing Somali-American men whose families believe have gone back to fight.

" 'Someone must have put something in his mind,' Omar Jamal of Minneapolis' Somali Justice Advocacy Center said at a Sunday news conference with Bana's family.

" 'He must have been somewhat disillusioned and indoctrinated because he didn't have any clue about Somalia at all. So someone somewhere must be responsible for his disappearance.'

"The same day as the family's news conference, Somalia's president -- a former member of the Islamist movement himself -- issued a plea to Somali-Americans not to join the fight in his country...." (CNN)

I'm none too pleased with the situation, myself.

Minnesotans Recruited for Terror: Why I Take it Personally

My ancestors left the general vicinity of Somalia over 85,000 years ago, most likely (November 1, 2007, in another blog), so I don't have much of a family connection with people whose immediate ancestors lived there.

Getting Used to New Neighbors

Today, Somali-Americans (as well as other hyphenated Americans) are fellow-Minnesotans, my neighbors. It looks like many settled in Minnesota for economic reasons, not because they liked the climate: just like many of my ancestors.

They're the families who shared a waiting room with me.

They're the people who go to the Somali Cafe, and are involved in the Somali Student Association, down in St. Cloud.

I haven't checked, but if there isn't a Somali family or two living in Melrose, the next town east and south of here, there will be soon: Minnesota's poultry industry has a few employment opportunities there.

I've read, in learned writings, how racism and cultural gaps abound in "mono-ethnic" towns in this area. There's probably something to that. I've had to deal with the issue of being half-Irish: not often, but it's happened. And, on top of everything else, Somalis aren't, by and large, either Lutheran, Baptist, or Catholic. Many or most follow Islam.

That makes a difference, sort of. Being Muslims and Muslimas, they're the people who go to the Islamic Center in St. Cloud, the professor who made invited a class which included one of my daughters to come and observe Friday prayer.

Of course, there's racism in Minnesota. As I've said elsewhere, there are jerks everywhere. central Minnesota included.

The point I'm trying to make is, the Bana family are my neighbors: at least to the extent that we both live in Minnesota. What hurts them hurts me, albeit indirectly.

The Banas, the Hassans, Everyone, are People: Not a Demographic or The Masses

Despite the sad news of another Minnesota family dealing with a dead son, I was relieved to read a news article that recognized new Minnesotans as individuals: people who were members of families; sons, fathers, mothers, daughters.

After reading about ethnic refugees who came to America, were involved with a capitalistic institution, became disillusioned, and subsequently decided to return to Somalia, the CNN article's focus on one of the young Minnesotans was a relief.

It some of America's subcultures, it's too easy to forget that those who aren't members of one's own circle aren't "the masses": They're people, each with his or her own hopes, challenges, and family background.

Related posts:

• "Somali-Americans in Minnesota: According to The New York Times"
  (July 12, 2009)
• "Somali-American Rally in Protest Against Terrorism in Minneapolis Today: Probably"
  (July 3, 2009)
• "Somali-Americans Rally Against Extremism Tomorrow: But Who Cares?"
  (July 2, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, Traditional Journalism, and Unpleasant Realities
  (July 1, 2009)
• "Kenya and Somalia: Getting Along with Crazy Neighbors"
  (June 25, 2009)
• "Another Minnesotan Dies in Somalia: Not Your Stereotype African"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "Sounds of Silence: 2009"
  (March 31, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, and Common Sense"
  (March 22, 2009)
• "Minnesotans Recruited for Terror?"
  (March 10, 2009)
• "Castro, Cuba, Guevara, Traditional Gatekeepers, and the Information Age"
  (January 30, 2009)
• "Recruiting for Terror? Somali Minnesotans Missing, One Found Dead"
  (December 4, 2008)
• "Terrorists as an Oppressed Class: That was Then, This is Now"
  (February 23, 2008)
• "Cool Heads, Lukewarm Brains, And Dr. Haneef"
  (July 30, 2007)
• "Starvation, Poverty, and Perceptions"
  (July 18, 2007)
• "A Better Class of Terrorist"
  (July 8, 2007)
• "Doublethink, Doctors, and Dumb Ideas"
  (July 3, 2007)
• "Doctors, Terrorists, and the Proletariat: What's a Person to Think?"
  (July 3, 2007)
• "Arrests, Doctors and Terrorists: Keeping a Cool Head"
  (July 2, 2007)

In the news:

