Beyond the Headline: Friday March 23

MIREMS chooses a story from our daily advisory reports to share on our blog. These cross-cultural translation summaries are a first hand look at what ethnic and multilingual media are reporting on across the country.

Attack on Alfurqaan Mosque in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota - Somali

Source: VOA Somali

Translated summary: In the month of August 2017, the office of Alfurqaan Mosque in a suburb of Minneapolis was attacked with grenades. The aim was to kill the Imam of the mosque, Sheikh Waleed. The explosives caused a lot of damage and destruction to the mosque, but fortunately, the Imam was unharmed because he was not present at the time. This week the FBI apprehended three men who were the alleged perpetrators of the crime. These men all pleaded guilty because they were caught in the possession of grenades and other explosives in their homes. Mahmoud Arab, the director of Alfurqaan Mosque, stated that all the men are from the state of Illinois and are believed to be part of one of the American white supremacist movements. When Arab was asked about the men’s reasons for committing this attack, he mentioned a couple of points that he thought might be the root cause. Arab mentioned that one of the primary goals of the American white supremacist movement is to destroy well established none white communities and organizations. The mosque played a vital role in the Muslim community in Minnesota by providing an array of social services. It functioned as a school and university where Islamic studies where taught. He also mentioned the growing popularity of Islamophobia in America.

Originally published March 14 2018