Somali president draws crowds for Minneapolis speech

Fardowsa Ali showed up to the Minneapolis Convention Center hours before Somalia's president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was set to arrive for a speech on Thursday night.

She secured a seat near the front with three relatives who had decorated their hands with henna for the occasion.

"We support him because he's a good president," Ali said. "He's fighting with al-Shabaab." Of the Somalia-based Islamist insurgent group, she said, "They kill everybody. They don't care."

In the visiting president, Ali said, locals with Somali roots see hope for a peaceful country. "We're excited to see him; we're happy," she said.

A large crowd gathered for Mohamud's remarks Thursday night in Minneapolis at an event that ran until midnight.

It followed his visit to President Biden's summit for African leaders in Washington, D.C., this week. Mohamud was scheduled to meet Friday morning with Gov. Tim Walz.

Minnesotans of Somali heritage came to the convention center to hear Mohamud lay out his agenda and address efforts to combat the al-Shabaab terrorist group and a massive food crisis.

He served as president from 2012 to 2017 and began a new term in May 2022. Members of the audience waved Somali flags — light blue featuring a white star — in eager anticipation.

Fiqow Elmi saw Mohamud on two visits to Minneapolis during his previous term. He praised his background as a university professor and said he's "cleaning out" al-Shabaab. Elmi wore a cap decorated like the Somali flag in honor of the occasion.

"He's a good guy," Elmi said.

Ridwan Osman Ali, 27, was born in Somalia, but his family left when he was a toddler; he grew up in Kenya. He came to the U.S. in 2012 and now serves as a lieutenant in the Minnesota National Guard. He dreams of going back to Somalia, but "I don't want to see them struggling. I want to see a place that I can go in the future. … I want to see Somalia while there's no killing."

Ali wants to hear Mohamud's plans to end terrorism and build the economy — "the backbone of the country," he said. "They need to bring unity to the state, and this country can stand up again."

He noted that people in Minnesota have relatives in Somalia who are in need.

"They call asking for help. … Here we have our own struggles, bills; you live paycheck to paycheck. Still, we send money back home."

Ali said that Mohamud can't build Somalia without help from the country's states and that the nation needs trust and unity. Terrorists are in charge in some places, and the government has no power over that, he said, "which is crazy."

"We have to trust each other because at the end of the day, if we don't build our own country, no one else will build for us," said Ali, who served as an usher at the event.

"It's a good idea just to support him and show solidarity to the people of Somalia to welcome the president, to host him here," said Amiin Harun, a Burnsville resident serving as an event coordinator. "I think these kind of events build connections between the Somali American community here and the people in Somalia."

Harun said Mohamud is still early in his term, but "he communicates really well. We're going to see and examine him in a year." He wants to hear from him "a clear vision to lead the country forward and to end the suffering of the people … and how he intends to work with" Somali Americans.

He said the drought and famine is a top priority.

"It's very important that he talks about the famine and how we can contribute to preventing the famine from happening," said Harun.

Ibrahim Aden of Eden Prairie left Somalia in the early 1990s and hasn't gone back. He'd love to see Somalia as an adult, he said, but he doesn't consider it safe.

"The country has been in crisis for over 30 years, and now the steps he's taking are showing signs of hope," Aden said. "It looks like he's going to restore hope in the country. … If the Somali people get safety and security in their own country, that is one of the main things that people really want, and he already promised that's he's going to do something tangible."