• "Somali-American's family: Who sent son to die?"
  CNN (July 13, 2009)

Background:

• "SOMALI IMMIGRANT SETLEMENT IN SMALL MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN COMMUNITIES "
  Jessica Schaid and Dr. Zoltan Grossman, Geography and Native American Studies, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA (Summer, 2003)
  • Standard-issue academic treatment of "racism and cultural gaps in previously monoethnic rural towns."
• "Dhalinyarada iyo xafladaha (Teens and Social Gatherings- Somali)"
  Minnesota Extension Service
• "Somali Night in St. Cloud, Minnesota."
  Ahmed Said, BigNews.biz (January 25, 2009)

Somali-Americans in Minnesota: According to The New York Times

The New York Times article led with these words:

"MINNEAPOLIS — The Carlson School of Management rises from the asphalt like a monument to capitalist ambition. Stock prices race across an electronic ticker near a sleek entrance and the atrium soars skyward, as if lifting the aspirations of its students. The school’s plucky motto is 'Nowhere but here.'

"For a group of students who often met at the school, on the University of Minnesota campus, those words seemed especially fitting. They had fled Somalia as small boys, escaping a catastrophic civil war. They came of age as refugees in Minneapolis, embracing basketball and the prom, hip-hop and the Mall of America. By the time they reached college, their dreams seemed within grasp: one planned to become a doctor; another, an entrepreneur.

"But last year, in a study room on the first floor of Carlson, the men turned their energies to a different enterprise. ..." (The New York Times)

I could be wrong about this, but the first part of the article seems to reflect a perception of reality that's fairly common among the more 'sophisticated' set: that armed conflicts are either an effort by Big Oil and other nefarious elements to maintain their plundering of Mother Earth; or a People's struggle against capitalistic oppressors of the proletariat. Or both.

A deviation from that familiar approach appears in the 15th and 16th paragraphs:

"...The case has forced federal agents and terrorism analysts to rethink some of their most basic assumptions about the vulnerability of Muslim immigrants in the United States to the lure of militant Islam. For years, it seemed that 'homegrown' terrorism was largely a problem in European countries like Britain and France, where Muslim immigrants had failed to prosper economically or integrate culturally. By contrast, experts believed that the successful assimilation of foreign-born Muslims in the United States had largely immunized them from the appeal of radical ideologies

"The story of the Twin Cities men does not lend itself to facile categorizations. They make up a minuscule percentage of their Somali-American community, and it is unclear whether their transformation reflects any broader trend. Nor are they especially representative of the wider Muslim immigrant population, which has enjoyed a stable and largely middle-class existence...." (The New York Times)

The rest of the article contains quite a bit of detail on the background and activities of Minnesotans who have been recruited by terrorists. I'm not at all sure how many Somali-Americans in Minnesota actually buy into the FBI-vs.-African-minority attitude that seems to lie behind some of the narrative. On the other hand, a Senatorial staff did manage to give the impression that they saw all young Somali men as jihadists, or as terrorists-in-training. It hasn't gotten all that much press, but asking "What is radicalizing young Somali men?" was just plain dumb. (July 1, 2009, March 22, 2009)

Yesterday's article in The New York Times is an interesting look at some of the issues that Somali-Americans face. I think it is also an example of the difficulty that old-school journalists and other traditional information gatekeepers have, dealing with a post-Cold-War world.

About two years ago, I discussed how the educational and professional background of some terrorists in England didn't conform to either the traditional 'oppressed proletariat' or 'poverty causes crime' cognitive models.

The consternation of discovering well-educated medical professionals among the perpetrators of the London-Glasgow attacks seems to be dissipating. And, although incidents of knee-jerk reaction to non-WASPs in America still happen ("Muslim Family Talks Safety, Gets Booted From Flight (January 2, 2009)), I like to think that most Americans are learning not to fear the latest wave of immigrants.

As I wrote for this blog's description: "The 19th and 20th centuries' class conflicts and colonial issues are behind us." Of course, we will be dealing with some results of England's factory system for a very long time: just as a dispute over a family inheritance several thousands of years ago is behind much of the trouble in the Middle East.

But this isn't the 19th century any longer. In the West, at least, the Workers won: although even the Big Three bailouts probably won't preserve all their gains.

Elsewhere, although there's probably an economic side to the jihad against the West, I don't think it's so much a class struggle, as the efforts of people with a particular set of values to force their views on at least part of the world.

