Inaa lilaahi wa inaa ileeyhi raajicuun - ilaah ha u naxariisto samir iyo imaan ha ka siiyo ehelkiisa He was a great man and a legend

Baadiyoow: Islah Propagandist or Somali Peacenik? Lately, a fellow by the nickname Baadiyow – loosely translatable as a country fellow in Somali - wrote several pieces of proposals and opinions both in Somali and English and posted them to some Somali sites. Baadiyow claims to be an authority and to “have occupied higher offices in the Islah movement” and being “the chairman of the board of Trustees, Mogadishu University.” Baadiyoow, the Islah promoter seems a very rationale, educated, well-informed and engaging in the topics he writes about as it pertains to basically two themes: the Somali Conflict and the evolving pseudo-Islamic Movements in Somalia. His primary purpose is to present Islah, the group he associates with or belongs to – as an alternative political grouping: moderate Islamists who recognize the rights of women, participation in the democratic process , multiparty systems and so on. He tells his audience that Islah believes in non-violent transformation of the Somali people and thus elaborates and dons their Islah’s so-called credo and canon of non-violence and social transformation. These articles the Islah spokesperson is flooding on the net seem to have another subliminal message: all political groupings and initiatives in Somalia; be they clan-based or faction-based; failed (unquestionable fact) and the logical salvation of Somalia may lie in the Islah program of moderation and non-violence (appealing). Another underlining message seems to be intended to recruit disheartened and disillusioned Somalis who are fed up with the continuous violence and failures of the so-called Somali leaders, petty politicians, the warlords , the militias, the extremists and their ilk. The message of non-violence coming from Somali Islamist is quiet appealing and Baadiyow is persuasive and knows how to make the most of that novel yearning. in his articles. After all, Somali people are all tired of the senseless violence. For that one; is forced to applaud this fresh message from self-proclaimed Somali Islamist. To many ears that sounds impressive and progressive. One gets the impression that this emerging Islamist group is thousand times better than the extremist fanatics of the defunct and defeated Islamic Courts Union and their offshoot terrorist gang of Al-Shabaab. But wait a second – as they say all that glitters is not gold! Some digging is needed to uncover who the real Islah is and their ulterior motive. One would have to be skeptic and not blindly clap for the policies of any Somali grouping. Why is that? for two simple reasons? Somalis can’t afford to trust any one any more and secondly most Somali groups tend to have hidden agendas that are portrayed nationalistic, holistic and encompassing first but in reality are partisan, regional and worst of all clannish. And here is where the problem lies with Islah or with any other Somali group. Few inquisitive calls I made to some shrewd and knowledgeable Somalis was sufficient enough to know what Islah is all about and how they come to be such an unusual assemblage of Islamists. Islah, as we are taught, is a “moderate” Islamist group loosely affiliated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and thus is said to be promoting an alien/foreign/external interest in Somalia. Its detractors point out that it lacks the indigenous ingredient to be a viable national group. Somalis suspect organizations with foreign backers and sponsors. This makes Islah not a grassroots organization open to all but, as Baadiyoow tells us, an organization that was formed secretly and has exclusive membership. Its top officials are said to hail from one particular sub-clan. The cynics also point out that most followers of this movement are recruited from Mogadishu and surroundings. Islah have no known or open shops in Northern regions: Somaliland and Puntland for the memonet Another question many are asking is what made Islah embark on this public relations campaign and why now? Where they have been during the long suffering and chaos of the Somali masses? Why they have never joined the righteous insurgency against the Abyssinian occupation of the homeland? Were they ignoble to the ideals of Jihad? Or were they aware of the consequences of such violent insurgency? Where they part of the solution or the problem? The probable answer is they were in their formative years and their concentration lied somewhere else as providing social services or building schools. So one could say they were part of the solution. Not a bad thing to bank on. However, the political answer would be that the group is campaigning to have a say or share in the next rounds of the notorious political reconciliations and get its share of power. Baadiyoow and his group know that the warlord TFG is in its dying stage, accomplishing nothing of its transitional mandate and creating worst humanitarian conditions with the help of Somalia’s historic enemies, committing war crimes and being a bunch of dysfunctional traitors who are remotely controlled from Addis Ababa. Islah knows that Somalis are very much disgusted with the extremist of the Shabaab. They are aware of the ineffectiveness of the clan fiefdoms of the North, the degeneration of clan elders, and the disunity of the Diaspora refugee groups. Islah Spokesperson knows his audience, target market and the product they yearn for which is peace and divorce with the primitive culture of the sub-clans and violent sectarianism. Majority of the educated and younger Somali generations who grew up in the diverse and modern societies of the West are disillusioned with all the backwardness of tribalism and religious extremism. Islah should know one thing, no matter how they sweeten or make attractive their Islamist group, things have changed and times are changing. People have questions and suspicions; the time of blind loyalty is over; we blink and second guess; thus we would make critical inquiries of any Somali group and their policies. Circumstances and past experiences made us practical pragmatists and our souls, if they still exist, are hardened. Islah and its spokesperson should take comfort that inquisition is not only exclusive to their organization but to any Somali political faction would be subjected and put on the spot light. But in the meantime, the field of public propaganda is open, people’s perceptions can be influenced and peace promotion is an honorable crusade. Let us give credit where credit is due and thus congratulate Baadiyoow, regardless whether he is a group propagandist or sincere peace activist for the fresh and alternative voice. Abduladir Ato - abaadir0@gmail.com

