Last year I wrote a blog titled "A Restorative Look At the Troubled Somali Youth". I have suggested restorative work with Muslim social counselors who are experienced in working with troubled, at risk youth and suggested Abdul-Lateef Abdullah; a very experienced counselor that can be used for restorative work to connect to the Somali community. Another counselor is Jeewan Chanicka. I do encourage local mosques to invite such counselors to address youth and offer counseling.
What evolved was a few people with no experience in youth counseling have taken it upon themselves without consent or consultation to speak for the Somali community on this issue. I am not a speaker for the Somali community but have advised law enforcement and others to have empathy and focus on building trust to resolve this situation. In discussion with other very active members in our Muslim community, Farheen Hakeen has decided to address the Minnesota community and I wished to give her a voice on my blog. Please read her article below in full.
Who are the Gatekeepers of the Somali Community? by Farheen Hakeem OmarJamal, Executive Director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, is thego-to guy for media coverage of Somalis in Minnesota. But does hereally speak for Minnesota's Somali community? Lastweek, Jamal participated in a protest accusing Minnesota's only Muslimcivil rights organization, the Minnesota chapter of the Council onAmerican-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) of impeding an investigation intothe missing Somali youth. The protest was organized by Abdirizak Bihi,Jamal's colleague and an uncle of Burhan Hassan, one of the missingSomali young men. I,unfortunately, know Bihi all too well. When I ran for Mayor ofMinneapolis, I caught Bihi, who was working for McLaughlin's campaign,running around the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood telling Somalis not tovote for me because "she is a lesbian." This didn't damage my campaignbecause I actually received more votes. It did however completely killmy romantic life (don't get me started). I know who I amso I could care less of others' opinion of my sexuality, but I wasappalled that Bihi would use hate toward the GLBT community to gainpolitical power. Notsurprisingly, Bihi's irresponsible tactics against the Somali communityhave also found their way into the media. In a WCCO interview, Bihisaid, "They [Abuubakar Islamic Center] curse us [Burhan's family]. Callus infidels, because simply we spoke up for our son…Now we can say yes,that they do have something to do with it because they're always actingout in a sinister way." (http://wcco.com/local/somali.teens.death.2.1035157.html) TheFBI hasn't indicted anyone in the disappearance of the missing men, yetBihi offered conjecture and speculation that the mosque is involved. Healso accused the mosque of a hit job on his nephew simply because hefeels they are "always acting out in a sinister way." The question is:where are the facts? Bihiis, according to Somali community leaders that I know, not representingtheir views. The Somali community's lack of engagement with the mediaallows Jamal and Bihi to run amok spewing allegations that only harmthe Somali community. These self-proclaimed leaders cannotdifferentiate feelings and conjecture from facts. Their accusations areinconsistent and personal. Jamaland Bihi alleged that CAIR-MN is 'impeding the FBI's investigation' byinforming the Somali community of their right to remain silent and havean attorney present when questioned by federal law enforcement. Thisattempt to intimidate and shame the Somalis into giving up theirconstitutional rights is atrocious. Having an attorney present to avoidunfair prosecution is reasonable and responsible behavior, especiallyfor individuals who already fear law enforcement due to negativeexperiences they've had in their homeland. According to a February 2009 Minnesota Public Radio story, "Rights groups say Somalis being stopped, questioned," a CAIR-MN representative told the story of a Somali man stopped byagents while walking and invited into a car for questioning: "There wasone agent sitting in the front seat and another agent in the backseat….he was bombarded with questions. He just answered "no" toeverything. He was just so scared." Lyingto federal law officials, even if you're scared, is a felony. This manneeded to invoke his right to remain silent and have an attorneypresent. It would ensure him to understand his rights, and to becomfortable to answer the questions truthfully. This process buildstrust and nurtures Somalis to engage the greater community instead ofhiding in fear. No one should be ashamed or ostracized for asking foran attorney, especially when it's their constitutional right. According to CAIR-MN's publication, 'Know Your Rights and Responsibilities as an American Muslim": "AmericanMuslims strongly support law enforcement and the protection of ournational security…..If you know of any criminal activity taking placein your community, it is both your religious and civic duty toimmediately report such activity to local and federal law enforcementagencies." CAIR-MNhas been offering trainings in the Somali community long before theSomali youth disappeared. The trainings are offered by both Muslim andnon-Muslim attorneys (including law professors). The informationCAIR-MN is sharing with the community is no different than theinformation offered by the ACLU (http://action.aclu.org/site/DocServer/know_your_rights_pamphlet_-_english.pdf?docID2). Bihiand Jamal definitely have a right to speak for themselves, but speakingfor the thousands of Somalis in Minnesota will warrant questioning oftheir intent, credibility and integrity. They must be held accountableto their statements. The protest against the civil rights groupreceived media coverage. The Star Tribune's headline read, "Somalistake to the street to protest group's actions." Did the protest reallyrepresent the Somali community? Accordingto a press conference the following Saturday, organized by over a dozenlocal Somali organizations, it did not. The Somali organization leadersasserted that the vast majority of the individuals protesting last weekwere the elderly with limited English skills. When approached by Somalileaders afterwards, they stated that they were told to protest againstan "anti-Somali group." When asked, most did not know the name of thatgroup they were protesting. Atthe press conference, Somali leaders voiced support of CAIR-MN. SomaliCommunity Link Radio Host Zuhur Ahmed said, "CAIR is always availableto help Muslims and Somalis with legal, immigration and job issues, andthey don't show up only when the media is around like some others whocall themselves activists." UnitedSomali Movement Vice President Aman Obsiye said, "All [CAIR] is sayingis that Somali-Americans are equal to all other Americans. We have thesame civil rights as other Americans have...These attacks on CAIR arenot from the Somali community." http://www.startribune.com/local/48005352.html ManySomalis turn to CAIR-MN for help and these false accusations won't stopCAIR from getting the job done. The real victims in the story are thefamilies that lost their sons. If they are trying to get answers abouttheir missing youth, they'll need better spokespeople than Jamal andBihi, who have absolutely no credibility with people that can actuallyhelp them.