Meanwhile, I think it will take a very long time for some Western traditionalists to get used to the idea that the world has changed since Walter Durante wrote his articles.

Related posts:

• "Somali-American Rally in Protest Against Terrorism in Minneapolis Today: Probably"
  (July 3, 2009)
• "Somali-Americans Rally Against Extremism Tomorrow: But Who Cares?"
  (July 2, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, Traditional Journalism, and Unpleasant Realities
  (July 1, 2009)
• "Kenya and Somalia: Getting Along with Crazy Neighbors"
  (June 25, 2009)
• "Another Minnesotan Dies in Somalia: Not Your Stereotype African"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "Sounds of Silence: 2009"
  (March 31, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, and Common Sense"
  (March 22, 2009)
• "Minnesotans Recruited for Terror?"
  (March 10, 2009)
• "Castro, Cuba, Guevara, Traditional Gatekeepers, and the Information Age"
  (January 30, 2009)
• "Recruiting for Terror? Somali Minnesotans Missing, One Found Dead"
  (December 4, 2008)
• "Terrorists as an Oppressed Class: That was Then, This is Now"
  (February 23, 2008)
• "Cool Heads, Lukewarm Brains, And Dr. Haneef"
  (July 30, 2007)
• "Starvation, Poverty, and Perceptions"
  (July 18, 2007)
• "A Better Class of Terrorist"
  (July 8, 2007)
• "Doublethink, Doctors, and Dumb Ideas"
  (July 3, 2007)
• "Doctors, Terrorists, and the Proletariat: What's a Person to Think?"
  (July 3, 2007)
• "Arrests, Doctors and Terrorists: Keeping a Cool Head"
  (July 2, 2007)

News and views

• "A Call to Jihad, Answered in America"
  The New York Times (July 11, 2009)

---

A tip of the hat to markstoneman, for drawing my attention to The New York Times' article.

Somali-American Rally in Protest Against Terrorism in Minneapolis Today: Probably

The protest rally organized by people in the Somali-American community of Minneapolis, Minnesota, should have been going for about an hour and ten minutes now, with just under two hours to go.

But it's not in the news. Or, rather, some mention of the protest rally showed up in distinctly back-page items. I discussed a possible reason for this high level of reticence shown by the press yesterday. (July 2, 2009)

It's possible that reporters and editors are waiting for the protest to be over, before mentioning it.

While looking for a reference to the Somali-American community's rally in traditional news media, I found a few more-or-less related items.

Mshale ("the African Community Newspaper") confronted the possible involvement of the Abubakar Islamic Center / Abubakar As-Saddique mosque in the disappearance of about 20 young Minnesota men.

"Despite fears of distractions from the missing Somali youth saga that has engulfed the Somali community in Minnesota, the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center held its 9th Annual Convention at the Minneapolis Convention Center over the weekend where thirty speakers addressed 10,000 people over three days. Participants said it was encouraging to see the number of attendees, the breadth of topics, and the scope of talent.

"Despite a tumultuous year, the mosque saw increased attendance at this year's convention and a spike in monetary support...." (Mshale)

Fair enough. The apparent connection between the Abubakar Islamic center / mosque and disappearing Minnesotans may be a perfect storm of coincidences. We'll know more when details of indictments become public knowledge.

Whatever I think of their editorial position, my hat's off to Mshale for confronting the issue, instead of presenting the old formula of tears, FBI harassment and misunderstood victim that Minnesota Public Radio seems to be maintaining. (July 1, 2009)

Somali-Americans: Not Your Standard-Issue Minorities

I think two articles I found about a recent fire in Minneapolis illustrate why Somali-Americans in Minnesota may present a difficult problem for traditional American journalists.

KARE-11, a local television station, and the Minneapolis Saint Paul Business Journal covered a fire which destroyed three small businesses near Peavey Park, where that rally was scheduled. All three were owned by Somalis. Nobody was killed, but being burned out of your business is far from good news: and eight people had to move out of their homes in a hurry.

The fire is being investigated, of course. It appears to have started outside the buildings - but that doesn't necessarily mean arson. There seems to have been a party going on at the time, and people at parties have been known to do daft or careless things.

The point isn't whether the Somalis whose lives were disrupted represent what serious thinkers of the 19th century would have called a 'criminal class,' or what socially-conscious thinkers of the 20th century would have labeled 'victims of hate crimes.' What I see are people who are where my ancestors were a few generations back.