A new tactic to save his collapsing () ... or thwart the inevitable coming storm of Sharif presidency?

u did digress - so who is to blame for the whole Somali disaster? Somali people? right? Yusufites! nice term...is it comparable to Yeeyists? Where are the Addites? It seems our senior citizens rejected to languish in nursing homes but instead chose to make the whole Somali society pay a hefty price for their aging and degeneration: death and destruction.

Ahmed Nur - will be missed dearly - he had bright future and was not involved in any gangs and wanted to do something for his people that is why he volunteered to mentor and help his community - this is really painful to read - How long shall they kill our prophets, While we stand aside and look? ooh! Some say its just a part of it!

Minneapolis Somali community facing dark web of murders They came to escape civil war, so why are they killing each other in the streets? By Erin Carlyle published: November 12, 2008 * courtesy family of Ahmednur Ali Augsburg College student Ahmednur Ali aspired to become president of Somalia one day, but instead his life was cut short. He was murdered after volunteering at Brian Coyle Community Center. Augsburg College student Ahmednur Ali aspired to become president of Somalia one day, but instead his life was cut short. He was murdered after volunteering at Brian Coyle Community Center. * Nick Vlcek Saeed Osman Fahia, the unofficial historian of Somalis in Minnesota, understands the social factors that have led to violence among Somali youth Saeed Osman Fahia, the unofficial historian of Somalis in Minnesota, understands the social factors that have led to violence among Somali youth On Monday, September 22, Asha Hagi-Mohamed woke her 20-year-old son Ahmednur up at around 5:30 a.m. so that he could pray. Asha had busied herself in the kitchen preparing suhoor, the meal eaten before daybreak during the holy month of Ramadan to prepare for the fast. Asha offered the food to her son, her husband, and the other five members of the household, and then the family prayed. It was during the last 10 days of Ramadan, the holiest time of the Muslim holy month, when the gates of hell were closed. After the fajr, the dawn prayer, Ahmednur Ali returned to bed, where he dozed until the last possible moment. Around 8:30 a.m., Asha heard her son rise again and ask his father for lunch money. Then Ahmednur left with his older sister, who drove him from their Columbia Heights home to Augsburg College, where he had just begun his third year as an international-relations major. Ahmednur was only four years old when his family left Somalia in the fall of 1991. The family spent seven years in Cairo and then settled in Minnesota in 1998. Asha had chosen Cairo and Minnesota for the same reasons: Both locations were safe, and both offered the kids an education. Ahmednur impressed his siblings with his deep knowledge of Somalia and its history. He read incessantly, and not only spoke, but also wrote, Somali—quite an accomplishment for a young man educated in schools where his language was not taught. At Augsburg, Ahmednur had a soccer scholarship and had founded the Muslim Student Association. The résumé he submitted for a work-study job at the Brian Coyle Community Center in Cedar-Riverside stated that his career objective was to work there. "He had a good reputation in the community and was an emerging leader," says Jennifer Blevins, director of the center. The young Somali-American had a specific political model in mind: Barack Obama At first, Asha had not wanted Ahmednur to volunteer at Brian Coyle. There had been stabbings and shootings in the neighborhood, and Asha feared for his safety. But Asha's husband, Ahmed Ali Ulusow, a respected elder of the Twin Cities Somali community, thought his son should serve his people. Ahmednur had big ambitions: to work for the United Nations, and, ultimately, to become president of Somalia. He'd even set up a Facebook group for his campaign. "Somalia will be ruled by me in the upcoming years, so I might as well start campaigning now," he wrote on the group page. He promised to reunite the country and rid it of "qabil minds," a reference to the clan warfare that catapulted Somalia into civil war in 1991 and continues to tear it apart today. "Islam means peace," wrote Ahmednur, "and peace we will live in." At Brian Coyle that day, Ahmednur helped the other kids finish their homework in the computer lab. As he was supervising little kids in the gym, 16-year-old Ramadan Abdi Shiekhosman came in, wanting to play basketball. Ahmednur told him to come back later, when the younger kids finished. Shiekhosman allegedly got angry, shoved him, and left. At 5 p.m., Ahmednur finished his job at Brian Coyle for the day and walked into the sunny parking lot. According to the charges against him, Shiekhosman confronted Ahmednur, pulled out a dark-colored handgun, and struck him over the head. The young gunman fired one shot into the back of Ahmednur's head and then ran away. Ahmednur's body lay crumpled on a patch of pavement between two trees, blood running from his head onto the back of his white shirt, seeping over his shoulder and onto his chest. A young man tried to give Ahmednur CPR. Another called 911. "Where is he shot?" the dispatcher asked. "They think he's dead already," the caller said. "Um, I think in his head. Oh shit, he's bleeding out of his mouth some, all over." The boy who wanted to be Barack Obama expired before the ambulance arrived. The man who had given Ahmednur CPR called Ahmednur's brother. The brother called his father, Ahmed, and told him that his son had been shot and killed. Minutes later, Ahmed's phone rang. It was his wife, Asha. She had just completed asr, the third prayer of the day. Ahmed told his wife that their son had been shot. But that is all he told her—he couldn't tell her over the phone that her beloved boy was dead. Immediately, Asha began to pray. Her daughters frantically worked the phone, calling friends and hospitals for any scrap of information. A neighbor came by in a blue Dodge van to take Asha to the hospital. The neighbor called Ahmed to ask where to go. When she saw the neighbor's tears, Asha realized her son was