The Final Call

U.S. indicts 14 for allegedly aiding Somali militants, community fears ethnic-profiling

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(FinalCall.com) - Federal officials in Washington, D.C., charged 14 people in Alabama, California and Minnesota Aug. 5 with providing support for the Somali-based group al-Shabaab, “The youth.”

The accused are mostly U.S. citizens, with some supporting the group from the U.S. with money, and others traveling to Somalia to fight against the interim government, the federal indictments allege.

The U.S. State Department in February 2006 designated al-Shabaab a Foreign Terrorist Organization under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The designation remains in effect as of this date. The U.S. government said the group's primary objective was the violent overthrow of the UN/U.S.-backed Somali Transitional Federal Government.

In the Southern District of Alabama, prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Omar Shafik Hammami, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Alabama, with providing material support to al-Shabaab.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of California unsealed an indictment charging Jehad Serwan Mostafa, a U.S. citizen and former resident of California, with providing material support to al-Shabaab.

In the District of Minnesota, prosecutors unsealed two indictments. One indictment charges Amina Farah Ali and Hawo Mohamed Hassan with providing funds to al-Shabaab. The two women are naturalized U.S. citizens residing in Minnesota, and were arrested on Aug. 5, according to the Justice Dept. Prosecutors unsealed a separate indictment in Minnesota charging 10 men with terrorism offenses for leaving the United States to join al-Shabaab.

Attorney General Eric Holder at a news conference in Washington said the indictments “suggest a disturbing trend for support for radical ideologues amongst some sub-groups of the youth population.” He said the U.S. “must” prevent this kind of captivation from taking hold.

Mr. Holder told reporters that the al-Shabaab phenomenon has been on the radar of law enforcement agencies for the past few years.

The U.S. Attorney in Minnesota, Todd Jones was asked by a reporter why al-Shabaab was allegedly successful in recruiting Americans. “It's young men, and young people, and they're at difficult points in their lives just as with other young people, other Americans. They've been used,” Mr. Jones said, according to media reports.

“I believe the indictments suggest that al-Shabaab has become more effective at recruiting misguided individuals,” Dr. David Shinn, adjunct professor of International Affairs at the Elliot School of International Affairs, an expert on the Horn of Africa told The Final Call.

“Most of the indictments apply, however, to persons who were recruited several years ago,” he added.

During an earlier press conference on Aug. 5 at the State Dept. the Obama administration issued its annual terrorism report citing “home-grown Islamic militants” as a growing terrorism threat. “We've learned something important in the last year, the assessment that Americans have some special immunity to al-Qaida ideology was dispelled,” stated Amb. Dan Benjamin, the State Dept. coordinator for counterterrorism.

While the indictments focused on the Somali-American community, Mr. Holder made it clear that he's not indicting an entire group. He was explicit in praising the community's leadership for assistance to federal authorities in their investigation.

Observers say community leaders complained to authorities after several youth disappeared from Minneapolis and surfaced in Somalia.

But the attorney general's words are not resonating in the Somali community in Minnesota, according to Prof. Ahmed Samatar, a James Wallace professor and dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College. “Many people here feel that they have been homogeneously demonized by the government,” Mr. Samatar told The Final Call. “People are complaining that they have been ethnically profiled by the FBI, which has left the community feeling very insecure; they feel that any one of them can be picked up because they are Somali.”

“I have the impression that American security authorities have significantly increased their monitoring of the Somali communities in the United States and, more importantly, reaching out to Somali leaders in these communities to solicit their help,” Dr. Shinn said.

Prof. Samatar says he has in lived in Minnesota for 30 years, and he has yet to meet any Somalis who are sympathetic with al-Shabaab. “Speaking for myself I don't want the rascals to get a foothold here,” he said.