Except these particular Somalis are business owners instead of farmers and laborers.

I can't help but wonder if traditional American journalists - particularly senior editors, who grew up in the same world of relevance and peace symbols that I did - are sincerely puzzled about what angle to take in articles on this new minority.

I've gotten a bit off-topic in this post: but as a Minnesotan, I think that what affects my new neighbors affects me, too. And, I am not at all convinced that the latest wave of immigrants is getting any better treatment in the traditional press than the non-Anglo people who came before them.

Finally, quite a few Somali-Americans came to live in Minnesota because they found it easiest to get the sort of jobs my ancestors held. There aren't so many hod-carriers these days, but jobs in Minnesota's poultry industry serve the same function for newcomers whose command of English isn't quite up to speed.

Related posts:

• "Somali-Americans Rally Against Extremism Tomorrow: But Who Cares?"
  (July 2, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, Traditional Journalism, and Unpleasant Realities
  (July 1, 2009)
• "Kenya and Somalia: Getting Along with Crazy Neighbors"
  (June 25, 2009)
• "North Korea, American Journalists, the Internet, and Power to the People"
  (June 16, 2009)
• "Another Minnesotan Dies in Somalia: Not Your Stereotype African"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "Tiananmen Square Commemoration in Hong Kong: No Tanks"
  (June 5, 2009)
• "Tiananmen Square 20th Anniversary: A Losing Battle for Traditional Information Gatekeepers"
  (June 3, 2009)
• "Sounds of Silence: 2009"
  (March 31, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, and Common Sense"
  (March 22, 2009)
• "Minnesotans Recruited for Terror?"
  (March 10, 2009)
• "Castro, Cuba, Guevara, Traditional Gatekeepers, and the Information Age"
  (January 30, 2009)
• "William Felkner vs. College Conformity: Traditional Information Gatekeepers Face Another Challenge"
  (December 16, 2008)
• "Recruiting for Terror? Somali Minnesotans Missing, One Found Dead"
  (December 4, 2008)
• "DC Gun Ban, Online Censorship, Individual Rights, and Power to the People"
  (June 27, 2008)

In the news:

• "Abubakar Islamic Center Receives Record Support at Convention despite Controversy"
  Mshale ("the African Community Newspaper") (July 2, 2009)
• "Fire destroys businesses in Minneapolis"
  KARE-11 (July 1, 2009)
• "Fire destroys small businesses in south Minneapolis"
  Minneapolis Saint Paul Business Journal (June 30, 2009)

Somali-Americans Rally Against Extremism Tomorrow: But Who Cares?

That's unfair - but quite honestly, the Michael Jackson funeral and falling stocks seem to be crowding an upcoming protest off the front page, and often right out of the news. The Somali-American protest/rally planned tomorrow afternoon in Minneapolis isn't being completely ignored, though.

"Somali-Americans in Minnesota will protest a rash of suicide bombings in their homeland at a rally Friday in Minneapolis.

"Somalia has been at civil war for the past two decades, but suicide attacks began to surface only recently. Last month, the radical Islamic group Al-Shabaab struck again, killing a number of Somali government officials and tribal leaders...."

"...Shaair said [Shirwa] Ahmed's alleged role in the October attack is all the more reason why Somalis in Minnesota must condemn the violence. Shaair said many Somali-Americans were angered when they heard the news.

" 'They're wondering why would a Somali who's here and who came here to find peace and a safe haven would go back to commit these acts of terror? It doesn't represent us,' Shaair said. 'The community is against suicide bombings.'

"Some Somalis in Minnesota have been personally affected by the violence of their homeland. One Twin Cities woman lost some of her close relatives in a bombing last month in western Somalia...." (MPR)

Shirwa Ahmed is the Minnesotan who dropped out of sight in his home state, and showed up in Somalia: there were pieces of him large enough to identify by DNA analysis, which may have been some comfort to his family. What could be found of him was shipped back to Minnesota and given a decent funeral.

As for the "alleged role" - there was forensic evidence that Shirwa Ahmed had been the star in a suicide bombing. (March 10, 2009)

I discussed editorial preferences, unpleasant realities, and traditional journalism in another post. (July 1, 2009)

At least Minnesota Public Radio is giving some pre-event publicity to the protest: albeit with the old-school 'minority misunderstood and suspected by the FBI' angle.

Somali-Americans in Minnesota Apparently Don't Know Their Place

I suspect one reason why Somalis in Minnesota aren't getting as much press coverage of the rally is that many of them don't know their place.

