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There's Something about the Somalis... [Ilhan Omar]
PJ Media ^ | February 16, 2019 | Michael Walsh

Posted on 02/16/2019 4:46:20 PM PST by jazusamo

This should come as a surprise to no one, except perhaps Minnesotans. Or should I say, " Minnesotans "?

More men and boys from a Somali American community in Minneapolis have joined – or attempted to join – a foreign terrorist organization over the last 12 years than any other jurisdiction in the country.

FBI stats show 45 Somalis left to join the ranks of either the Somalia-based Islamic insurgency al-Shabab, or the Iraq- and Syria-based ISIS combined. And as of 2018, a dozen more had been arrested with the intention of leaving to support ISIS. Both numbers are far higher than those of alleged terrorist wannabes who left or attempted to leave the country from other areas in the country where Muslim refugees have been resettled.

In the case of the Somalis, it's no longer just the men. Early last year, a female was apprehended by authorities on charges of supporting providing material support to Al Qaeda and arson. So what has made the area such a hotbed for such activity?

You could ask any member of the armed forces or American intelligence agencies who've served in Somalia, but you might not get the answer you want to hear. Or you can watch the movie directed by Ridley Scott:

Black Hawk Down - Trailer

And what has been Rep. Ilhan Omar's record in addressing the issue - either before she was elected, or since?

The answers matter because federal authorities say they remain "highly concerned" about the terrorist connection with the Minneapolis Somalis - even though al-Shabab is struggling against the Somali government, and the so-called ISIS “caliphate” has crumbled under a sustained U.S.-led military campaign.

“We are very conscious that there may still be fertile ground for that, and that is could re-start at any time," one federal official told Fox News. "Based on historical experience, we had (an uptick) in 2007 and 2008 going for al-Shabab, then a lull. Then, as ISIS came back, we saw a whole bunch of people no longer headed for Somalia. They were headed for Iraq and Syria. That really caught us off-guard, we didn’t see that coming. It didn’t make sense to us. We understood why kids were going back to Somalia, but going to Syria was another we issue.”

Not really. An Islamic radical is an Islamic radical, fighting not for a "country" but for the caliphate and the ummah. The fact that even today we have government officials who can't understand the difference is surely a cause for concern. These are people whose "faith" compels them to wage war on the West and those sufficiently radicalized will do it when and wherever they can -- as the number of "lone wolf" attacks in the U.S. and Europe can attest.

With by far the largest Somali American population in the United States - estimates of up to 100,000 - the insular ethnic community in Minnesota offers a rich recruiting ground.

"For over a decade, Islamist terror groups have been able torecruit from Minnesota. This is, in part, because Minnesota has a large Muslim population compared to other parts of the U.S,” said Robin Simcox, a terrorism and national security expert at The Heritage Foundation. “However, it is also because there have been small segments of the Somali community there that have struggled to integrate into the U.S. Al-Shabaab and ISIS have exploited this – upon religious, political cultural and identity issues to offer a compelling alternative to Western democracy.”

Josh Lipowsky, Senior Research Analyst at the Counter Extremism Project concurred the immigrant community in Minnesota has proven to be ripe for targeting in recent years by specifically playing into the card of being something of an outsider and that “society has shunned them.”

Society might be shunning them for a good reason. Then again, the Somalis seem to be doing a pretty good job of shunning Americans as well:

Local authorities contend it has been challenging for them to penetrate the Somali-American community in Minneapolis, who remain a unique immigrant population that hasn't actively assimilated with the neighboring township. In the neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside, for example, it's possible to go about day-to-day business without ever interacting with a non-Somali.

“You can buy your clothes at a Somalia mall. You can buy insurance at a Somalia insurance adjuster. You can buy real estate at a Somali real estate adjuster,” explained a U.S official. “I think that is pretty unique.”

And pretty dangerous as well. Especially now that they have their very own congresswoman.

As for Omar, she spoke up for a group of six Somalis arrested in 2015 for trying to cross into Mexico, as part of a plan to join ISIS in Syria. As the case went to trial the following year, the then-state representative wrote a letter to the trial judge requesting “compassion” - and lighter sentencing on behalf of one of the Minnesota men, who was facing 30 years jail time.

“Such punitive measures not only lack efficacy, they inevitably create an environment in which extremism can flourish, aligning with the presupposition of terrorist recruitment,” Omar wrote. “The best deterrent to fanaticism is a system of compassion. We must alter our attitude and approach; if we truly want to affect change, we should refocus our efforts on inclusion and rehabilitation.”

And how did that "rehabilitation" work out? Not well:

In November 2016, a Minnesota judge gave 21-year-old Abdullahi Yusuf an unprecedented opportunity to avoid jail time by undergoing experimental “ rehabilitation ,” after having pled guilty in 2014 to purporting to join ISIS.

Six months later, he was back before the Judge having violated the terms of his probation – having been caught watching a news documentary about western ISIS fighters in the halfway house where he was confined. Nonetheless, Yusuf completed the carefully tailored “Heartland Democracy Education” program centered on studying literature, philosophy and writing poetry and in late 2017 was “integrated back into society” where he will be monitored for the next 20 years.

As real Minnesotans are discovering, no good deed goes unpunished.



TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Michigan; US: Minnesota; US: New York; US: Vermont; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alshabab; berniesanders; ilhanomar; isis; isisrecruiting; islam; michigan; minneapolis; minnesota; newyork; ocasiocortez; rashidatlaib; representativeomar; rop; somalicommunity; somalis; terrorism; ushouse; vermont
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1 posted on 02/16/2019 4:46:20 PM PST by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo

Check out average IQ of Somalis.


