All the Somali clichés in one post

Here are a few of the recycled talking points that the Abubakar Asadique Islamic Center (AAIC) disseminates to its surrogates in defence from any accusations related to the current Somali Minnesota predicament. All the clichés in one post.

1- We are all Muslims and Somalis. Therefore, we must think and act alike with one mindset (hint: essentialism).
2- The accusations are politically and tribally motivated
3- The media is the problem (see the Foxnews9 clip)
4- The media is being overtaken by few individuals who don’t represent the views of the Somali community (hint: Omar Jamal)
5- The underlying intent is to destroy and discredit Muslim mosques and centers (the missing men rhyme is merely a scapegoat)
6- We provide valuable services for the youth and the community at large
7- The kids were recruited from the streets and not from the mosques (to the contrary, most of the youngsters were either college or high school students or working, or both)
8- There are those who want to exploit Somali plight for political reasons
9- Our problems stem from lack of a unified leadership among the Somali community; and
10- Lack of a united Somali community organization with one voice. In other words, the community is paralyzed by the existence of so many different community organizations and advocates with different visions and services. Therefore, we need to unite them all and form one community organization with one voice.