AAR MAANTA - SINGER/BAND The Day “Mr Today” Came to Town – Aasia Ali I am a Somali mother of one, from Uxbridge West London, who has not written anything this long since leaving university nearly six years ago. Please stay with me while I explain the title of my article and the events that led me to write my first blog. One Sunday afternoon last month I went shopping with my son to nearby Hayes, which is a west London town in the London Borough of Hillingdon with a diverse population. However, when you look closely the different communities of Hayes are often segregated, hardly mixing and only socializing with their own. What is more saddening is the fact that my community is even more segregated on the basis of gender, political, tribal and so on. While on the bus and approaching our stop we heard familiar loud music and singing coming from the town centre, as I approached the stairs, through the window of our bus I could see the common bright colour dresses of Somali mothers and their children. Before I could make sense of what was going on I was literally chasing my son down the stairs, across the zebra crossing, before ending up in the mother of all Somali mother parties in Hayes town shopping centre. I have only ever seen Aar Maanta in one of his videos, in a song called Saafi on the Somali channel Universal TV. For some reason, it was the only Somali song my son used to love watching. Perhaps it was the same reason why the mothers and their children at the event knew his songs so well. Nevertheless everyone seemed care free, dancing, clapping while singing along or videoing the joyful moment on their phones. I was glad we arrived in time for the rest of his show. Unlike current Somali singers Aar Maanta looked comfortable singing live, sharing jokes with his audience and the group of traditionally dressed children that accompanied him. However, it wasn’t long before someone tried to disrupt our innocent family fun and turn it into a religious issue. There was an elderly Somali man going around the crowd, blackmailing the mothers and pleading with them to stop their “haraam” forbidden activity. This was a test in which Aar Maanta came through really well. In between songs he directly addressed the old man “it is not forbidden to be happy, if you’re not happy with us you’re free to go elsewhere.” In no time the embarrassed elderly man disappeared. In my opinion this man and other disruptive men who always cause problems at Somali events are unhappy people who cannot see other people happy and progress. This event was part of Hayes Town Festival organised with the help of Sahan Society (a Somali mother and children centre in Hayes.) Hence, the large number of mothers and their children present. However, I could see more and more shoppers of different ages and ethnicity joining the street party, enticed by the cosmopolitan mix of Western and African sounds created by Aar Maanta and the diverse members of his band. In uniting us regardless of tribe, gender and age, Aar Maanta and the organisers of that event achieved what many of our politicians and community leaders could not achieve for many years. This is what integration was all about. Later that day, after going home as a new fan, I found numerous articles about Aar Maanta online, most of which surprisingly were written by none Somalis. For example, Marloes Stofferis of STARAFRICA.COM called him A Somali Culture Shaper in London. Judging by his performance and the reaction of his audience that day I had to agree with her. I would like to add in his support that Aar Maanta’s music is for the present as his name suggests (Mr Today in English.) It is modern Somali music to be proud of and to share with others. As a Somali mother, that day was a liberating experience and a culturally proud moment, where members of other communities saw us in a more joyful and positive light at least for thirty minutes. SOURCE

Hahaha, hit a nerve?

quick, Axmed your boy Rampage needs mouth to mouth resuscitation

How cute, Sheikh Axmed the fanatic Playboy subscriber & Rampage the badmouther of Somali Nomads uniting in their opposition to me, yet fail to provide anything that counters my very truthful reply to Taqwa, who seems to have a very fantastic image of Old Somalia that in his mind completely followed the Sunnah and Qur'an. They pretend to be bastions of "real Somaliness" yet know nothing of their own country's recent history. The twisting of someone's words still viewable to all, is probably the biggest insult to a person's intelligence. My reply: I exposed the double-standards and real reason behind the anger here. Result: Insinuations galore that I'm being politically correct, a sissy and even greenlighting such marriages. My reply: I explain why interracial marriages happen in life and the circumstances behind them. Result: I'm accussed of calling 98.5%(including myself) untalented and therefore must be a self-hater and screwed up. My reply: I counter the claim that there was no Somali girlfriend/boyfriend sub-culture in Old Somalia with info that is easily available in a myriad of books, or simply having conversations with the old-timers that lived there. Result: someone replies with a non-sequitar that I'm now calling this sub-culture Halal. What kind of retarded illogical system is being employed here? If your angry with my posts please stay clear from Somali history for you could find things there you might not like. However if you think you can misrepresent my words, you'll end up deceiving yourself. Fact is; 9 out of 10 times a Somali guy becomes hurt when he sees a Qalanjo with an Ajanabi is because that guy is SINGLE and his anger is purely based on ethnocentrism, with religion simply being a cloak. Indeed the moment a sister needs help from a monetary, medical or hospitality persepective these Somali guys are all missing in action, yet they will be the first to pass judgement on these same sisters, what a joke. Go get your own Qalanjo, and the sight of seeing someone from your ethnic group with an ajanabi won't cause you to have a near heart-attack. Oops, didn't ment to you scare you my angry single brothers..........