2 posted on 02/16/2019 4:47:35 PM PST by ChocChipCookie (Demons run when a good man goes to war.)
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To: GOPJ; Diana in Wisconsin; ColdOne; Art in Idaho; Conservative Gato; ptsal; onyx; Tucker39; ...

Off the Wall Ping!

Contact to be added.


3 posted on 02/16/2019 4:50:29 PM PST by jazusamo (Have You Donated to Keep Free Republic Up and Running?)
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To: jazusamo

Something is rotten in the state of Minnesota.


4 posted on 02/16/2019 4:54:00 PM PST by windsorknot
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To: ChocChipCookie
That is a significant part of it. The Somalis are also considered just flat crazy by their neighbors. Not surprised at the number caught trying to join the Jihad. Crazy, angry and stupid, they make first class Jihadists. Check out the interminably war the British fought with the followers of ‘The Mad Mullah of Somalia’ for over twenty years. Look at Ms, Ilhan’s expression. She constantly looks angry. I believe it is organic in these people and aggravated by constant use of the Kiff plant as a drug. Angry, crazy, fanatical and stupid, just what we need here.
5 posted on 02/16/2019 4:58:26 PM PST by robowombat (Orthodox)
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To: jazusamo

They should stay and make their own countries better instead of coming here and changing ours.


6 posted on 02/16/2019 4:59:37 PM PST by FES0844
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To: robowombat

perhaps she had a clitorectomy and is angry all the time


7 posted on 02/16/2019 5:00:46 PM PST by morphing libertarian (Use Comey's Report; Indict Hillary now; build Kate's wall. --- Proud Smelly Walmart Deplorable)
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To: robowombat

Angry, crazy, fanatical and stupid, just what we need here.

Maybe we should give them some special rights and privilages with them being a victim class and all...…..///


8 posted on 02/16/2019 5:05:39 PM PST by heshtesh (Brtan)
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To: jazusamo

Somalis !!!
The very same people who brought us “Black Hawk Down”.


9 posted on 02/16/2019 5:11:40 PM PST by BuffaloJack (Chivalry is not dead. It is a warriors code and only practiced by warriors.)
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To: heshtesh

Ship them all back.


10 posted on 02/16/2019 5:12:27 PM PST by oldasrocks
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MAGA!

Let’s wrap this Freepathon up, Folks!

Please bump the Freepathon or click above to donate or become a monthly donor!

11 posted on 02/16/2019 5:22:54 PM PST by jazusamo (Have You Donated to Keep Free Republic Up and Running?)
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To: jazusamo

As a veteran of Somalia and Operation Restore Hope (a sick joke if you ask me), spending the majority of my time in Mogadishu (or the Mog as we called it), I want to apologize to my fellow freepers. We let too many get away...


12 posted on 02/16/2019 5:26:55 PM PST by Old Teufel Hunden
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To: jazusamo

The Lutheran and Catholic ‘refugee’ charities have become agents for immigration proponents and virtue signalers. They are paid for settling each individual and therefore have a financial incentive to bring more “immigrants” to the U.S. and settle them.

There are Little Mogadishus in Portland and Lewiston, Maine also. Minneapolis’ Little Mogadishu has a reputation even among the Somalis.

Several years ago I was in Portland, Me. and used a cab. While talking with the cab driver he mentioned that he brought his teen-age son to Portland from Minneapolis to protect the son from the bad influences in the Somali community in the Twin Cities.


13 posted on 02/16/2019 5:27:41 PM PST by CharlesMartelsGhost
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To: jazusamo

It seems odd that Somalis would want to move to MN. I can only guess that the Obama Admin sort of helped them along. But the weather/climate and topography is completely different.


14 posted on 02/16/2019 5:28:15 PM PST by monkeyshine
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To: jazusamo
There-'s something about Somalis...what could that be?


15 posted on 02/16/2019 5:30:19 PM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: Bonemaker

I think it was ‘Blackhawk Down’ The last scene a local was saying to an American “Stay out of this”. Considered 13 dead under Clinton’s watch I couldn’t agree more,. It was on a helicopter ride. Beautiful beaches on the Red Sea. Perfect dumping ground.


16 posted on 02/16/2019 5:36:31 PM PST by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: jazusamo
A few years ago we did a game park safari in Kenya,which shares a border with Somalia.We stayed in Nairobi and traveled the long distances to the parks.Our guide was James,an excellent guide and a remarkable guy.

During the long drives I got to talking to him about African game and also Kenyan/African society and politics. He got on to the subject of Somalia and Somalis.He said that there were many Somalis living illegally in Kenya and most of them caused various types of major trouble...including terrorism.

James didn't like Somalis one...little...bit!

17 posted on 02/16/2019 5:37:26 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Mitt Romney: Bringing Massachusetts Values To The Great State Of Utah.)
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To: Old Teufel Hunden

I sure wouldn’t dispute that after seeing what’s happening here.


18 posted on 02/16/2019 5:37:41 PM PST by jazusamo (Have You Donated to Keep Free Republic Up and Running?)
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To: oldasrocks

Ship them all back.

They certainly would make a nice gift for the Mexicans.


19 posted on 02/16/2019 5:39:01 PM PST by heshtesh (Brtan)
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To: monkeyshine

“It seems odd that Somalis would want to move to MN”

That’s where the Bush’s, Clintons, and Obama put them. Better to destabilize the upper mid west.


20 posted on 02/16/2019 5:48:50 PM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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