dead. "They never thought there would be gunfights here," explains Ahmednur's sister, translating for her mother, who speaks Somali. "Over there, every day somebody gets killed from a gunshot. They were expecting maybe in a car accident, or natural death, but not gangs." AHMEDNUR FELL VICTIM to a pattern of violence that has left Minnesota Somalis confused, angered, and afraid: Five young Somalis have been murdered in the past 12 months. Before the Somali Civil War began in 1991, Minnesota was home to only a handful of Somalis—maybe 20 or 30 in the whole state, says Saeed Osman Fahia, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota. If there is a local historian of the Somali struggle, it is Fahia. He's often the one called upon to deliver PowerPoint presentations explaining their history and culture: the food, the clans, religion, traditional dress, those confusing names. "Sometimes someone will employ a lot of Somalis, and we will want their employers to understand," Fahia explains. Inside Fahia's windowless, closet-sized office at Brian Coyle, an orange batik tapestry embroidered with donkeys, camels, and elephants brightens the dingy white concrete wall behind his desk. From this office, Fahia tracks the piecemeal statistics that trace the outlines of the Somali diaspora. It is difficult, he says, to know the size of the Somali population in the Twin Cities, as no single agency collects the data, but Fahia guesses that the right figure is about 60,000, making it the largest Somali population in North America. Somalis began arriving in Minnesota en masse in the early 1990s, at a rate of about 200 to 500 each year. They found low-skill jobs in meat factories and assembly lines, as parking-lot attendants and janitors. They worked in Marshall and Willmar, and at Gold'n Plump Chicken production plants in Cold Spring, Luverne, and Arcadia, Wisconsin. By the late 1990s, thousands of Somalis were coming to Minnesota each year. The refugees were from every conceivable background, a mix of rich and poor, well-educated and illiterate. But regardless of their station in their home country, in Minnesota they all started over. At least one-third were under 18, many of them missing fathers, some both parents, orphans of the war. Some lived with distant relatives; many had experienced the horrors of war and still suffered from post-traumatic stress. Somalis settled throughout the Twin Cities, many in Eden Prairie, Columbia Heights, Fridley, near Peavey Park and Elliot Park in Minneapolis—but the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, near the University of Minnesota's West Bank, became the heart of the community. "Cedar," as it is known, is home to Riverside Plaza, six high-rise towers of various heights, containing 1,303 apartments, one of which was once featured as the residence of Mary Richards in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Now, half of the buildings are low-income housing and they are nicknamed "the Crack Stacks." The young Somalis struggled hardest to assimilate to their new surroundings. They tried to fit in with the local African American community, but were ostracized for being different. American students pulled the headscarves off Somali girls and mocked students who washed their feet in the bathroom sinks before prayers. "Even being called a Somalian was an insult because of the way they used it," says one former Roosevelt High School student. To protect themselves, several of the boys banded together into a group called the Rough Tough Somalis. If they saw a Somali getting picked on or beaten up, they'd leap to his aid. They carried broken bottles and the sharpened tips of metal fencing as self-defense weapons. Within a few years, the violence settled down. School became safe for Somali students, and a new group formed. The Hot Boyz were sharp dressers who sang R&B at a Roosevelt talent show and made all the girls swoon. "They dressed nice, they always asked for more tennis shoes," remembers one young woman who was in high school at the time. Other boys wanted to be like them, but as the clique grew, some of the new members of the Hot Boyz started getting into trouble—stealing cars or committing robberies. Before long, the community began to regard them as a gang. The Hot Boyz became a state-documented gang after five of them were involved with the robbing and killing of a Somali woman, a vendor of khat, a mild stimulant that is illegal in the U.S. This act of violence came a few years after the Bush administration passed the No Child Left Behind act. Stricter laws on foreign language instruction had led to many prominent Somali teachers being laid off. No longer was there a connection between parents and teachers. Kids dropped out and began hanging out together, calling themselves names like Murda Squad, Riverside Riders, Somali Mafia, and Madhibaan With Attitude. These gangs were nothing like the highly organized, regimented street gangs of Los Angeles or Chicago; they were loose-knit groups with shifting alliances and constantly changing names. "If there's one thing that caused all this, the entire Somali gang problem, it's the No Child Left Behind program," says Shukri Adan, author of the 2007 Report on Somali Youth Issues commissioned by the city of Minneapolis. "In one act, they created a gang culture." AROUND 7:30 A.M. on December 1, 2007, Minneapolis police officers arrived at a house on Pleasant Avenue in south Minneapolis and found a gruesome tableau. The shoeless, bloodied body of Arie Musse Jama lay stretched across the snow-covered ground in the alley by the house, a bullet hole in his chest and another through his neck. Najib Ali Omar was dead inside the house, also shoeless. They'd been dead for close to three hours by the time the cops arrived. Arie Musse Jama was his legal name, but almost everybody called him "Snoop." He liked to rap, and had a long, lean build like his namesake. Also like his namesake, Snoop had an extensive rap sheet. By the time he was 27, he'd been arrested by Minneapolis police 46 times, mostly for drug possession but also for assault and robbery. Snoop had been an early member of the Rough Tough Somalis, and the community viewed him as a gang member (though his family