"...Last week, Jamal participated in a protest accusing Minnesota’s only Muslim civil rights organization, the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) of impeding an investigation into the missing Somali youth. The protest was organized by Abdirizak Bihi, Jamal’s colleague and an uncle of Burhan Hassan, one of the missing Somali young men.

"I, unfortunately, know Bihi all too well. When I ran for Mayor of Minneapolis, I caught Bihi, who was working for McLaughlin’s campaign, running around the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood telling Somalis not to vote for me because “she is a lesbian.”..." (Star-Tribune)

I could be wrong, but I think that black people - even if they're foreigners - who have the audacity to speak against an established civil rights group like CAIR, and have ideas which are distinctly not politically correct is something that traditional American journalists would rather not deal with.

And, judging from that Star-Tribune article, some of that uppity sort are making their voices heard.

For some people with long-standing traditional views, it's troubling times.

Related posts:

• "Somalia, Minnesota, Traditional Journalism, and Unpleasant Realities
  (July 1, 2009)
• "Kenya and Somalia: Getting Along with Crazy Neighbors"
  (June 25, 2009)
• "Another Minnesotan Dies in Somalia: Not Your Stereotype African"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, and Common Sense"
  (March 22, 2009)
• "Minnesotans Recruited for Terror?"
  (March 10, 2009)

News and views:

• "Local Somalis holding rally to condemn violence in homeland"
  Minnesota Public Radio (July 2, 2009)
• "Farheen Hakeem: Who are the Gatekeepers of the Somali Community?"
  Minneapolis Star-Tribune (June 19, 2009)

Related posts, on tolerance, bigotry, racism, and hatred.

Somalia, Minnesota, Traditional Journalism, and Unpleasant Realities

The investigation into the disappearance of young Minnesota men - one of whom later starred in a suicide bombing in Somalia - is moving along. Some Somali-Americans have been indicted by a federal grand jury, for their alleged involvement in the matter.

The details are still sketchy, which is understandable since there hasn't been a formal announcement of the indictments yet.

Judging from the 'victim' angle that Minnesota Public Radio took in an article on a Somali-American woman: When this investigation does hit the traditional news sources, the focus may be on something other than the families whose sons were taken.

"...Ali has heard that FBI agents, working on what she says are false leads, have been asking about her in connection to the case. Agents have been showing Ali's photograph while conducting interviews as part of their probe, according to some of the young people who attend Abubakar.

"Ali said she's even heard talk in her community that she was the one who sent the boys to fight in their homeland, a country where anarchy and violence are the rule. She denies the accusation.

" 'It's very sad,' she said, pausing to dab away tears with the hem of her skirt. 'It's hurting me so much. I'll be the last person on earth encouraging violence. I'm against violence.'..." (Minnesota Public Radio)

Abia Ali runs a girls' program at the Abubakar As-Saddique mosque in Minneapolis.

Minnesota Public Radio's focus on the tears of Abia Ali is, I think, an example of traditional editorial decision-making. (July 1, 2009)

A Familiar Refrain

Parts of the MPR article are very familiar: a member of a minority group - and a woman - is misunderstood by those she is trying to help, and suspected by the FBI. It's a pattern that I've run into for about four decades now.

Recognizing Humanitarian Work: That's Nice

I appreciate a Somali-Minnesotan being displayed in a favorable light. Earlier this year, members of Senator Lieberman's staff came to Minnesota and started the Senator's investigation into how the FBI was 'mishandling' things, by asking: " What is radicalizing young Somali men? " (March 22, 2009) From my point of view, that's 'way too close to the "what makes Irishmen drink too much?" questions that half my ancestors had to put up with.

Lieberman's staff did a good job of giving the impression that they thought all young Somali-Minnesotan men were radicalized, or were in the process of being prepped for jihad. Dumb. Really dumb.

Ignoring the Abubakar As-Saddique Connection: Perhaps Not Entirely Wise

On the other hand, I'm not convinced that people whose parents came from Somalia, or who are first-generation Minnesotans, are well-served by playing up the 'misunderstood victim' angle, while ignoring how the Abubakar As-Saddique mosque may be connected to the little matter of Shirwa Ahmed, and others like him. (March 10, 2009)

So far, something like 20 young Somali-Minnesotans have disappeared. Although the number is small, their lives are not (or, in the cases of those whose body parts have been found, were not) trivial.

