MINNEAPOLIS (NNPA)�The Somali community is up in arms about the United States government�s attempt to label them as supporters of terrorism. At a rally, speaker after speaker denounced these efforts as racist as well as an infringement on their human rights.

On Nov. 7, the government shut down several Somali-run businesses in Minneapolis and other cities across the U.S. that provide money transfer services for many Somalis and other East African immigrants who help support their families and relatives in Somalia and refugee camps in Kenya. The government accused the money transfer services of sending money to Osama bin Laden�s Al-Qaeda network. All of the services were part of Al-Barakaat, the largest Somali-run wire service, with 60 offices in Somalia and over 100 abroad.

The "hawalas," which literally means the transfer of money or information between two people using a third person, predate capitalism and is set up partially on trust. The hawalas exist out of necessity since the instability in Somalia has eliminated most formal banking systems.

"The United States is making terror for our community. We are not terrorists and we don�t support terrorism," explained Nor Faarox, one of the owners of Global Service International Inc. "We are one of the many immigrant communities that send money back home. We are hard working. We are taxpayers. This (hawalas) is the only channel to send money to people back home. If the government calls us terrorists, our people who rely on us in refugee camps and in other parts of Somalia will be in trouble."

What the Somali community found most disturbing was the fact that the U.S. government did this without providing any solid evidence of the alleged terrorist connections.

Government officials quoted in local and national dailies repeatedly said they think that Al Barakaat and Mr. bin Laden are linked, but they neglected to provide any evidence of wrongdoing.

Most participants in the rally expressed concern that the Somali community is being singled out because they are Black and Muslim. They also said that they suspect that another reason for closing the hawalas is because the cheaper fees for their service, five percent, made it more difficult for American money transfer businesses like Western Union, charging 15 percent, to compete.

"This is about human rights. They have violated our human rights," said Jamal Omar of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, one of the Nov. 8 rally organizers.

"Injustice to anyone anywhere is an injustice to people everywhere. We call on all communities to stand with us and help us defend ourselves from these attacks by the American government," he said.

"Our families survive because of contributions of Somalis living in America and Europe. My family always get their money and I don�t know of any other families that don�t get their money I don�t know how the money is getting to bin Laden since it always goes to the families," said Halima Ibrahim at the rally.