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Minneapolis case leads
to formation of coalition
By Sherri Williams
Minneapolis, December 9, 2008 - Local Somalis concerned about a possible
link between terrorists and African immigrants in Minneapolis have
created a coalition to look into whether there is such a connection
here.
Six Somali men from Minneapolis left that city early last month, went to
Somalia and have not been heard from since. Community leaders there
worry that the men might have been recruited for terrorism.
A Somali from Minneapolis is thought to have been involved in a suicide
bombing in northern Somalia in October, the Associated Press reported.
The wire service quoted an unnamed law-enforcement official, who said
the FBI and Justice Department were investigating.
Somali leaders here who have met with one another for the past two weeks
say there have been no reports of such a connection in Columbus and they
will continue to share information to be sure there are no terrorist
associations here, said Mussa Farah, president of the Horn of Africa, a
nonprofit group that helps African immigrants.
"Whether it is true or untrue, this is a wake-up call to condemn it and
make sure it's not happening here," Farah said.
FBI agents in Ohio have contacted the Columbus Somali community and have
no knowledge of local terrorism links, said Michael Brooks, special
agent with the FBI Cincinnati division.
Minneapolis has the nation's largest Somali population. Columbus has the
second-largest, estimated at 45,000.
The East African nation has been without a stable government since civil
war erupted in 1991.
At mosques during prayers last Friday, religious leaders condemned
terrorism and any involvement in violence committed in the name of
Islam, Farah said.
Somali parents here sometimes send their children to neighboring Kenya
to stay with family for several weeks to be immersed in Somali culture
and language, said Marian Ghedi, director of United Somali Refugee
Women.
Parents are being urged to keep tabs on their children and who they
communicate with if they visit Africa, Ghedi said.
The coalition of Somali leaders said it will continue to meet each week
and work to develop programs to be sure young people have useful ways to
spend their time so they are not vulnerable to negative influences,
Farah said.
The Columbus coalition believes it is unlikely that local Somalis have
any terrorist connections, Ghedi said.
"Somalis have their own problems," she said. "We don't think about
terrorists."
sherri.williams@dispatch.com
Source: THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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