Somalia has a new government that many consider to possess what it takes to spearhead sustainable peace and bring the lawlessness of the past two decades to an end. However, this article is not about that, or about the so-called Somali piracy. This article is about mysteriously disappearing Somali boys, ages 14-21. It is also about a well-respected religious leader accused of leading a mosque that not only brainwashed the boys and young men into embracing violent extremism and suicidal nationalism, but facilitated and funded their travel to Somalia in association with Al-Shabab — an entity listed in the US as a terrorist organization. And, of course, an entire community set to pay the price.
Late last summer, as the Somali community of Minneapolis was struggling to figure out the fate of at least a dozen Somali youth, meticulously coordinated deadly bombings shook up two cities in the peaceful northwestern region of Somalia (Somaliland) and the northeastern region (Puntland). Shortly after, a controversial community activist laid the blame directly on Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center of Minneapolis. He accused the center of engaging in clandestine activities that recruited the suicide bombers who carried out the deadly operation. What ensued was a cacophony of accusations and counter-accusations.
Real or perceived, the allegations triggered legitimate security concerns, especially in light of the widely covered Mumbai terror attacks. Both in the US and UK, the threat clarion was blown. Consequently, Somalis traveling to and fro overseas were being thoroughly interrogated at their points of entry.
According to the CIA, Somalia as a war-ravaged state is a fertile breeding ground for terrorism. The 2006 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia is believed to have inspired some Somali expatriates around the world to join the anti-occupation insurgency.
While they are refraining from saying it, the FBI is on an investigative trail extending from the scene of the crime in northern Somalia to Minneapolis. Agents have been showing up at mosques in Minnesota, Ohio, and Virginia. On the other hand, the FBI outreach team is tirelessly working on building bridges of understanding with the community. Likewise, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security has been reassuring Somali community leaders that they would be wary of any law enforcement violations against their community.
And MI5 and other British law enforcement agencies are expressing the same concerns and have been walking in the same footsteps. And, according to travelers who went through the UK, Somalis are routinely subjected to more questions and, one may say, harassments. Many of these travelers complained that they were coerced to answer religiously intimidating questions such as “Have you been into a mosque while you were traveling?” and “Who did you meet in the mosque?”
Every year over 300,000 children and adolescents go missing in the US and UK. Some are runaways who might or might never go back to their families; others might fall victim to one violent crime or another, but seldom do these daunting cases allude to some international conspiratorial or criminal activities.
Just a few weeks ago, in Reston, Virginia, a 14-year-old Somali-American boy went missing. The news created hysteria among the Somali community. The knee-jerk conclusion was that the “Minneapolis phenomenon” has made its way to Virginia. So, people rushed to the nearest international airport — Baltimore/Washington International and Dulles.
Amid this frenzy, a local organization — the Somali-American Community Association — took a more reasoned approach by sending an alert to every individual and organization in their database and mobilized a neighborhood-wide search. Within 24 hours of their door-to-door “Have You Seen the Boy in This Picture?” campaign, the troubled juvenile was found hiding in his friend’s family home.
The Somali community of Minneapolis feels it is being prosecuted in the court of public opinion. They believe the reputation of one of their respected religious leaders — Sheikh Abdirahman Sheikh Omar — is being smeared.
Sheikh Abdirahman, as he is known, is the imam of Abubakar Mosque. An imam is the highest cleric of a given mosque. And though Abdirahman is at the center of this whole controversy, his version, or that of the mosque, is seldom sought by the media.
Interested in his perspective regarding the vanishing youth phenomenon and any backlash against his person, the mosque, and the Minneapolis Somali community, I called the imam for an interview. He called back an hour or so later, ready to speak.
The imam opened up. “The fact of the matter is that the Somali community in Minneapolis is made up primarily of refugees who settled here in recent years. And as an uprooted society coming from a war-torn country, Somalis, especially the youth, have been facing numerous challenges. They are at risk of being attracted to truancy, delinquency and gangster life,” said Abdirahman.
The problem is exacerbated as some families are headed by single parents, or parents who are not literate in their own language. Many of these parents face difficulties in becoming functional in a new society. This is coupled with the incrementally diminishing role of the extended family which provided a social safety net that sustained family cohesion and also helped retain their Islamic values. So, as a result of the current condition, parents and children grew apart — both in terms of culture and values. There are some mothers who have been abandoned by all their children — in some cases five or six children. This is an anomaly both within the Islamic context and in Somali culture. “Of course, we, like any community, have all types of people. We have a number of our youth graduating from colleges and universities who are becoming productive citizens, and we have close to 3,000 in the juvenile justice system and the prisons (out of an estimated 70,000) and nine Somali-on-Somali murders,” said Abdirahman.
It was these daunting realities that compelled some concerned leaders to galvanize the entire community to pull its resources and build institutions such as mosques and schools in order to help save these at-risk youth and build their character which should be based on the best of their two worlds. Therefore, the role of Abubakar Islamic Center Mosque is the same as any other mosque — which is to operate as a House of God and provide a spiritual ground where people can “worship The Creator, so He may strengthen their piety and spiritual purification.”
As to whether or not the allegations that the mosque has been engaging in criminal activities that include brainwashing children into becoming suicide bombers and providing resources and contacts necessary to join Al-Shabab in Somalia, he said: “These are unsubstantiated ... politically motivated rumors that unfortunately started within our community. Our mosque is far from being such an evil institution that would promote or engage in such activities.”
“I am an educator. I have been working for the Minneapolis public schools for 10 years. I teach math and science. I am not in the business of corrupting minds and hearts or leading the same young minds that I am committed to save to their annihilation in this life and the hereafter,” said the imam whose pictures have been paraded on the pages of many media outlets, especially in the US and UK. Abdirahman is currently a PhD student at the Graduate Theological Foundation.
There are a number of young men and women who, before graduating from universities in the Twin Cities — Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota — have studied Qur’an and developed good character in the mosque. The mosque, according to Abdirahman, encourages the young to embrace their religion and adopt the good values of their newly found community. “We emphasize the importance of promoting that which is good: Peace, justice and good neighborliness and to prevent that which is evil and harmful to the individual and the society,” said Abdirahman.
The prevalent feeling among the Somali community of Minneapolis is that the media, local and beyond, have not been fair to them. “The media are weapons of mass destruction, so to speak. By and large, they had a field day at our expense. Our collective reputation has been tarnished. Personally, though I never committed any crime anywhere, I regularly find my picture appearing in stories that incriminate me with innuendoes,” said Abdirahman.
The mosque continues to receive hate e-mails and phone calls and assumptions continue to divide the community at large. And, banks, in reaction to the sensationalized news, have begun in cities such as Columbus, Ohio, to reject doing business with Somali-owned money remittance services even when they observe the federal compliance guidelines.
— Abukar Arman is an Ohio-based writer. E-mail: [email protected].