The only reason people - excluding Taleexi/BOB/Jacpher - are criticizing her is because the guy she was with was a non-Somali. If this was a female English reporter dating a non-muslim Somali guy, there wouldn't have been any criticism, for there are many Somali men like that who face no flack whatsoever. The religious aspect is just a convenient stick - certain misygonists I won't name - use to beat Idil with. Nothing is known of the couple or their religious orientation, but just the fact that she is Somali and he is not equals in their mind "believer & infidel". Secondly, to the gullible members who believe prewar Somalia was just a place of pious scholars and their followers would certainly die of a cardiac arrest, if ever a timemachine is constructed and they are transported back to prewar Somalia's many beaches, night-clubs and discos. The latter ones were situated in the basements of the major Hotels, full of Somali men wearing Disco Flight Pants and blouses and Somali women with mini-skirts, dancing to Somali and Western music. Teenagers read magazines with stories such as Qawdhan & Qoran, Elmi iyo Hodan and novels such as Aqoondarro Waa U Neceyb Jacayl, all about immortalised Somali lovers. Not to forget naughty plays like Shabeelnagood showcased in the modern Somali National Theatre. To even claim that this widly deseminated popular literature had no influence on young Somalis back then is to be absolutely ignorant of Old Somalia. You guys are imposing your own modern conservative mindset on a Somalia that rightfully saw itself as a cosmopolitan powerhouse in Africa, with a miracle economy and a people with a severe superiority complex because they were more educated than most countries in the world, and extremely confident in their own strength as a nation because of their gigantic military. It was absolutely normal for high-ranking decadent Somali judges, politicians and military men from across the country to visit brothels in the Capital back then. In fact according to my Uncle, before the 77' war, he used to hear of Somali soldiers and marines chasing Soviet girls stationed in Berbera, Mogadishu and Kismayu, during their time of leave, as if they were best thing since sliced bread. Face it my friend, it was Somali Hedonists galore. Why do you think all those good-hearted sheikhs were complaining, and ended up eventually being executed?(may they rest in peace) Oh yeah Somalia was being ruled by a regime employing an atheistic system that organised plenty of open-air parties in the Central Square. If your mom or dad lived in prewar Mogadishu, then my brothers do take a look in their closets and cupboards for there might be a few skeletons in there lol. I certainly did while doing research about prewar Somalia for a WIP novel, but there was nothing interesting about my parents. A lovely country-bumpkin married a shy Police-officer, hitched together by my maternal and paternal grandparents who were longterm friends.

^Thanks brother! --- PRINCE ABDI - COMEDIAN

Player donates marrow 24 hours before state tourney Ibrahim Abukar, left, donated bone marrow to his sister, then suited up to lead his team in the state basketball tournament. St. Cloud, MN - ST. CLOUD, MN (FOX) - A Minnesota basketball player suited up for the state tournament, ready to live a lifelong dream. "That is what you dream about since you were a little kid growing up," said Ibrahim Abukar, the leader of the St. Cloud Apollo Eagles. But Abukar almost didn't make it to the court. A mere 24 hours before tip-off, he was donating bone marrow to his 13-year-old sister, Zamzam. "She could die from this and once I heard that she could die, I didn't even think about basketball," he said. "I think about my sister first, her life first." Zamzam Abukar suffers from aplastic anemia, a blood disorder, and needed a bone marrow transplant. Of her eight brothers, Ibrahim was the only match. A day after the transplant, a sore back couldn't keep him off the court. Ibrahim played his heart out. His team came up a little short, but he got the biggest win of his life when he put his family first and saved a life at the same time. "This has been an amazing year, my team going to state, my sister finding a match. It's been an amazing year for me," he said. "It was just a game, you know. Now I get to go home, see my sister." - Source