MPR mentions that Ali is called "Sister Abia" at the Abubakar As-Saddique mosque, and: "...Last year, the Minneapolis police department awarded her for her work with young people...." The public radio station may be unaware that the Abubakar As-Saddique mosque has been the focus of an FBI investigation into the disappearance of Somali-Minnesotans. (March 22, 2009)

There may be no cause-effect link between activities at the mosque and young Minnesotans winding up in so many pieces that it takes DNA analysis to figure out who they were. However, I'm impressed by the conspicuous absence in the MPR article of the mosque's role in the FBI investigation.

Osman Ahmed, the uncle of one young Minnesotan who disappeared and later died in Somalia, believes that a specific local mosque - apparently the Abubakar As-Saddique mosque - is where young men are convinced that jihad is a good idea. (June 7, 2009)

I suppose Osman Ahmed is the sort of person who made "Sister Abia" "very sad."

Polite reticence is one thing: but writing an article about a sympathetic victim, without mentioning why there's talk about her possible connection with dead Minnesotans, may not be serving either "Sister Abia" or Somali-Minnesotans in general.

Unless something very unusual happens, very unpleasant facts are going to be aired in public. If not soon, in the foreseeable future.

I think it's best to acknowledge facts, and deal with them. It looks like some Somali-Minnesotans think so, too.

Terror Recruitment in Minnesota: Another Approach to the Problem

Instead of playing up the 'victim' angle and ignoring dead and missing Minnesotans, some people in the Somali community are organizing a protest in Peavey Park.

If you've never heard of it, don't feel bad. Not many people outside Minneapolis have. It's at 730 East 22nd Street in Minneapolis, or the corner of East Franklin Avenue and Chicago Avenue, depending on whether you're an 'address' or 'intersection' person when it comes to locations.


View Larger Map

Organizers of the protest have it scheduled for Friday, July 3, 2009, from 3 to 6 in the afternoon. They're expecting (or hoping) for thousands of people to show up.

"...Organizers state: The Somali-American Community in Minnesota is taking a stand and we want the world, the mainstream Community and the Somalis in the Diaspora to know our stand and strong opposition to these terrorists. The Somali-American Community in Minnesota will release a press release and voice the community stand on issues related to suicide bombings and terrorism in the protest. The Somali-American Community in Minnesota is requesting you to attend and cover the protest and to join us in the condemnation of the violent extremists and their suicide bombings...." (American Chronicle)

This is a blast from the past, too: a protest with signs and slogans.

This, however, I have more respect for. The protest organizers are not ignoring a problem that's troubling their community. They're facing it head-on: and trying to tell their neighbors, Senatorial staffers, and anyone who's paying attention that not all Somali-Minnesotans are 'radicalized' - and that they don't want terror recruiters in their community.

Maybe thousands of sign-waving protesters won't change the world this time. But that sort of protest is still an effective way to demonstrate determination and numbers: and to draw attention to an issue.

Related posts:

• "Neda Agha Soltan's Death was 'Staged' - Officially"
  (July 1, 2009)
• "Kenya and Somalia: Getting Along with Crazy Neighbors"
  (June 25, 2009)
• "Another Minnesotan Dies in Somalia: Not Your Stereotype African"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "Maersk Alabama's captain, Richard Phillips: Free"
  (April 12, 2009)
• "American Authorities to Somali Pirates: 'We Want to Talk -"
  (April 9, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, and Common Sense"
  (March 22, 2009)
• "Minnesotans Recruited for Terror?"
  (March 10, 2009)

News and views:

• "Somali-Americans Accused of Al Qaeda Ties Indicted on Terror Charges, Sources Say"
  FOXNews (July 1, 2009)
• "Somali Americans to rally against terrorism/extremism"
  American Chronicle (June 30, 2009)
• "Somali activist tried to stop missing boys from traveling"
  Minnesota Public Radio (June 16, 2009)

Kenya and Somalia: Getting Along with Crazy Neighbors

As of yesterday, Somalia was down to about 280 members of parliament. That's above the 250 needed to make a quorum in Somalia's 550-seat assembly. (BBC)

The rest are either dead, fleeing the country, or already out. Or, possibly, in hiding.

I can't say that I blame the survivors. Trying to run a government in a shooting gallery - where you're the target - must be difficult.

Meanwhile, Kenya is either going to send troops into Somalia, or not.

