FBI Watching Somalian Muslims In Minneapolis

Back in late November of 2008 there were three very disturbing reports about Somalian Muslims in America. The first being them trying to impose Islamic rules at the Swift Plant during the month of Ramadan. The second being that there are thousands of them here illegally, and finally the third and most disturbing was the Somalian man who was a U.S. citizen that went to back to Somalia and blew himself up in a homicide attack. Today the FBI has stated that are many of them under surveillance in Minneapolis. How bad will things get there?

FBI Watching Somali Muslims In Minneapolis
CBS Evening News: 20 From Same Mosque Have Repatriated, One Became A Suicide Bomber; Mosque Officials Deny Radical Agenda

MINNEAPOLIS, March 3, 2009 | by Dean Reynolds
(CBS) On election night last November, the outcome was wildly celebrated by Somalis living in Minneapolis, 70,000-strong, mostly refugees from their war-torn country. It is the largest Somali community in the United States, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds.

But the evening was noteworthy for something else, too. That night, the latest in a line of young Somalis who grew up here, departed unannounced for Somalia itself, joining a civil war in a country few had ever seen and causing concern in the United States.

Hussein Samatar's 17-year old nephew left without a word to his family.

"He was an A student," says Samatar. "He has everything to hope for to attend any Ivy League school that he wanted to. Why he would do it is a mystery to us."

Some 20 vanished last year - all American citizens - an exodus the FBI has noticed for a troubling reason.

"A man from Minneapolis became what we believe to be the first U.S. citizen to carry out a terrorist suicide bombing," said agency director Robert Mueller.

The October attack by 27-year-old Shirwa Ahmed killed 30 near Mogadishu, and there is alarm that the skills acquired abroad could be brought back to America.

"He could have done it here," says Omar Jamal, a Somali advocate in Minnesota. "We don't see anything that would have prevented him from doing this right here in the heart of Minneapolis."

This much seems clear:

"It appears that this individual was radicalized in his hometown in Minnesota," Mueller said.

The missing men all came from one local mosque, according to the FBI. But officials at the mosque deny that they play any role in turning young people into radicals, Reynolds reports.

This week they held an open house to answer critics and confront recent harassment.

"We absolutely deny that such things happen in this mosque," says Omar Hurre, executive director at the Abubakar Islamic Center.

But Somalis here are deeply troubled. Who is behind this exodus? Who is paying for it? And who may be the next to go?

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Largest US Mall Bends to Islam

The Mall of America in Bloomington has announced the opening of an Islamic prayer room to accommodate the local Muslims. For the opening day of the prayer room, "culturally competent" volunteers were added to deal with the Muslim youths at the mall who sometimes get into trouble and arrested. It sounds to me that the mall has added a prayer room and its own set of religious police at the same time. This is also a state were recruitment for jihad is taking place.

Hat tip to Refugee Resettlement Watch.

Mall of America Moves to Accommodate Minnesota Muslims
Mohamed Hassan

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – On the day Muslims around the world began to celebrate Eid al-Adha, Fatuma Mohamed was at the Mall of America (MOA), far away from where she would normally say her prayers.

But she and other Muslims needed to take time from the activities of the mall and find a quiet area to pray as Muslims do during the festival that commemorates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his only son for God.

“I said my prayer right at that corner,” Mohamed said, pointing to the spot.
Another Muslim, Amran Ali, did the same.
“I had to say my prayer at a corner,” Ali said. “I was stared at, but no one bothered me.”

Every year, as Muslims in America are compelled to engage in business, work and shopping during the holidays, many find themselves away from mosques and other places where they can hold prayers without interruption. They are forced to seek privacy in corners and alleyways, places that often subject them to unwanted attention. Some Muslims also worry that their repetitive calls of “Allah akbar!” (God is great!) during prayers could be misconstrued as calls for Jihad.

“Of course, out curiosity people will stare at you but don’t say anything,” said Shuuriye Ali. “I wish they would ask. I would love to educate them about my peaceful religion.”

This year Muslim leaders from the Twin Cities area were able to persuade MOA, the largest enclosed mall in the United States, to set aside a room for prayers.
“I learned quite a bit from my last meeting with the community,” said Douglas Reynolds, MOA’s security director.

But Mohamed and other Muslims did not know there was a prayer room, even though MOA and Muslim volunteers had intended to have eight posters in three languages, (English, Somali and Arabic) to be displayed at all entrances to the mall.
“I didn’t notice any signs,” Mohamed said.

Reynolds said many might have missed the signs because MOA and the Muslim leaders did not advise the community about the prayer room before this week’s observance of Eid al-Adha. The signs also went up too late in the day, Reynolds said.

“It would have been nice to get the message out to the community earlier,” Reynolds said. “The signs were also not available until 4:30 p.m.”
He promised that MOA would “do a better job next time.”

Regardless of the glitch, many Muslims appeared excited that the MOA reserved prayer space for them and promised to continue doing so in the future.
“It is about time,” Jamad Barrow said. “I’m happy to hear that the mall is trying to accommodate and appeal to the Muslim community.”

Sheikh Neelain Muhammad, an imam at the St.Paul-based Da’wa Islamic Center, and five other volunteers from the center were among the many volunteers who were at the mall to make sure that day went on without incidents, especially from teenagers.
Reynolds, the MOA security director, said that community volunteers were very helpful.

“At one point, Sheikh Neelain Muhammad and his team were spotted talking to the youth and telling them to behave … and so, they did.”
The presence of culturally competent volunteers at the mall avoided the law enforcement solution that often leads to the arrest of Muslim youths.

“No one youth that was acting out that didn’t change after we talked with him or her,” Sheikh Muhammad said.
Mahmood Kanyare, one of the community volunteers, said the volunteers reminded the youth about good manners in Islam.
“They were all responsive to our messages and behaved well as a result,” Kanyare said.

The day ended with a positive note for both MOA and the Muslim community. No one was arrested and only few were asked to leave.
Reynolds, the director of security, said he hoped to continue building MOA’s relationship with the Muslim community.

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