You don't honestly believe that do you Jacpher? There are around 500 000 + innocent Somalis burried in the ground and the oceans. That alone shows you that the true essence of our religion has been relegated to a secondary or a tertiary position by Somalis plenty of times and this continues to be the same today. Had the previous generation observed their ancestors' religion and kept the country together, talented individuals like Idil would be working for the Somali Film Agency in Mogadishu, where the likelyhood of her ending up with a Somali would be 99.9%. However she like many of us was forced to scatter around the world and now we intermingle with hundreds of different ethnic groups and nationalities. Why be surprised that relationships will form between Somalis and these ethnic groups? There are Somali guys who are dating women that have Buddhist and Hindu backgrounds; religions they continue to observe. Does this surprise me? Not really, these guys either grew up in Indian dominated communities, or are into things like Martial arts. I don't see the point in badmouthing these individuals when they have not committed a single crime on a fellow human being. Everything else is between them and Allah swt, and nobody else! Similarly Idil has not committed a single crime, to see her being badmouthed like that is hypocritical, when that same individual was praising actual criminals on a different topic, hence my anger. Idil is a great asset for our often misrepresented and demonised community, for she has the passion and knowledge to provide a voice for Somali-diasporans, a void the likes of Axmed, Rampage and Alpha-blondy will never fill, as they are too consumed with "who's dating who" or "revoking the Somaliness card" than trying to uplift our people. DISPLACED (Working Title): In Production <!-- --> The feature-length documentary, DISPLACED, takes viewers inside the close-knit and often misrepresented Somali-American community of the twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. The story unfolds amidst FBI investigations into the disappearance of at least twenty local youths allegedly recruited for war efforts in Somalia. With exclusive access to families of the missing youths and other key community figures, DISPLACED reveals the tragic impact of war and its capacity to reach across borders, impacting the lives of those who have attempted to move on. BTW: girlfriend/boyfriend relationships were common in prewar Somalia, and very much part of what could be considered in hindsight as young Somali Urban culture, so the culture you're referring to is not monolithic.

I think you're misunderstanding my original intention with this topic completely. I have no interest in answering questions filled with fallacies. Please make your own topic if you believe mine is wrong. In the meantime I will ask the admin to split the comments to a different topic and keep this solely as a list of talented Somalis.

Che, I just explained the circumstances and why it makes sense. Put a Tiger in a pack of Lions and that is where this alien cat will find its mate. I don't know Idil or her religious orientation, but I very much doubt had this Tim been a Muslim she would be received more kindly by some of the members here. Ethnocentrism leaves no prisoners.

I have learned people with pretentious or off-base comments in these type of topic are basically the internet versions of Extremists and militiamen, whose mentality is very similar to the ones that made(make) life so difficult for those back home including inspirational athletes like Samia and Abdi. Read their story here. In our community there are many obstacles, the most severe ones being other humans. Their entire purpose in life is to make sure they disturb the peace of other Somalis, to make sure whatever they have achieved is degraded, to make sure nobody hi-jacks the Somali name and presents it in a good light. A crab-in-the-bucket mentality as a result of their own severe lack of talent. Evendo they are the WORST ambassadors to anything that can be considered SOMALI, they make it their business to twart any young talented Somali from pursuing their aspirations. That same fatalistic mindset allows them to praise a member that creates a topic full of criminals yet you will see them foaming at the mouth when - undisputedly - most talented and globally celebrated crop of Somali men and women are illuminated. Its irrelevant if I personally disapprove of Nuruddin's friendships, or other aspects of the talented Somalis, this however doesn't change the fact that they are TALENTED and recognised as such by the world, yes their is a larger world than your own little bubble. If I had time for these attacks on my supposed Somaliness, I would continue, but I don't. If you don't like my topics please kindly piss off.

Urban, a good way to keep track of your gains is by taking a picture of yourself every two months. This is the next best thing to having a personal trainer. The mind can be your worst enemy, and it can see something completely different from what the mirror is reflecting, which is a pity because many people lose motivation because of this, evendo though they are on the right track. I would also advice that you tried taking a product like Creatine, you will gain mass and strength. I use it twice a year, first to break through a plateau(because with creatine you'll be able to go heavier than your max.) and another cycle during Ramadan to maintain what I have gained. Success sxb.

NADIFA MOHAMED - RISING AUTHOR

NURUDDIN FARAH - AWARD WINNING AUTHOR Farah has garnered acclaim as one of the greatest contemporary writers in the world.

Axmed, If you think a united army of closet-misygonists is going to make me feel "butthurt" then you're very delirious sxb. You are attacking an internet-name, the moment I log off, you guys are no longer there, in fact the moment I leave this topic your not even on my mind. Let's keep things in persepective shall we, this is nothing but light entertainment for me.