"With troops massed on the Somali border and heavy artillery being moved into position, Kenya appears ready to join – if necessary – the Ethiopians in an armed intervention in Somalia.

"Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki called together his National Defense and Security Council in Nairobi yesterday, and while Interior Minister George Saitoti assured Kenyans that Kenya would not intervene in Somalia, it was clear that other ministers and defense officials were preparing for such a step...." (CSM)

The Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation has a different angle on the same facts:

"...Though the government is closely monitoring the unfolding situation, government spokesperson Alfred Mutua says Kenya will not send troops to Somalia.

" 'The Government of Kenya is taking appropriate measures to protect the interest of our country and to ensure that our border with Somalia is safe and our citizens and refugees near the border are given the necessary comfort. The Kenyan Government will however, not send troops to Somalia but views this as a serious matter which requires intervention by the International community.'..." (KBC)

These articles don't contradict each other. Kenya shares a long border with Somalia. Kenyan leaders would be irresponsible, under the circumstances, if they hadn't moved troops and weapons to the Somali border.

The last I read, Somalia is a territory with a barely-functioning national government. Islamic fanatics and pirates are shooting it out with each other when they're not targeting survivors of Somali's governing bodies. Kenyan leaders have the responsibility to protect their citizens against Somali factions that might try to expand into Kenya.

I don't know if the implied call for international help will be answered soon. Although Somali pirates have made shipping in the northwest Indian Ocean hazardous, there's quite a bit going on just now: North Korea threatening America with Armageddon¹, and being none-too-friendly toward its closer neighbors; Iran's government quite possibly going into meltdown mode; and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. And that's just the highlights.

It's Not 'Those People Over There'

I'm a bit more personally interested in the situation in Somalia and Kenya, than I am in many others.

My parish church has close ties with a parish in Kenya. I had the honor to meet with a priest from there, when my extended family hosted him on a visit to our area.

Many Somalis have emigrated to America, and quite a few are now Minnesotans. I've discussed the occasionally-sensible way that American authorities have dealt with the disappearance of young Somali men in other posts.

National and geographical borders are not what they were when I was growing up. We have many more opportunities now, to deal with people who do not live in our immediate area. I see this as an opportunity for learning. And, for giving support to people in need. (More at "Earthquake in Ziarat: I Have to Care," A Catholic Citizen in America (October 29, 2008).)

Right now, it looks like people in Somalia need a national government that can handle the assorted pirates and fanatics. How that end will be achieved, I don't know. My guess is that the people who have been killing members of parliament in Somalia won't decide that it would be nicer if they'd stop: so force will probably be needed.

That won't be at all pleasant.

Related posts:

• "Another Minnesotan Dies in Somalia: Not Your Stereotype African"
  (June 7, 2009)
• "Maersk Alabama's captain, Richard Phillips: Free"
  (April 12, 2009)
• "American Authorities to Somali Pirates: 'We Want to Talk - "
  (April 9, 2009)
• "Somali Pirates Take American Ship: Crew Takes it Back "
  (April 8, 2009)
• "Sounds of Silence: 2009"
  (March 31, 2009)
• "Somalia, Minnesota, and Common Sense"
  (March 22, 2009)
• "The West and Today's Somali President: The Enemy of Your Enemy is Your Friend?"
  (March 19, 2009)
• "Al Shabaab May Be Running Somalia Now: Just What We Need"
  (January 26, 2009)
• "America to Unilaterally Attack Somalia!"
  (January 8, 2009)
• "Guinea, Military Rule, and Terrorism: Beware Hasty Judgment"
  (December 29, 2008)
• " 'A World Without War...' and What Would Happen to It"
  (November 6, 2008)

In the news:

• "Kenya rules out military action in Somali"
  Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (June 25, 2009)
• "Kenya poised to intervene in Somalia"
  The Christian Science Monitor (June 25, 2009)
• "Somalia MPs flee assassinations"
  BBC (June 24, 2009)
• "Kenya rejects call for military help in Somalia"
  CNN (June 22, 2009)
• "Somali security minister killed"
  CNN (June 18, 2009)

---

¹ No, I don't think that America as a whole is in immediate peril. On the other hand we could lose places like Anchorage and Honolulu, so Dear Leader's threat isn't something that can be ignored.

Another Minnesotan Dies in Somalia: Not Your Stereotype African

The Abubakar As-Saddique Mosque in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is in the news again.