says he was not). Najib, 25, was Snoop's distant relative and had moved to Minneapolis three years before. It's thought that he was the true target of the crime, and Snoop was killed so as not to leave any witnesses, an unfortunate casualty of his friendship. Rumor about what happened that night traveled fast, and within hours the Somali community had a story and a suspect: Najib had quarreled with another Somali over a girl they'd both dated, according to the gossip. Words escalated into a fistfight, and the loser planned his revenge. That night at the Pleasant Avenue house, the killer rescued his honor by shooting first Najib, then Snoop. Somalis pegged the primary suspects as two troubled men with criminal records and bad reputations in the community. Rumor spread quickly, and now nearly everyone seems to believe that one particular man did the killings—though police have not charged him with the crimes. In the months after the double homicide, Snoop's brother, 31-year-old Mohamed Jama, whom everyone called "Nurki," made no secret of his suspicions. "I know you guys did it and you're not going to get away with it," he was heard to threaten more than once, according to a family member who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. Like Snoop's, Mohamed's past was stained by run-ins with the law, but by most accounts he'd turned his life around. He was married and had a three-year-old daughter, and worked as a basketball coach and youth mentor at Brian Coyle. But his good deeds couldn't save him; seven months after Snoop was murdered, Mohamed was shot dead in the back of the head outside a Brooklyn Center hotel. Plenty of people were around when he died, but no one would talk. Nurki's family thinks he was probably killed because of something to do with Snoop. "They were afraid of him," says one of Snoop's relatives, adding, "I cry a lot." The violence continued. Five months after Snoop and Najib died, an 18-year-old kid was shot through the head. Little Abdillahi Awil Abdi, or "Shorty," as he was known, was a senior at Volunteers of America High School in Minneapolis. On April 11, Abdillahi played hoops at Brian Coyle, then walked a few blocks to meet a friend behind the Freewheel Bike shop on Sixth Avenue just off Cedar. They planned to go to a birthday party. Abdillahi got into the car at about 9 p.m. Another car pulled into the alley. A gunman stepped out. He opened Abdillahi's door and fired several times. Little Abdillahi slumped dead in his seat. Though his life was taken by violence, Abdillahi had nothing to do with gangs or crime. He had a good reputation in the community and a clean record. Rumor says the killer was looking for one of Abdillahi's older brothers. When he found Abdillahi he killed him instead. Police say the suspect has fled the country. As fast as gossip spreads on the streets, it collected in online chat rooms such as SomaliNet or Hiiraan.com, where Somalis gather to discuss everything from Somali politics to American culture to local crimes. Rumors focused on suspects, families, and tribes. Abdillahi's death sounded a shrill note of alarm for the Somali community. The violence seemed to be escalating, and it was spreading from dangerous and troubled men to their innocent family members. The community could understand how someone who had been involved in crime might end up dead. But little Abdillahi? "He was innocent," says Barkhad Abdinasir Abdi, a 22-year-old student who knew him and who is working on a documentary about the reasons for the wave of youth violence. "He had nothing to do with it." Prosecutors say that Hassan Mohamed Abdillahi, little Abdillahi's cousin, vowed to avenge the killing. (Hassan's family vehemently denies this, and says the community has falsely accused him of a number of killings, including one while he was in another state.) A witness testified that on September 11 of this year, Hassan said he would retaliate for the slaying of his cousin Abdillahi, according to court records. Hassan had a specific victim in mind: 22-year-old Abdishakur Adan Hassan. According to court documents, Hassan knew Abdishakur wasn't the killer of little Abdillahi. But since the killer was in Kenya, Hassan decided to shoot a friend of the killer instead. On September 29, Hassan allegedly carried a gun to the Somali mall on East 24th Street and 10th Avenue in south Minneapolis. Abdishakur was standing around with a couple of friends near the back door of the shopping center. In a hooded sweatshirt that shadowed his face, Hassan approached the trio. He walked by, passing within a few feet, then whirled around and blasted Abdishakur with a shotgun. Abdishakur fell to the ground, dead. He was the sixth victim of Somali-on-Somali murder in the past two years, and the fifth in less than a year. "It's really sad," says Abdi, the documenatry filmmaker. "You just feel angry but you don't know who to blame. You are just hopeless. That's the worst thing that can happen to anybody." FOUR DAYS AFTER Abdishakur was gunned down at the Somali mall, some 50 Somali students gathered to protest the gang violence that plagued their community. "What do we want? Peace!" they chanted. "When do want it? Now!" Their voices echoed past an internet cafe, around the corner to a barber shop, past great racks of colorful garments lined up against the shopping center's goldenrod-colored walls. "Stop the violence!" they cried. "Somalis unite!" Aman Obsiye, a soft-spoken, baby-faced former rapper from Dallas who cites Malcolm X among his heroes, captivated the crowd with his denouncement of local gang culture. Obsiye, 25, and four other young Somalis have founded a nonprofit focused on eliminating Somali youth violence. "If you look at the evolution of Somali gangs," Obsiye told the crowd, "we went from defending the community to destroying the community. Jumping, stabbing, now shooting. What's next? What are your kids going to be like? What kind of community are you going to leave for your kids?" The violence seemed to be escalating; another shooting—at Hassan's uncle—took place just days before Abdishakur's murder. And now it seemed that victims could be random. "The Ahmednur situation—it was a wake-up call for everyone, to see that it