Rep. Ilhanomar (D-MN), received an unwelcome reception Saturday afternoon at the Minneapolis concert. The congresswoman received loud boos from the crowd who had gathered to hear Somali singer Suldaan Seeraar as part of Somali Week celebrations.
Watch Ilhanomar getting booed in Minnesota at a concert with a Somalian artist. pic.twitter.com/aop1sWJSaS
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 3, 2022
It is not clear why this crowd became so hostile. Some possibilities can be found in Somalia’s social topics.
Somalia, to use a charitably put, is a murderous, self-serving, mess. As the CIA’s website notes:
Somalia ranks very low on most humanitarian indicators. It is plagued by poor governance, internal conflicts, underdevelopment economic decline and poverty.
The list goes on:
A lack of educational and job opportunities is a major source of tension for Somalia’s large youth cohort, making them vulnerable to recruitment by extremist and pirate groups. Somalia has one of the world’s lowest primary school enrollment rates – just over 40% of children are in school – and one of world’s highest youth unemployment rates. High infant mortality and chronic malnutrition are all contributing factors to low life expectancy.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a trendy place … to be from.
Today Somalia is the world’s third highest source country for refugees, after Syria and Afghanistan. The driving forces are insecurity, droughts, floods and lack of economic opportunity.
On its surface, the Somalia-to Minnesota pipeline seems odd, if not for other climate reasons. CBS News reports that Minnesotans seem to be a welcoming people.
Local, volunteer agencies working with governments help refugees to find housing, schools, and work. Minnesota’s agencies, including Lutheran Social Services, Arrive Ministries, International Institute of Minnesota and Minnesota Council of Churches, have a long history of successful refugee resettlements.
Dr. Samatar also cited Minnesota’s strong economy, which gave Somali-Americans job opportunities (many in western Minnesota), schooling options, health care and a safe place to live.
“And the state of Minnesota has always been considered a kind and successful place,” he said.
FOX News in 2019 reported that the relocation has its down sides.
Some investigators lament the difficulties in rooting out gang violence that remains a problem in not just the Somali community, but neighboring areas. According to police, proper dismantling of gangs requires both sides. Gang activity now is no longer centered on larger outfits like MS-13, or the Crips. Much more common here are smaller gangs with names like “Somali Mafia,” “Somali Outlaws,” “Young n’ Thuggin (YNT)” and even the “Taliban.”
“It’s hard for any community to assimilate and to immediately transform from the life they knew. But the distrust is only getting worse,” said an area law enforcement official. “The gang violence is only getting worse. Not only do crimes go unsolved, but many don’t get reported at all.”
There was also the 2017 murder of unarmed citizen Justine Ruszczyk (she was going by her fiancé’s last name Damond at the time of her death) by Minneapolis police officer and native Somalian Mohamed Noor further exacerbating ill-will between communities.
Somalia’s state religion is Sunni Muslim, the largest group within Islam. Sunni Islam adherents are very orthodox, which has led to an apparent lack of Pride parades throughout the Middle East.
Some modern academics have argued that the blame for the Islamic hostility towards homosexuality is due to “the adoption of European Victorian attitudes by the new Westernized elite.” For more than a thousand years, however, the Islamic tradition has drawn its views on homosexuality from the accounts of Muhammad’s perspective found in the hadith, for Muhammad is described in the Quran (the word of Allah) as ‘the perfect example’ (uswa hasanaAll of humanity. Muhammad instructed, “If you find anyone doing as Lot’s people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done.” He also condemned the mere “appearance” of homosexuality, when he cursed effeminate men and masculine women and ordered his followers to “Turn them out of your houses.”
Now, let’s compare this to Rep. Omar’s thoughts on the subject.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Texas, shared a tweet by the group with five ways she supports Palestinian LGBTQ people following threats made by Palestinian police.
“LGBTQ rights are human rights, and we should condemn any effort to infringe upon them,” Omar said.
It seems there is a paradox. Also worth noting is Rep. Omar’s, shall we say, unique marital history. This may be why Omar was booed.
Perhaps her constituents have grown tired of her headline-chasing gloryhounds instead of representing those who elected her to office. Rather like an Eric Swalwell in a hijab, although to Omar’s credit, unlike the model Swalwell would wear, Omar presumably wouldn’t have Fang Fang’s phone number hidden inside hers.
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