BOB;713872 wrote: Does that mean if you're Somali man/woman engaged/married to a somali woman/man but work with non-somalis then you'd cheat on your partner simply because they are not astronauts like yourself? never mix business with pleasure ayaan maqli jiray! I doubt the lady in question would use that as an excuse because there are thousands of Somalis who work with non-somalis and yet still CHOOSE to marry their own and I can use myself as an example...I've never worked nor studied with Somali girl and NO I'm neither an astranaut nor a sciencetist, however, I've never ever been with a non-somali...the point is, you choose who you want to be with. I can't do anything about who she chooses but I'll be lying if I said it doesn't bother me. I don't give a monkey's behind about him...I haven't finished grieving over my fellow Somalis. I have great respect for you BOB, but you're looking at my post from a Black or White persepective i.e its either this or that, when that was never the point of my post. Can an aspiring Somali astronaut marry a fellow Somali? Most definitely YES, does this mean when a Somali astronaut decides to marrya non-Somali he/she has spend most of their early life in Uni and in the professional field with - be seen as a surprise? NO! That was my point when I replied to Taleexi, because he believed I was in his words "greenlighting" such marriages, when they are totally out of my control.

Axmed-InaJaad;713870 wrote: hey guys leave chimera alone. No, I welcome this outpouring of emotions and hatred towards me, it has been beneath the surface for sometime now, I guess the floodgates opened when I exposed the double standards. That's fine with me. It only vindicates my inner warning system to never tell anyone the truth about my personal life, career and projects, whether on the forum or in PM. With some of the disturbing characters roaming here I'm very happy I never did.

Axmed-InaJaad;713865 wrote: marke hore, dabadayda maxaa ku tusay? i suggest you do not concern yourself with the status of my butt, hurt or otherwise. LOL @you taking everything literally, here is the real meaning from Urbandictionary: BUTTHURT: An inappropriately strong negative emotional response from a perceived personal insult. Characterized by strong feelings of shame. Frequently associated with a cessation of communication and overt hostility towards the "aggressor." Basically you getting all emotional about a girl that doesn't even know you makes you pathetic sxb, keep shedding them tears;

RaMpAgE;713862 wrote: I think its best if you keep your self hate to your self, we don't need people like you in our community. Is that supposed to hurt me? I support a classroom of kids back home and am a mentor to several here in the diaspora, what exactly are you doing for this so-called "community" mr self-styled Dictator? Piss off. Getting all butthurt because I'm exposing the hypocrasy. How about you stopped worrying about who X or Y is humping and start bettering yourself? All that acid dripping from your mouth and ears will erode you as a person one way or another. Just remember that I don't need your damn approval or recognition.

Som@li;713859 wrote: ^what are you implying here, 98.5 of Somalis are losers with no talent? and only those with talent can't find a partner among Somalis? I think you are more of a problem yourself, than being helpful here. As for the girl, my condolences, may she find the strength to continue his work. Lack of reading comprehension skills on your part more likely. The percentage of highly talented people in any community or society is always very small, and its even smaller in the Somali community still licking its wounds from a collapsed country. That aside, nowhere did I insinuate that the other 98.5% are untalented, this was just a rough figure I remember from a European study on immigrant marriages that showed the vast majority of Somalis opted to marry one another, that without a doubt includes professionals and talented Somalis. However many of the high-profile marriages between non-Somalis and Somalis are completely logical when you analyse their environment and occupations.

Didn't know Gulled Ahmed(Somali singer) is also a champion Kickboxer & Coach: Gulled "Coach G" Ahmed: Head Kick Boxing Instructor. Coach G was born in East Africa and immigrated to the US as a teenager. He began training at Houston's Kickboxing Gym at age 17. He earned an instructors rank under Coach Mike Altman. In 2001, G won the US Open feather weight championship. Coach G has trained and competed in San Shou, Muay Thai, and Full Contact Rules kickboxing. His coaches and training partners have included Coach Mike Altman (USAWKF, IKF,and IWUF champ), KJ Noons (Elite XC and IKF Champ) and Lee King. http://www.paradigmtrainingcenter.com/kickboxing.html#kickboxingInstructors or are the similarity in looks and the same name just a coincidence?