could happen to everyone," says Abdirahman Mukhtar, a youth coordinator at Brian Coyle. Somalis disagree about the cause of the violence. After experiencing bloody clan warfare during the Somali Civil War, the older generation is quick to point to tribalism. It's a topic that pops up frequently in online chat rooms, police point out. "Basically, the Madhiban guys killed two brothers and they lost the little kid that was killed a month ago," wrote someone with the screen name MJ-Pride on SomaliNet on the day that Nurki, the Coyle basketball coach and youth mentor, was murdered. Others act offended at even the hint that the violence is clan-related. "There is no tribe which collects its youth to become a gang," says Shiekh Abdirahman Shiekh Omar, who serves as the imam of Abubakar As-saddique Islamic Center in south Minneapolis. Young people and those who work with them say that to blame tribalism is as much a misunderstanding of Somali youth culture as assuming that all boys in baggy jeans are gang members. "Yes, Somalis have loyalty by tribe," says a 28-year-old youth worker. "But for anyone under the age of 35, tribe is not a big factor." In Somalia before the war, tribal leadership provided security, solved problems, and kept the peace. "If I go up to these kids and ask them, 'What has your tribe done for you?' they'll say, 'Nothing,'" says a 22-year-old youth worker. Adds Fahia, who gives the Somali PowerPoint presentations: "The second generation, they have Somali names. But if you tell them they are Somali, they are more at ease identifying as Americans." Some fear that the community's talk of tribalism could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. As more kids come to Minnesota from places where tribalism is a way of life, it could increase the gang's ranks, youth workers fear. Only about 150 of Minnesota's population of 60,000 Somalis are gang members, according to the Minneapolis police. But they are recruiting the next generation to the lifestyle. "The problem is the influence that is spreading," says the 28-year-old youth worker. Since the recent string of murders began last December, there have been at least as many shootings as killings. "Imagine if every shooting resulted in murder, how high that number could be," says Mukhtar. Police say the best way for Somalis to stop the violence is to cooperate with authorities by coming forward as eyewitnesses. But communication between Somalis and the police has been fraught with misunderstanding. Jeanine Brudenell, Somali community liaison with the Minneapolis Police Department, remembers holding a community meeting after one killing and getting a cold response. "They basically said, 'The police need to do more. Only when you do more, then we'll help you,'" says Brudenell. "At a meeting one of the elders said, 'We want you to make all the gang members go away.' That's a tall order." Police interviewed at least 100 people the day Mohamed Jama was slain. "We believe some people actually saw what happened," says Commander Stu Robinson of the Brooklyn Center Police Department. "The people who actually admitted they were there have recanted. So we're really back to square one." Hearsay also muddies the picture for investigators. Mukhtar, the youth leader, explains it this way: "The way my community works—they talk," he says. "They jump to conclusions by just hearing about rumors." That "telephone game" became more evident in the Mohamed Jama case, says Robinson. "We had a couple of names that surfaced right away," he says, but they turned out to be in custody or out of the state when Mohamed was killed. Still, accusations about these men persist, leaving Somalis frustrated that officers don't arrest them, and cops frustrated that they can't get more information. Compounding the problem is the widespread perception among Somalis that the police aren't doing enough to protect their community. Until they feel safe, many say, they won't come forward with what they know. But in recent months, some brave Somalis have begun to testify. Perhaps because the murder of the Augsburg College student was so shocking, witnesses came forward almost immediately. Police arrested Ramadan Abdi Sheikhosman, a 16-year-old wannabe gangster. Three other witnesses helped police identify Hassan Mohamed Abdillahi as the suspect in the most recent killing—based on his physical build and manner of walking, they I.D.ed him from a security camera videotape. "I would like to say that we like peace," says Ahmed Warsame, a leader of the Somali elders. "We like to bring peace and live peace. That's why we left our country." IT RAINED on the morning of September 23, the day of Ahmednur Ali's funeral. It was raining still as Ahmednur's father, brothers, and their male friends filed into a Columbia Heights mosque for the khalasa, the washing of the corpse for burial. As the body was brought into the room, the rain stopped. The men poured clear water over Ahmednur's cloth-draped form. They gently wrapped him in a clean, white kafan, the burial cloth. Then the rest of his family came in to say goodbye. It was raining again when the men placed Ahmednur's body inside the coffin for the janazah, the special prayer for forgiveness of the dead. About 1,000 people prayed that day, some outside the mosque because it was so packed. The heavy rain continued as the cars processed to Burnsville for the burial, making the road slick and delaying the man who brought the body. When the cars reached the burial site, the rain stopped. The sun came out from behind its curtain of clouds and shone on the mourners. The family took the heavy rain, and its strangely timed absences, as a sign of God's mercy. "The night he got killed was the 23rd night of Ramadan," said a younger sister. "Odd nights are better than even nights." "Last 10 days of Ramadan, another good sign," said his mother, Asha. "He was fasting, too, that's a good sign." After the men completed the burial, the women of the family approached the grave. Asha stood there for half an hour, as the other family members stepped away. Islam teaches that the last one to leave the burial site is the person whom the spirit of the deceased remembers. Asha wanted to be the one her son remembered.

