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As the world watched the four-day terrorist siege of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, many members of Minnesota's Somali community were paying extra close attention. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Somalia's al-Shabab, a terror group that has recruited young Somali-Americans from Minnesota to return and fight on its behalf.


Rumors have suggested that two or three of the Westgate attackers were from the United States. Those rumors have not been confirmed, but media from around the world have focused attention on the local Somali community, which is the largest population of Somalis in the United States. In turn, Somali-American leaders have been 

 about their lack of sympathy for, or any connection to, the Kenya attack.

 that U.S. law enforcement sees in the Westgate attack a threat to the United States: 


The Daily Circuit checks in with two community leaders about the state of the local Somali population.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SOMALI REACTION TO WESTGATE:


The West Need Not Fear Its Young Muslims


While Islamist recruiters remain active, officials report far less traffic on the route back to the terror war at home than there was five years ago. (The Justice Department contended in a terrorism-related trial last fall that more than 20 men had left Minnesota for Somalia since 2007 to join the Shabab.) Meanwhile, the diaspora in Minnesota sends a steady flow of remittances to relatives in Somalia, along with leadership and advice for the country's fragile new government. Cedar-Riverside, the Minneapolis district known as Little Somalia, feels integrated and safe. In short, and despite the disaster in Nairobi, there is reason to hope that the generation of young Somalis whom some Americans fear may actually be one of Somalia's best hopes for a stable future. (James Fergusson, New York Times)


The Nairobi massacre and the genealogy of the tragedy

 
As traumatic as the Westgate tragedy is, it must teach thoughtful Kenyans and others that the largest number of victims of al-Shabab are not Kenyans, Ugandans, or others, but Somalis in Somalia. Al-Shabab has imposed an incredible tyranny on the population and has disabled them from rebuilding their war-torn country. The international community, including Africans, have been not only oblivious to the plight of the Somali people, but have turned them into a disposable political football since the collapse of their state in 1991. (Abdi Samatar, Al Jazeera)


An unwelcome spotlight falls on Minnesota's Somali community because of Nairobi attack


As suspicions fell that some of the Nairobi terrorists were from Minnesota, the community response was swift, according to Zuhur Ahmed, 28, a former host of a radio show for the Somali community in the Twin Cities.  She said, "Somalia's religious leaders denounced and condemned the terror attacks and made it clear to the world that al-Shabab doesn't represent the Somalis and the Muslim faith." (The World, PRI)

Gallery

Local leaders disavow any connection or sympathy for the al-Shabab siege at a Kenya mall.

Renewed focus on Somali community

Ka Joog press conference on Kenya mall attack

Renewed focus on Somali community

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