YASMIN WARSAME - SUPERMODEL

RAGEH OMAAR - INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST

ABDI FARAH - PAINTER Although Abdi Farah had a fairly consistent season on Work of Art, fellow contestant Miles Mendenhall seemed to have it in the bag. I’ll admit that my predictions yesterday were far off: In the end, Miles had the weakest collection, and Peregrine and Abdi were the last two standing. It was the latter’s personal, multifaceted art that most impressed the judges, particularly guest judge David LaChapelle: Abdi won the title of “The Next Great Artist.” This morning I had the pleasure of speaking with Abdi about his Work of Art experience, what he learned from his fellow contestants, and whether his bromance with Miles lives on. TV.com: First of all, congratulations on the win. It must be so nice to be able to talk about it now. Abdi Farah: Thank you so much. I know, it is a bit of a relief, but I have fun with that, so it’s all good. It’s kind of fun having people not know. How would you say your art changed over the course of being on the show? It changed so much. I feel like the judges and the competition in and of itself really spurred me to dig deeper than I had ever gone before in my art. I feel like I was making art that I liked on one level, but it really wasn’t as intense, it really wasn’t as artist, it really wasn’t as good as I had the potential to make art. So I think the judges saw that in me and really forced me to confront that about myself. It seemed like you bonded a lot with your fellow contestants. Do you think that you all influenced each other throughout your journey? Oh, yeah. I feel like that that was one of the most amazing parts of this competition. As an artist, in your normal life, you’re kind of just in your own studio, doing your own thing. You kind of do the same thing all the time. Whereas when you’re surrounded by other artists, who work in completely different ways, you can’t help but learn so much just seeing how they go about challenging themselves, how they solve problems, how they do this technique, and do that. It just completely opens up your world. I think you were also the only contestant who didn’t have any beef with anyone else. Are you really just a nice, friendly guy, or was that clever editing? [laughs] I was actually pretty fond of everyone in the competition. I don’t know. I wasn’t forced to be in any bad situations, and I kind of like to just see things in the big picture and it’s kind of hard when there’s one room with 14 people trying to survive. I just know that no one has any control over my art except for me, so at the end of the day, it’s us making art together. Were there any contestants who you were particularly impressed by, week after week? Sure, sure. I was super impressed by Miles’ work, of course. Week in and week out, I learned something new from that kid that I have implemented into my work. And I was really impressed as well with Nicole Nadeau, and the fact that she just has this freeness and this fearlessness about how she attacks art. She just completely goes for it and makes really beautiful, cool things. I was also really impressed with Peregrine’s work. It’s funny that Peregrine and Miles were in the finale, because I was impressed with their work throughout. And I think Peregrine just has this way of doing exactly what she wants to do without caring about how art school it looks or how professional it looks or how finished it looks. She does exactly what she wants, and in the end, it has this really honest, really pure, really beautiful quality to it that I was really impressed with. She’s a really gutsy, gutsy artist. So are you keeping in touch with your former contestants? Because I would love to see a spin-off with you and Miles and Nicole, possibly fighting crime. [laughs] Me and Miles do stay in touch, and we’ve been thinking about so many ways we could collaborate and just do this cool, like, “Ebony and Ivory” thing for real, and just take over. I don’t know. I’m a huge fan of his work and it would be really good to put our heads together. It would be really fun. I bring up the superhero thing because so much of your work does seem influenced by pop iconography. You have drawn yourself as a superhero. Classic question: If you could pick one power, what would it be? Wow, that’s a hard one. I go back and forth between this year by year. I feel like you can’t beat flying. That’s just ridiculously cool. I don’t know, other than that, I wish I could make amazing art every time I step into the studio, or I wish—the ability to shrink would be really cool, because then I wouldn’t have to be afraid of anyone, ever, which would be great. Looking back on the season as a whole, are there any specific pieces that you were completely satisfied by, that turned out exactly the way you wanted them to? Sure, sure. There were a couple. It was funny. I feel like this competition made me do some work that I had never thought I would do, like the piece in the second challenge, [“Tube”], I had no idea how that was going to turn out, I was just going. And in the end, I really loved the finished product. And then in Episode 9, the nature challenge, I had just reached this really kind of zen moment in my art, and in the end, that piece [“Baptism”] was just so fun to make and is probably the best thing I’ve ever done. A lot of people were down on Work of Art from the beginning, saying a reality show could never pick the next great artist, that a construct like this couldn’t produce great art. And I think you and your fellow competitors really proved them wrong. Thank you. Wow. I think people should be so impressed by what we were able to do on this competition. Like, I’m so proud to be a part of this. Have you faced any of those critics yourself? I mean, I really don’t care about critics at all, except what I can learn from them that can help me in my art. There are always going to be people that don’t believe in something, which is good. It keeps you humble, it keeps you realizing that there’s always work to do. But in the end, my life is not determined by what someone else thinks about me. And in the end, that’s what I love about art. At the end of the day, if you make good art, no one can ever say anything against you. They’ve just gotta enjoy. It doesn’t help for me to walk around and tell people I’m the next great artist. It’s only gonna help if I have really great work. - SOURCE

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