Sayid - somehow didn't get ur joke or sarcasm - as to your question - there is no collective approach to this since we aint monolithic in terms of thinking, mindset and political philosophies... So I guess the individual approach is good - But let me come back to our priorities which is a Somali one and mainly is about how to bring back peace and how to feed our starving Somali people. for that goal - I would join any "United" front

Muslims were never united and will never unite. it is unrealistic and impractical. the first muslims killed their leaders, had coups, and rebels and this goes on and on. look at the Muslim world and how many wars are going on there. They did this to themselves but again we can't lump them together as they are of different cultures and races. the christian world is not united but they at least get along now after the disastrous world wars. I don't understand why Somalis , not more than 10 million out of 1.5 billion Muslims in this planet are at the forefront for the so-called Islamic cause especially when their whole nation and society is in ruins, and their poor people are starving to death. Shouldn't our focus be how to restore our dignity, educate our people, get rid of Qabyaalad and extremism, disarm all gangs, get rid of warlords and clan elders, think progressively and develop our country which is the poorest and most backward nation in the world. As I type this people of different ethnic backgrounds are sitting in front of me , quiet and civil while I can hear and can't stand the loud clatter of antisocial,weird, unskilled Somali men arguing and shouting with no regard to their surroundings. Somehow we are not civil, have no manners, don't know how to conduct ourselves, our business, can't govern eachh other, have no sense of nationhood, have no national agenda and above all no priorities - we just follow others or embrace their lunacy as in the case of the extremist elements of Al-Qaeda or the prostitute ourselves to our arch-enemies or the West for the sake of clan dominance at the cost of the whole nation and people. Somalis are just bunch of sad people, hopeless and helpless. As for the Islamic unity we have to let the Saudis, the Emirates, Indonesians, Turks and other wealthy Arabs take charge and worry about that. We Somalis need to focus first on our national interest to rebuild our nation and people.

