(NPR) A family of 10 American citizens who were held for years in a Syrian refugee camp and detention center for relatives of Islamic State militants are now back in the United States, the result of complex negotiations that also returned two […]
(AP) A Minnesota man who once fought for the Islamic State group in Syria but now expresses remorse for joining a “death cult” and has been cooperating with federal authorities will have to wait to learn how much prison time he faces […]
(Star Tribune) The Islamic State group’s territory was wasting away five years ago when a member from Minnesota desperately dug a trench around his young family’s tent to protect against airstrikes in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. By then, Abdelhamid Al-Madioum […]
(NY Post) A Somali terrorist was allowed into the country and was able to operate freely for almost a year before authorities realized their error and rearrested him. Republican lawmakers are demanding information from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about what happened […]
(Star Tribune) Minnesota’s branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Thursday night it will remove activist Shaun King as its keynote speaker for an upcoming Ramadan fundraiser, hours after backlash over the announcement that King was selected. A little before noon, […]
(AP) While Muslim students remain a rarity in many U.S. school districts, they are a major presence in some communities, prompting public schools to be more attentive to their needs during the holy month of Ramadan when dawn-to-sundown fasting is a duty […]
(AP) A naturalized U.S. citizen who rapped about flying to “shoot New York up” after training with ISIS in his native Somalia has been charged with supporting a terrorist organization, federal prosecutors said Friday. Harafa Hussein Abdi, 41, of Minneapolis was arrested […]
(Washington Times) Rep. Ilhan Omar has been accused of using “ethno-racist rhetoric” by an official of the Republic of Somaliland. The rebuke followed Ms. Omar’s speech in Minneapolis in which she pledged her support for her native Somalia, though she later insisted […]
(NBC) Two Canadian members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang plotted with an Iranian drug trafficker to kill a pair of dissidents who were living in Maryland, the Justice Department and federal officials said Monday. Naji Sharifi Zindashti, aka “Big Guy,” who […]
(Daily Caller) Federal authorities caught a terrorist at the U.S. southern border and released him into the country, where he roamed freely for nearly a year before being arrested in Minnesota just days ago, according to an internal federal memo exclusively obtained […]
(Washington Examiner) Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was harshly criticized by conservatives on social media on Sunday after a video was shared showing her speaking about her support for Somalia, the nation from which she hails. In the video, the liberal Minnesota leader […]
(NY Post) A controversial Islamic group — which the White House cut ties with after its director said he was “happy” about Hamas’ terror attack against Israel on Oct. 7 — is facing allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The suit could […]
(AP) U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar got a prominent Democratic primary challenger Sunday when former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels announced he’ll try once again to unseat her after coming close in 2022. Omar, a charter member of “the squad” of progressive […]
(NBC) As Israel’s U.S-backed war against Hamas intensifies and Palestinian civilian deaths mount, a growing number of swing-state Muslim American and Arab American leaders are warning President Joe Biden that he is losing support from their communities in ways that could cost […]
(Sahan Journal) A lawsuit against Hamline University by a former art history professor will remain in federal court, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez ruled Friday. But she dismissed four of the professor’s five claims that stemmed from a campus dispute last winter. […]
(Politico) When Pramila Jayapal faced fierce blowback in mid-July after dubbing Israel a “racist state,” it immediately unnerved fellow House progressives. Their concern: Would Democratic leaders recommit to the longstanding policy of backing all incumbents, including critics of Israel? The answer was […]
(AP) A Pakistani doctor and former Mayo Clinic research coordinator who sought to join the Islamic State terrorist group to fight in Syria and expressed interest in carrying out attacks on U.S. soil was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison. Muhammad […]
(KARE) With four “yeas” and six “nays,” the issue of rent stabilization was stopped from going on the ballot for Minneapolis voters this fall. That is news in and of itself, but at issue for many is that the council voted on […]
(Inside Higher Ed) A new American Association of University Professors report criticizes Hamline University for its treatment of an adjunct professor who showed students images of the prophet Muhammad, saying she was academically justified in displaying them and the institution was wrong […]
(KSTP) Criminal charges have been filed against the man accused of intentionally starting a fire inside a St. Paul mosque. Said Murekezi, 42, is charged with second-degree arson, second-degree burglary of a religious building, and fifth-degree drug possession. He was discharged from […]
(KARE) With the stroke of a pen, the more than 20 mosques throughout Minneapolis are now allowed to publicly broadcast the Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, five times per day throughout the year. Mayor Jacob Frey officially signed the new ordinance […]
(Sahan Journal) The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted Thursday morning to pass an ordinance allowing the public broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer five times a day year-round. Mosques were previously allowed to broadcast the adhan, or Islamic call to prayer, […]
(Sahan Journal) Minneapolis mosques would be able to broadcast the adhan — the Islamic call to prayer — five times a day under a proposed ordinance unanimously approved March 29 by the City Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee. The resolution would […]
(Pioneer Press) Hamline University President Fayneese Miller, who was criticized for her handling of a Muslim student’s complaint after a professor showed art in class that depicted the Prophet Muhammad, will retire next year. Miller has been president of the St. Paul […]
(KARE) It was standing room only, as dozens of people packed inside Minneapolis City Council chambers. “I want to thank Councilmember Aisha Chughtai and the two other Muslim councilmembers,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on […]
