Articles by SA STAFF

Around the Diaspora July 2017

Facebook Founder eats iftar meal in Minneapolis Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, embarked on what he called “a great American road trip,” saying  his goal was to visit all 50 states and meet the people who make American great. The trip brought him to Minneapolis on the last 3 days of Ramadan where he shared an iftar meal with some local Somali Minnesotans. Here is his own Facebook account: “Tonight I had my first iftar dinner with a group of Somali refugees in Minneapolis. As a refugee, you often don’t get to choose which country you end up in. When I asked one  man who had spent 26 years in a refugee camp whether America now felt like home, he gave a simple and profound answer: “Home is where you are free to do what you want. Yes, this feels like home.” There are few places in the world he felt comfortable to be who he is: the country where he was born, and our country that values freedom. What a beautiful tribute to America.  Thanks to my hosts for being so gracious at the very end of Ramadan. I left impressed by your…


Measles Outbreak Identified by a MDH Outreach Worker

On a Tuesday morning in April 2017, Hinda Omar, a Somali outreach worker with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), learned that there were 3 children with measles in the Somali community. She recognized immediately that this could be a serious situation and affect many more children in the community. Vaccination rates for the MMR vaccine – which protects against measles, mumps and rubella – had been going down in the Minnesota Somali community over the last decade. This meant more people, especially children, were at risk of getting sick with measles. As of June 19, 2017, there have been 78 cases of measles making this Minnesota’s worst measles outbreak since 1990. Most of the cases have occurred in the Somali community in the Twin Cities area and the vast majority of the cases were not vaccinated. In 2004, the Somali community had one of the highest vaccination rates for MMR vaccine. However, after 2006, families stopped vaccinating putting many at risk. “I was worried about the community,” said Omar. “I knew the [vaccination] rates were low, and I was concerned. I did not know what an outbreak would look like in my community.” Omar has been working with the…


SHEEKO SADDEXAAD

Waxa la yiri saddex abaarood baa jira: Abaar Rag Abaar Dumar iyo Abaar Geel Abaar Rag: Abaar rag waxa ugu weyn waa arin la’aan. Raggu hadduu meel wada joogo waxa haboon in ay arinsadaan oo wax isKu ogaadaan.  Hjaddii nin walba uu kelidii ama koox yari ay go’aan iska gaaraan iyagoo aan la tashan raggii ay meel wada joogeen,  arin kaasi wuxu keenayaa kala shaki wuxuuna ku dambeeyaa fashil iyo bur-bur. Weliba waxa dhici karta in dagaal uu ka dhex qarxo ragga arin isku maan dhaafa. Arintan wada tashiga ah waata keentay in dalalku ay yeeshaan gole wasiiru oo wada tashada iyo barlamaan lagaga dodo arimaha dalkaas. Inta badan wadamada ay xukumaan  niman digtaatoor ah way burburaan.  Sidaas darted raggu haddii uu wada tashado guul buu gaaraa.  Haddii ay wax qaldamaan cid gaar ah laguma eedeeyo. Abaar Dumar: Abaar dumar waa ubad la’aan. Dumarku wxay hoygooda hantaan marka ay ogyihiin in ubad ay u hayaan ninka ay wada joogaan.  Inta badan waxa dhacda in dumarku shaki badan ka qaadaan saygooda (ninkooda) haddii caruur labadooda isku xirta ay meesha ka maqanyihiin. Mar kasta  waxa ay Ku fikireysaa goorma ayuu naag kale kula guursandoonaa.  Naagta war-war qabta uma hagar baxayso ninkeeda. Ninkuna…


LABA WALBA WAX BAY KU FIICAN YIHIIN

Laba fadhiga ayey ku fiicanyihiin: Dabka iyo Dumaraka. Dabka hadii kolba meel loo qaado wuuu bakhtiyaa. Haddii aad dhuxul qaadid dabeysha ayaa ku dhacaysa oo markiiba way baabaaysaa. Haddii aad qori ololaya qaadid isagana dabeysha ayaa u dhacaysa oo qorigii ololayey wuu dhamaanayaa. Dumarku waxay ku fiicanyihiin fadhiga. Dhaqanka Soomaaliyeed waxa caadu u ahaa in dumarku guryahooda joogaan. Naag ama gabar kolba meel lagu arko oo wareegeysa waxa loo arki jirey caado xun. Waxa laga yaabaa in naagtaas ama gabartaas wax xun aysan ku kicin, laakiin maadaama kolba meel lagu arkay iyadoo joogta waxa la oran jirey “way cag fududahay.” Laba socodka ayey ku fiicanyihiin: waa Dabeeysha iyo Roobka. Dabeyshu meel ma taagna oo wey socotaa. Socodkaa ay dabeyshu socoto wxay qaboojineysaa dadka, xoolaha iyo wixii kale ee qabow u baahan. Dabeyshaas wax qaboojineysa waxa loo yaqaanaa “layr/laydh.” Rookuna wuxuu ku fiicanyahay socodka. Haddii roobku meel keliya ka da’o, waxa dhacaysa in meelaha kale ay abaar noqodaan. Roobku meel marka uu ka muuqdo dadka meel kale jooga waxay Ilaahay ka baryaan in uu iyagana u shubo. Waxa la oran jirey farta ha ku fiiqina wuu inaga leexanayaaye. Daruuraha ayaa roobka keena, daruuruhuna way socdaan. Laba hadalka ayey ku fiicanyihiin: waa…