Just watching and witnessing history made was rewarding and inspirational - we cried and hugged and screamed with joy....and partied for the victory of our elected president Barack Hussein Obama! I pray for so many Somali Obamas and a real change. - We are too sophisticated for clan elders, criminal warlords, religious clowns and petty big-bellied opportunists... let us work for 2020 and nurturing and coaching the next wave of Somali Obama's

As much as I hate the TFG and the criminal warlords, I am also as much scared and worried about these fanatics too. This is not gonna be easy to reverse - extremism, though justifiable has taken firm ground in Somalia.

And as far as the circumstances about this case is concerned, listen to the interview of the fake and arrogant cleric had with VOA. VOA Iinterview Just pay close attention to this. It doesn't hold water. It is all made up and to add insult to injury, he is not even pausing or giving a chance for the female reporter to ask questions. He determined the age of the girl to be 23-24 by her appearance. Yesterdays interview with the poor father who is a refugee said his daughter was born in 1995 and is not even 14 years old. She was stoned against her will and never confessed to adultery. The cleric-thug says she was running a prostitution ring (gimme a break, she is a kid..how can she be running such biz?) and had a deal with three men and they brought other three men and they all gang raped the girl. The men were never caught, or brought to justice, no one bothered to even go after them. the hypocrisy, the double standard and the utter ignorance and disregard of justice of these extremist band is outrageous.

This is a huge injustice and as I heard she is from a very marginalized clan. The so-called Islamic thugs are criminals. period. She was a child and raped by three militia men who probably are part of these so-called Islamic thugs. I have every right and legitimacy to voice not only my anger and disgust but to oppose against these bearded thugs. What circumstances you are talking about? She was 13 year old child, raped by three militia men ( probably from Hiraale's/ Al-Shabaab gangs).

this is a huge injustice and as I heard she is from a very marginalized clan. The so-called Islamic thugs are criminals. period. She was a child and raped by three militia men who probably are part of these so-called Islamic thugs. I have every right and legitimacy to voice not only my anger and disgust but to oppose against these bearded thugs. What circumstances you are talking about? She was 13 year old child, raped by three militia men ( probably from Hiraale's/ Al-Shabaab gangs).

this is a huge injustice and as I heard she is from a very marginalized clan. The so-called Islamic thugs are criminals. period. She was a child and raped by three militia men who probably are part of these so-called Islamic thugs.

I live in Cali and most Somalis are against it ( meaning they are for Prop 8). However people are all confused and would end voting NO on Prop 8. I saw people saying they would vote no on Prop 8 thinking that is what they should do to say no to gay marriage. Prop 8 is confusing as hell. It is intended to change the California constitution to end same-sex marriage... right? people think it's the other way. most Somalis as Muslims are for prop 8 and against gay marriage. But are as confused as hell like all others.

what I like of modern world of today is basically what you referred to which is advances in medicine, science,and technology. What I don't like is the use and abuse of these for greed, domination and self-interest. Simple!

Thanks sis choc&hon for the advice but I am still mad as hell and sickened to my stomach by this barbarism. I think I don't make sense sometimes to some especially in sensitive and controversial matters like these. I admit that I don't know that much but I am sure that a lot of so-called Muslim fanatics are misusing the religion. We need to be outraged and question this? if not us who will? the gaalo are just appalled and have excuse to belittle and portray our beautiful deen as barbaric and backward. I bet that some of our so-called Sheikhs and Imams who urge people to do the right thing are doing the wrong thing. As you said who gave these men the authority to dictate? how come they don't practice what they preach and clean their house first before they stone and lash?. Most of the fighters are ex-clan militias who used to loot, rape and commit banditry and adultery. I don't think I called an Islamic practice barbaric. I think that stoning someone to death is un-Islamic and it shouldn't be legal and if it is legal then we need to legalize it or reform it to make it more humane. Punishment is supposed to acceptable humane practice to prevent crime. Why didn't they pardon her or give her more time to think? why the haste? why they always punish the poor, the weak and the women? and not the rich filthy men? All of these so-called sheikhs are in power and control of Kismayo cos of the tax-levies they collect from the port so they could have four wives and abuse people.

