Sunday, December 5, 2010

Somalis react to FBI ‘terror plot’

update on Portland's Somali community unites to condemn alleged Pioneer Courthouse Square bomb plot
The FBI’s arrest of Somali-American teenager Mohamed Osman Mohamud in Oregon caused palpable waves of shock and fear in the Twin Cities Somali community.Minnesota Somalis were still recuperating from FBI harassment on account of the 20 missing men who allegedly joined the Somali rebel group Al-Shabab — which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government — over two years ago. Last month’s sex trafficking ring bust reverberated through the community as well. And little over a week ago, news broke that undercover FBI agents were facilitating 19-year-old Mohamud’s alleged terror plot for the last six months.The FBI says the purpose of its sting operation was to provide Mohamud the equipment necessary to carry out the bombing at a Christmas event.But others — with Salon.com’s Glenn Greenwald being the most vocal — have suggested what the FBI did was entrap Mohamud into carrying out the plan, thereby manufacturing a terror plot to suit their own ends.
Conveniently, there are no recordings available of the meeting during which Mohamud allegedly said he would rather detonate a bomb instead of raising money to fund terrorism abroad.Also omitted from most media accounts is Mohamud’s motive. Increasingly, research shows that anti-U.S. terrorism is caused by American foreign occupations, as a recent Foreign Policy magazine article argues.
Sure enough, the FBI quotes Mohamud as saying his motive was "for you to refrain from killing our children, women … And it’s not fair that they should do that to people and not feeling it."American fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan has motivated many terrorist attacks and could very well have been the rationale behind Mohamud’s plotting. But before casting blame on Islam or the American Somali community, it is worth taking a close look at the FBI’s investigation.Twenty-five-year-old Zuhur Ahmed, a University of Minnesota alumna and host on KFAI community radio, said her first reaction was disbelief. Because her program covers Somali youth issues, media outlets often ask for her opinion on youth violence."The question they usually ask me is if the [20 missing] kids will come back here and plot terror activities, and my answer would always be no, so I was in denial." But after she learned more about Mohamud’s story, Ahmed felt like he was set up."I felt like the FBI wanted to prove a point and convince the public that something’s being done to address terrorism," she said.Skepticism and mistrust of the FBI is not new in the Somali community. After the Somali men went missing, the FBI began an investigation of a Somali mosque, and last year agents interrogated University students on campus.The result has been a great deal of tension with law enforcement. Ahmed told me the FBI instructed some students to not talk to the media about the men."There’s a sense of fear all the time because authorities feel like it’s them against us and they don’t give time to get to know the community," Ahmed said. "They’ve failed to [create trust] in the past. They not only fail but they have done [us] wrong."She said she consistently sees similarities with how authorities and the media sensationalize problems in the Somali community."They don’t humanize us. For them it’s a subject of investigation or interest," she lamented. "This definitely is a trust-breaking moment ... [The FBI] subjugated [Mohamud] and looked at him as an enemy."University journalism senior Mukhtar Ibrahim agrees Mohamud was manipulated. He thinks the hate crime committed against Mohamud’s mosque a few days after the story broke was because of the media hype.
"If someone commits a crime, that person is a criminal, and that should not affect the community," he said. "If someone is crazy and confused, that [story] should die as soon as the person is taken to jail. Or else it’ll create more fear."Besides fear of the FBI and hate crimes, Somali students expressed shock that terrorism is becoming a community problem. University junior Osman Ahmed said customers at work have asked him if he knows about Mohamud, which surprises him."I have nothing to do with it and I don’t mention politics, but I still get asked about it," said the political science and global studies major. "People think the Somali community knows something and that we have information, which isn’t true."Many students said they expect parents to be more watchful over their teenagers because of false claims that Mohamud had family problems, particularly with his father. In fact, it was his father who turned him into the FBI over a year ago."I understand the FBI needs to keep people safe, but as soon as they found out, they should have just locked him up. What more evidence did they need?" wondered Maryam Warsame, an urban education sophomore at Metropolitan State University. Warsame said if mosques would take a more active role in talking to youth about terrorism, problems like youth violence wouldn’t happen.There is no consensus about what the FBI should have done in its investigation, but Somali and Muslim organizations have made it clear that terrorism is unacceptable."Crime and terrorism don’t define our community. It’s like saying one rotten apple defines all the good ones. They’re not all rotten, they’re mostly good," Warsame said."And that goes for the religion; just because one person thinks [violent] jihad is the right to way to submit to God doesn’t mean every Muslim is going to do this."
Minnesota Daily 
Al Qaeda luring American Jihadists?
Somalia the new hotbed for terrorist groups
Mosque target of arson, possible hate crim : Local Somali community reacts to fire apparently set at Portland moque ::New alarm among Somalis in Minnesota
Undercover Bomber How do FBI agents pass as Islamic militants?
Portland's Christmas Tree Plot: Who is Mohamed Mohamud? Analysis: Somali terror suspects multiplying in U.S. :: Portland suspect: typical teen, dedicated jihadist?

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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