And, there's another Minnesotan who (very likely) is dead in Mogadishu, Somalia. He's Burhan Hassan, 17, a senior at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. His family hadn't heard from him in about two weeks.

Then, this Friday, Burhan Hassan's family got a very disturbing phone call.

"...'Someone who claimed (to be) a member of al-Shabaab called Burhan's mom Friday (afternoon) and said Burhan died Friday morning,' [Burhan Hassan's uncle Osman] Ahmed said. 'Burhan's mom got shocked and (threw) the phone when she heard the story.'

" 'Al-Shabaab assassinated Burhan and shot (him in) the head,' the individual said, according to Ahmed.

"A law enforcement official told FOX News on Sunday that one of the Somali-American men was recently killed in Somalia by artillery fire, but the official declined to release the man's name...." (FOXNews)

Burhan Hassan isn't the first Somali to return to the old country and then turn up dead. There was enough of Shirwa Ahmed left, after he starred as a suicide bomber in Somalia, for DNA to identify who he was. At least his family got to give him a decent burial. (December 4, 2008)

Mr. Ahmed was the first naturalized American citizen to be a suicide bomber, a detail which started U.S. intelligence people looking at Somalis in America. They seem to have arrived at some conclusions:

"...The potential recruitment of young Somali-American men has been made possible by 'a number of factors that come together when a dynamic, influential and extremist leader gains access to a despondent and disenfranchised group of young men,' Andrew Liepman, deputy director for intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center, said earlier this year.

"Many refugees, he said, 'lack structure and definition in their lives' and are 'torn between their parents' traditional tribal and clan identities, and the new cultures and traditions offered by American society.'..." (CNN)

At least Mr. Liepman said "Many refugees."

Let's look at the "despondent and disenfranchised" young man whose family got that disturbing phone call. His uncle, Osman Ahmed, had a few words to say about Burhan Hassan. (I don't know if he's related to Shirwa Ahmed. "Ahmed" isn't all that uncommon a name in America (U.S. Census).)

"...'(He) was a brilliant student with straight A's and on top of his class,' Ahmed testified at a Senate hearing in March focusing on recruitment efforts by al-Shabaab. 'He was an ambitious kid with the hope to go to Harvard University to study medicine or law and become a medical doctor or a lawyer.'

Ahmed accuses a local mosque of helping al-Shabaab recruit his nephew and others in the Minneapolis area.

'Like his peers, Burhan Hassan was never interested in Somali politics, or understood Somali clan issues,' Ahmed said during testimony. 'These kids have no perception of Somalia except the one that was formed in their mind by their teachers at (a local mosque). We believe that these children did not travel to Somalia by themselves. There must be others who made them understand that going to Somalia and participating the fighting is the right thing to do.'..." (FOXNews)

The "(a local mosque)" appears to be the Abubakar As-Saddiqu mosque in Minneapolis. It's been connected with missing Minnesotans before. (March 22, 2009)

I hope that American officials realize that not all Americans who were born in Somalia, or whose parents emigrated to this country, fit the "despondent and disenfranchised" description given by Mr. Liepman. And that not everybody from Africa is so mired in "traditional tribal and clan identities" that they can't manage in an up-to-date, civilized country like America.

Related posts:

• "Somalia, Minnesota, and Common Sense"
  (March 22, 2009)
• "The West and Today's Somali President: The Enemy of Your Enemy is Your Friend?"
  (March 19, 2009)
• "Minnesotans Recruited for Terror?"
  (March 10, 2009)
• "Al Shabaab May Be Running Somalia Now: Just What We Need"
  (January 26, 2009)
• "America to Unilaterally Attack Somalia!"
  (January 8, 2009)
• "Guinea, Military Rule, and Terrorism: Beware Hasty Judgment"
  (December 29, 2008)
• "Recruiting for Terror? Somali Minnesotans Missing, One Found Dead"
  (December 4, 2008)
• "Piracy, Terrorism, and a Changing World"
  (November 20, 2008)
• "Monkey Pirates, Jews, and Zionists? Get a Grip!"
  (October 14, 2008)

In the news:

• "Group Linked to Al Qaeda May Have Killed Minnesota Man Recruited in Somalia "
  FOXNews (June 7, 2009)
• "Somali teen from Minnesota reportedly killed in homeland"
  CNN (June 7, 2009)
• "Somali youth from Minneapolis dies in homeland"
  Minneapolis Star-Tribune (June 7, 2009)

Related posts, on tolerance, bigotry, racism, and hatred.