see, if you can't question and challenge, then you disregarding one basic principle of the Quran which is to reason and rationalize before blind loyalty. You gotta ask yourself how, who, when and why there is Shariah? its origins? what it's based of? where it is derived from? who wrote it? on what authority and so on. The early Muslims and scholars used to do that cos they were educated and intelligent enough. It was part of their schooling and training to interpret and draw legal matters from the original sources of the Quran , hadith and so on. Distorting and misinterpreting quranic laws to suit your interest is what some do these days and challenging that is the real struggle or Jihad within the Muslim society. It's not blasphemous to ask and stand up to charlatans so we could save our sisters from misogynistic men who use Shariah to commit acts of barbarism such as the stoning in Kismayo. Yeah Shariah was compiled probably by some Muslim-Arabs back then cos they were close to the source and it was in their language. who else would have written such complex and weighty books of laws and religious cannons? if not Arab men of the time then?

the so-called Sunnah was some 1400 years ago. Part of the sunnah is to use camels as transportation and to go to war with swords right? so why do they use cars and Ak47? I heard the shariah was written by some Arabs 100 years or so after the death of the prophet and they had some kind of scholarship called Ijtihad which was meant to elaborate and adjust some edicts? and that continued to some 300 years... how come it didn't go on, so they could get on with the modern world of today? anyways, we live in a modern, civilized and technologically advanced world. Some primitive cultures need to be thrown and shunned and really stoning was done in the stone ages. By the way, everyone interprets religion to their own advantage and understanding. These fanatics who used to be clan militias and raped many innocent women are just giving munition and credence to apostates like Ayaan Hirsi.

even though I quit following and reading about the messy, farcical and primitive Somali politics, i just heard from friends and acquaintances that Yeey is as mad as hell and stormed out of the silly gathering of the Somali MP dummies in Nairobi. His master puppeteers told him that he would be dethroned and replaced with another useful clown to lead Somalia to Ethiopian subjugation and hegemony? Close to 200 TFG parliamentarians were told to sign the resignation petition or otherwise lose their UNDP monthly stipend of $1200 and they loyally and willingly obliged to follow the orders of their masters. who would replace Yeey is gonna be revealed in the later stages of this divine Somali comedy orchestrated by the Tigrean twins of Melez and Mesfin. let us just follow this mysterious machination of Meles and Company..even though it is gonna be tough to keep with it.

I just read that in Kismayo, a group of men who hide behind the beautiful and peaceful religion of Islam stoned young Somali women to death. Why? Because she had sex?. That is it?. Give me a break!! That was the alleged crime. I am sure that some of these fanatics were ex-militia men who raped many innocent women before. They said she confessed to it and but when she was dragged to the spot or the bloody spectacle; She was crying and screaming in protest. No sane human being would volunteer to be killed let alone stoned to death. They tied her hands and legs and stormed her with stones until she died. My God..can you imagine that? cruelty and insanity. Somalis still live in the stone ages.One would have to ask? Even if they want to kill someone and implement their perversion of Islam, can’t they use bullets? I am so sick and sad to hear such cruelty and barbarism done in the name of Islam by evil and un-islamic men. We need to voice our anger and disgust on such cruelty. To hell with the shabaab. Let us all say that is not my Islam. My Islam doesn't stone. My Islam isn't that barbaric and cruel. My Islam is mercy and salvation and not stonning and blood-letting and barbarism.

OK, I got to come out - This is me - yeah Money -- that is me maybe some of u know me, maybe some of U don't http://www.qaranimo.com/2008/oct/Wareysi_cabdulqaadir_caato_qaranimo_TV_oct_04_08.htm Money- Interview This was done over the phone by some guy from qaranimo site asking some lengthy questions, I was in the Shisha place that nite...wasn't ready for it but did it anyways ..Now I am out of Minneapolis and in other great city ... and not afraid of retaliation by these lost kids...though I was friends with some of them and was mentoring some ..but it didn't work out they way I wanted cos they brought the sick and silly clan $hit into the whole thing but I still feel that we should all be involved and do what we could do to stop this insane somali on somali gang violence. we are working on some lengthy feature by an exceptional journalist- reporter (graduate of Columbia and standford) with citypages - it's is on the works and this feature will raise awareness and shed lights why Somali youth is caught in this scary predicament everywhere in Minneapolis, San diego, Seattle and even in London UK. We are working on documentary on this and I hope you all get involved cos this effects all

Move to the Caribbean Island to avoid SAD

everything I believe or believed is BS. That is what I found and I am now like freed and emancipated from BS. However, I am now going to believe and contemplate into believing other BS.

This is not right and these extremists should be dealt with and I wouldn't mind their destruction and elimination. They are extreme and their actions of destroying places of worship is not wrong but un-islamic