(Daily Caller) A college chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is hosting an event on April 7 to support five Palestinian Americans convicted of supporting terrorism and protest the “injustice” of their sentencing, according to an Instagram post. The […]
(KARE) Hamline University is asking a federal judge to toss a lawsuit filed by the former adjunct professor who lost her job and was called “Islamophobic” by school officials after showing her art history class a painting of the Prophet Muhammad considered […]
(KARE) After already ping-ponging between state and federal court multiple times, the lawsuit filed by former Hamline University adjunct professor Erika López Prater was moved back to federal court last week. López Prater’s suit alleges religious discrimination, reprisal, and defamation after she […]
(Sahan Journal) A federal judge on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit Erika López Prater filed against Hamline University after the school criticized her for displaying two images of the Prophet Muhammad in her art history class. David Redden, an attorney for López Prater, […]
(Sahan Journal) A Macalester College art exhibit reopened Monday after a brief closure to address concerns from Muslim students. It’s the second time in recent months that Muslim students at private liberal arts colleges in St. Paul have raised objections to art […]
(Pioneer Press) Hamline University’s full-time faculty on Tuesday asked President Fayneese Miller to resign over her administration’s handling of a Muslim student’s complaint about an adjunct professor who showed ancient art in class that depicted the Prophet Muhammad. Various Hamline administrators have […]
(Pioneer Press) The adjunct professor accused of Islamophobia for showing artwork in class that depicted the Prophet Muhammad filed a lawsuit against Hamline University on Tuesday as Hamline’s president conceded the school mishandled the controversy. Professor Erika Lopez Prater is suing the […]
(Religion News) The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement Friday (Jan. 13), saying an art history instructor at Hamline University did not act with bigoted intent when she showed a 14th-century painting of the Prophet Muhammad in a class last semester. […]
(Religion News) Hamline University senior Aram Wedatalla held back tears as she described how hurt she felt when her art history instructor informed the class she would briefly show a painting of the Prophet Muhammad last semester. Speaking at a news conference held […]
(Inside Higher Ed) This fall, an instructor at Hamline University, in Minnesota, was teaching global art history. For one class, the instructor (who has not been named) was discussing Islamic art and included for a brief period (under 10 minutes) a screen […]
(New Lines) On Nov. 18, Hamline University’s student newspaper, the Oracle, published an article notifying its community members of two recent incidents on its campus in Saint Paul, Minnesota, one indubitably homophobic and the other supposedly Islamophobic. Both occurrences were placed under […]
(Minnesota Reformer) Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman has apologized for making antisemitic and anti-gay comments on Facebook from 2011 to 2013, calling Israelis “dogs” and speaking approvingly of Hitler. The Reformer reviewed the posts before they were deleted in October. Osman, […]
(VOA) From refugees to elected office, 14 Somali Americans have won legislative seats across the U.S. this year. Some also have been elected to city councils, school boards and the boards of parks and recreation in their respective cities. The U.S. midterm […]
(Arab News) For President Joe Biden, a Democrat, the midterm elections are crucial and challenging. Traditionally, the party that controls the White House at this stage usually loses control of the House and the Senate. Now the Republicans are perched to take […]
(VOA) From the streets of Minneapolis in Minnesota, home to the largest Somali community in the United States, to the northeast side of Columbus, Ohio, home to the second-largest Somali population, to Maine and the state of Washington, the mindset of the […]
(AP) It’s a busy Friday afternoon at a Somali restaurant on the northeast side of Columbus, home to [the] second-largest Somali population in the United States. The smell of spices is just as robust as the loud conversation, and the East African […]
(KSTP) With its newly opened facility in Woodbury, Amazon can now deliver packages more efficiently in the east metro. The location is also the company’s most accommodating to date for its employees from Minnesota’s Somali community. The brand new “sortation center” sits […]
(KARE) This year, there’s a new way students can proudly show their school spirit at William Byrne Elementary. For the first time, hijabs featuring the school mascot are being sold alongside t-shirts, ensuring everyone at the school is able to wear something […]
(AP) A Pakistani doctor and former Mayo Clinic research coordinator pleaded guilty Tuesday to a terrorism charge, more than two years after he was arrested for telling paid FBI informants that he pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State group and that […]
(MPR) For the first time since 2018, over 35,000 people are expected to gather Saturday to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the second Muslim holiday of the year, at U.S. Bank Stadium. The first holiday, Eid al-Fitr, occurs after Ramadan whereas Eid al-Adha is […]
(Daily Wire) Far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was booed at a concert in Minneapolis over the weekend in front of a predominantly Somali crowd, with some in the audience telling her to “go home” and “get the f*** out of here.” The […]
(Star Tribune) For years, Shukri Ali has called her son Yusuf’s school every time she had to organize her family’s Eid al-Fitr celebrations to make sure he’s excused from classes. It’s another mental stressor each spring on a busy day for Muslim […]
(AP) The chant in Arabic blasted from rooftop loudspeakers, drowning out both the growl of traffic from nearby interstates and the chatter and clinking glasses on the patio of the dive bar that shares a wall with Minneapolis’ oldest Somali mosque. Dozens […]
(Star Tribune) The Muslim call to prayer will soon be heard regularly in parts of Minneapolis. Minneapolis mosques can now publicly broadcast the adhan, or call to prayer, over loudspeakers without acquiring a permit and so long as they abide by the […]
(New Arab) Even with its growing Muslim community, Minnesota’s district schools have until now not officially observed Muslim holidays. That will change starting next school year, when several school districts will recognise Eid El-Fitr and Eid El-Adha as official school holidays. “Muslims are […]
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