MINNEAPOLIS – The story of
Somali youth who vanished from the Twin Cities, possibly to fight alongside jihadists in their home country, is transforming the normally passionate and sometimes pugilistic debates at Minneapolis coffee shops into quieter introspection. Now a recurring topic of conversation among Somalis is “reconstructing the community’s tainted image,” said Dahir Awaleh, a 47-year-old small-business owner who frequents the popular Starbucks on Minneapolis’ Riverside Avenue.“In Minnesota, Somalis are increasingly associated with terrorists,” he lamented, sipping his coffee. “Businesses are raided. Friends and family members are being interrogated by law enforcement agencies. Mosques are under surveillance.”On a recent Saturday afternoon – a day when the shop’s customers are almost entirely Somali – Awaleh’s remarks drew quick nods from the half dozen Somali men he sat with. They said the unknown number of Somali youth who left the Twin Cities, among other places, to fight in Somalia, are casting the community in a negative light, thanks to alarmist individuals and sensational news media.“Individuals anointed by the news media as leaders are capitalizing on this tragedy,” said Mukhtar Osman, an engineering student at the University of Minnesota, who was recently held at the airport for hours when he returned from a family visit in Sweden. “My detention is a direct impact of reckless remarks made by so-called community leaders who claim that Somali youth may strike U.S. targets if they return. There’s no shred of evidence for this.”..more..
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_artic
le.html?article_id=a13f5a931b2ad8c9b02e590bf83f4bc0&from=rss
MINNEAPOLIS – The story of Somali youth who vanished from the Twin Cities, possibly to fight alongside jihadists in their home country, is transforming the normally passionate and sometimes pugilistic debates at Minneapolis coffee shops into quieter introspection. Now a recurring topic of conversation among Somalis is “reconstructing the community’s tainted image,” said Dahir Awaleh, a 47-year-old small-business owner who frequents the popular Starbucks on Minneapolis’ Riverside Avenue.“In Minnesota, Somalis are increasingly associated with terrorists,” he lamented, sipping his coffee. “Businesses are raided. Friends and family members are being interrogated by law enforcement agencies. Mosques are under surveillance.”On a recent Saturday afternoon – a day when the shop’s customers are almost entirely Somali – Awaleh’s remarks drew quick nods from the half dozen Somali men he sat with. They said the unknown number of Somali youth who left the Twin Cities, among other places, to fight in Somalia, are casting the community in a negative light, thanks to alarmist individuals and sensational news media.“Individuals anointed by the news media as leaders are capitalizing on this tragedy,” said Mukhtar Osman, an engineering student at the University of Minnesota, who was recently held at the airport for hours when he returned from a family visit in Sweden. “My detention is a direct impact of reckless remarks made by so-called community leaders who claim that Somali youth may strike U.S. targets if they return. There’s no shred of evidence for this.”..more..http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_artic
le.html?article_id=a13f5a931b2ad8c9b02e590bf83f4bc0&from=rss
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