Articles by SA STAFF

Community

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,…

Religion

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…

Health

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…

Health

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…

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Community

Around the Diaspora May 2017

Somali Canadian named the Minister of Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussein is now in charge of the same government agency that sponsored him back in 1993 when he migrated to Canada from Somalia. In 2015, Hussein made history by being the first Somali elected to Canadian parliament and one year later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Ahmed Hussein to lead the Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship. Ahmed will take over a ministry that plans to accept 400,000 new immigrants in 2017.   British Somali Teenager Earns Full Scholarship to an Elite Boarding School in Berkshire, UK. Ahmed Roble, a Dutch Born, English educated youngster not only scored high on the GCSE but had to go through rigorous interviews to land a full scholarship with one of the most elite boarding schools in the world. Roble is one of nine students to win full scholarship to Eton College, a historical institution founded in 1440. Roble will be following in the footsteps of 19 prime ministers of England as well as Prince Harry and Prince Williams.   Students from Masjid Abu Bakr al Siddique Dominate Quran Competition in Chicago Out of the 19 winners at the annual Islamic convention, 15 were Somali American…

Health

Measles Outbreak in the Somali Community Continues to Grow

An outbreak that started with two brothers and their friend grew to 20 confirmed measles cases in Minneapolis. All the victims of the outbreak come from the Somali community and were not vaccinated. Health officials are tracing the outbreak back to one unvaccinated child who travelled outside the country. Minnesota Department of Health infectious disease director, Kris Ehersman said, “”This outbreak has nothing to do with being Somali. It is absolutely an outbreak that is driven by unvaccinated children and that is what the source is.” Measles is a serious disease that can lead to death. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes followed by a rash that typically spreads from head to the rest of the body. It is highly contagious and spreads easily by coughing, sneezing or even being in the same room with someone who has measles. Measles was eradicated in the US back in 2000 and all measles cases since then were linked to international travel. Random cases are reported around the country but are almost always linked to international travel. The last outbreak in Minnesota was in 2001. Before 2008, the vaccination rate among Somalis was considered to be slightly higher…

Religion

Ask a Muslim Scholar Volume 3

Q: We are a couple trying to have a baby for the last years and Allah did not allow it to happen yet. We have an option to do an In vitro fertilization. We have the money in a line of credit. Can we use this money even though we have a home mortgage and a credit card to pay every month? We would like to know what Islam say about it. Note that we are making our payments every month without any problems. A: If the process you have mentioned involves interest then the transaction is considered as haraam (unlawful), for interest is haraam. If, however, by paying your installments every month when they are due, you can avoid paying the interest, then there is nothing wrong with that. For in that case, it is not at all different from your credit card purchases; which may or may not involve interest, depending on whether you pay it of in full when it is due or you choose to pay it with interest. If, therefore, your payments involve interest it is considered as haraam. Q: My wife miscarried at the end of third month of gestation. Sonographic test in the th…

Community

Civic Responsibility in Full Display

Minneapolis saw a rise in caucus turn out on April 5, 2017. Thousands turned out to exercise their civic responsibility and the Somali community did not disappoint. Precinct caucuses saw an increase in the number of Somali Americans showing up to support their candidates early in voting process. Even in precincts that did not have a Somali candidate, residents showed their support and engaged their local leaders Precinct caucuses are meetings organized by the state’s political parties to start the process of selecting candidates for the election that will be held later in November. Residents and candidates discuss policy positions and vote in a straw poll. Caucus turn out is also an indicator of which candidates will do well in the real elections and who the party will endorse.   In Minneapolis, all 13 city council seats are up for grabs. The mayoral race will also be held in November with multiple candidates and the current mayor running for reelection.  It should be an eventful election year and everyone should come out and exercise their civic responsibility. In comparison, Somalia did not have a functioning government for over two decades after ousting a brutal dictator who held on to power…

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Community

A Funny Somali Story

Guurkii labada Doqon (Sheeko) Beri baa waxa isguursaday nin iyo naag aan farridnimo u dhalan oo doqonniimo u banbaxday. Maalin maamaha ka mid ah ayaa ay ri qasheen oo hilbaheedii qaar cuneen, qaarna haan ku gurteen oo ay ku keydsadeen. Maalin maalmaha ka mid ah ayaa ay israaceen ninkii iyo afadiisii oo ay xaabo u doonteen keynta si ay wax ugu karsadaan. Iyaga oo keyntii ku sii socda ayaa nin socdaal ahi ka hor yimid oo su’aal weydiiyey oo yiri: “ Waxa aad ii tilmaantaan cid meelahan deggen haddii aad garanaysaan?” Way ugu jawaabeen, “tubtaa raac aqalkayagii bay ku geynaysaaye; aqalka ha gelin, haddaad gasahana haanta docda ku xiran ha furin. Haddaad furtana hilibka ku jira ha cunin; haddaad cuntana ha dhamaynin.” Ninkii socotada ahaa markii uu intaas maqlay ayuu iska tegey, ka dibna waxa uu yimid aqalkii labada doqon oo uu cunay hilibkii haanta ku jirey oo dhan. Galabtii markii ay soo noqdeen labadii doqon ee isqabay ayey arkeen in laga cunay hilibkii oo dhan, hase ahaatee may garanin cidda ka xadday ee ka cuntay. Ninkii iyo afadiisii aad baa ay uga naxeen arrintaas, maxaa yeelay hilibku waxa uu ahaa cunnada keli ah ee ay haysteen. Muddo yar ka…

Health

A Healthy Pregnancy Begins Before Conception

Women planning to get pregnant have to take steps to make sure that they are healthy. Avoiding exposure to harmful behaviors and toxins before they conceive can decrease the chance of problems during pregnancy and improve the health of their baby. Preconception Care is the care a woman receives before she gets pregnant to help promote a healthy pregnancy. Scheduling a preconception care visit with your doctor can improve the overall chances of a healthy pregnancy. Your doctor will likely recommend you to take the following steps: Develop a Plan For Your Reproductive Life This plan includes your and your husband’s plans for the number and timing of pregnancies based on your values and life goals. Sharing your life plan with your health care provider can help address any potential problems before you conceive.2 Increase Your Intake of Folic Acid Folic acid is a B vitamin (B9). It helps produce and maintain new cells. This is especially important during times when the cells are dividing and growing rapidly such as infancy and pregnancy. The United States Public Health Service recommends that all pregnant women and “women of childbearing age [15 to 44 years] in the United States who are capable…