The Basics of Ramadan

A billion and a half Muslims around the world have ushered in the holy month of Ramadan during which they atone for their sins and, through fasting, grow closer to their god. Ramadan is the ninth month of the “Hiijri” or lunar, calendar, and it was during this month that the holy Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad (PBUH.) “Sawm”, or fasting, during  Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam along with the belief in Allah, daily prayers, alms giving (charity) and a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj). As such, its observance is obligatory for all able Muslims. During this month they must refrain from food, drink, sex and smoking from dawn until dusk. They must fast not only from food but also mischief. It is a month in which they strive to grow closer to Allah by following his commands and distancing themselves from that which is prohibited. The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) assured that “whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” “Iftar” is the meal Muslims eat at sunset to break the day-long fast. It is awaited with great anticipation and…


A Bill That Criminalizes Parents of FGM Victims Passes the MN House

On Monday, May 15th, the Minnesota House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that puts harsher penalties on the parents who let their daughters undergo the female genital mutilation (FGM) surgery. The bill passed through house in less than two weeks with a 124-4 vote. Female genital mutilation is a cultural practice that limits a female’s sexual pleasure by cutting off a portion of the clitoris. Representative Mary Franson, who sponsored the bill, said, “We’re not going to stand for little girls being harmed in such an egregious way. This topic may make you uncomfortable, but in no way is it as uncomfortable as what little girls are experiencing in the state of Minnesota and across the world.” According to a CDC study, first-generation immigrant girls from Egypt, Ethiopia and Somalia were most at risk to have their genitals ritually cut, which the health organization called “a traditional practice in various parts of the world since antiquity.” The same study suggested that there might be up to half a million girls in the US who are at risk of the FGM procedure. The bill was inspired by a recent event that made national news when two Minnesota girls were driven…


The Old Minnesota Children’s Museum Reopens With 10 New Exhibits

It is summertime and kids need to be engaged and entertained, but where do you take them? So in every monthly issue this summer, we will feature a local hotspot for children. This month it is the Children’s Museum in Saint Paul which has undergone a major renovation and will soon reopen to the public. Everything is new at the Minnesota Children’s Museum where families have been going to play for more than 35 years. The museum, located in downtown St Paul, will re-open in June with 10 new exhibits. It is a place for children to have fun and learn at the same time. Kids can slide down a giant slide and climb two tall towers in an experience called The Scramble. There also is a laser maze, a studio with real tools, and a pretend town where children can put on costumes to be a firefighter or a postal worker. For families with babies and toddlers, a new exhibit called Sprouts gives young children a place to safely crawl, climb and play with water. And the museum has created two new outdoor places to play. “We like to say this is an all new museum,” said Dianne Krizan,…


Ask A Muslim Scholar Volume 4

Q: If I have my period, is it possible to read the Qur’an without touching the Qur’an? A: Scholars and jurists of Islam have been divided in their opinion about the issue whether women who are menstruating are allowed to read the Qur’an or not.  The generally accepted view among them is that women are not allowed to read the Qur’an while menstruating. Among other things, they have based this ruling on a report attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him, which states, “Neither those who are sexually defiled nor those who are menstruating shall read the Qur’an.”  A group of scholars belonging to Maliki, Shafi and Hanbali schools, and others, however, have rejected the above position. As has been pointed out by Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, there is nothing wrong for women from reading the Qur’an either from their heart or from mushaf itself, should they find it necessary to do so.  Even some of those scholars who are generally in favour of disallowing menstruating women from reading the Qur’an from mushaf have considered it permissible for them to do so if they are teachers or students or they are afraid of forgetting what they have memorized.  Having cited…


Countering the Anti-Vaccine Movement

The measles outbreak in Minnesota is being blamed on Anti Vaccine activists who often target the Somali community with propaganda that falsely connects autism to vaccines. There are now 54 confirmed cases in Minnesota and 48 of them are unvaccinated Somali children under the age of 10. Measles is a highly infectious disease that can even be deadly. The outbreak in Minnesota started less than 6 weeks ago with one unvaccinated child and since then it has spread to 53 people in four different counties. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says “measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.” The unvaccinated rate among Somali Americans started plummeting back in 2008 when the anti-vaccine community started organizing events in Somali neighborhoods that linked autism to the MMR vaccine. Prior to that, Somali children had a higher than average vaccination rate of 94% and since then that rate has dropped to 42%. That is a dangerously low vaccination rate and it is being considered an epidemic by health officials in Minnesota. That led many to ask the question, is anti-vaccine propaganda protected under the…


Secondhand Smoke Kills Too

Most of you know that smoking cigarettes is bad for you. The smoke gets into your lungs and over time causes cancer. But you may not know that secondhand smoke – the smoke released into the air by the smoker – is bad for everyone in the room with the smoker! Breathing in secondhand smoke makes it more likely to get lung cancer and many other types of cancer. Breathing in secondhand smoke is also not good for your heart. If you live with a smoker or frequently spend time in the company of people who smoke, this article is for you! It could change your life! Secondhand smoke is the smoke a smoker breathes out and that comes from the tip of burning cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. It contains about 4,000 chemicals. Let me explain more about what secondhand smoke is and why it is so harmful. When you are sitting with a person who is smoking, you inhale the same dangerous chemicals as the smoker. The smoker will inhale only 15% of the harmful smoke into his/her lungs, the rest is blown out in to the room. Everyone in this room breathes in the secondhand smoke into their…