My reflection on the 1st Annual Somali Diaspora Youth Conference

by Halima Ali Ahmed
Monday, August 17, 2009

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On July 31 and August 1 of 2009, a conference entitled “Empowering Somali Diaspora Youth: The Forgotten Generation,” was organized by the Washington DC Community, Somali American Community Association and Sadia Ali Aden, without whom, I doubt this event would have been such a success. This event’s goal was to empower the Somali Youth to strive for the best and fulfill their dreams. The participants of this event included Abukar Arman, Mohamed Diini, Ahmed Elmi, Fowsia Abdulqadir and Professor Ahmed Samatar among others. The event also attracted few non-Somali speakers such as Mauri Saalakhan, Bill Fletcher, and Corey Saylor. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the number of youth that came out to represent their respective state, showcase their talent and simply participate with other Somali youths in ideas and network with one another. As a resident of Maryland—a state, which is deprived of Somalis—the number of attendees absolutely stunned me.

The main points of the conference revolved around relevant topics in relation to the Somali youth. Among the various topics that were discussed included: the role of media and how it plays an importance in how people perceive others, the significance of education, our youth’s role in enhancing our beloved Somalia, youth mentoring in Islam and their participation in the political process. The discussion panel included various topics such as, civil and human rights advocacy, the roles of Somali Diaspora Youth Organization, religion, racism and extremism.

One of the main speakers at the event, Professor Ahmed Samatar, openly expressed his firm beliefs. He openly slandered Islam and insulted religious beliefs of most attendees. Professor Samatar holds a very negative and harsh perspective on Islam. He identified himself as an African first, arguing that Africa predates the origin of Islam. This clearly contradicts our—the youth who were being empowered—belief. Islam did not begin with Prophet Mohammad, May peace and blessings be upon him, but rather began with the existence of Adam and Hawa (Eve), may Allah be Pleased with them. I am very proud of my African and more specifically my Somali heritage and traditions. They hold a very special place in my heart for they are a part of me. However, as a Muslim, my religion (Deen) will always remain number one—a viewpoint many of my fellow Somalis agreed upon at the event. I firmly believe different ideas and thoughts are the elements that make our world so beautiful and exciting; however, one should always be conscious of whether he or she is offending different thoughts and viewpoints.

I was not offended because Dr. Samatar held un-Islamic beliefs, but rather because he chose to share those statements at an event that was directed towards the Somali youth, who are mostly, if not entirely, Muslim. My point is not for Dr. Samatar to suppress his ideas in any form or shape, but rather to respect the values and religious beliefs of people who were present. I am positive he was very well aware that all the people—Somalis—present were Muslim. The conference may have been hampered as a result of his hostility towards Islam, the Holy Qu’ran, and the Muslim people because on the second day of the conference the attendance was significantly lower.

In between lunch and breaks, the youth group that I had joined was not only angry but also highly insulted. One sister said, “I would not come had I known this man would trash my most beloved Deen in such a manner.” Some of the youth were just perplexed to hear such crude comments coming from an elderly Somali person. One woman questioned whether Dr. Samantar was the kind of person her children should look up to. I highly respect any Somali person who achieves such a distinguished and respectable place in society and represents Somalia in a positive manner. Dr. Samatar, without doubt, is a highly motivated person to have achieved his PhD; however, he lacks the basic understanding of respect. He is not a stranger to Islam; he said himself that he comes from a traditional Muslim family. In the discussion panel, many of the youth were given the opportunity to ask Dr. Samatar some questions. His answers did not satisfy anyone and it was crystal clear that he did not care enough to explain himself. I personally thought he felt he was beyond everyone present. Why do people think a certain title before their name makes them better than everyone else?

It was Brother Mohamed Diini’s lecture that answered the atheistic questions posed by Dr. Samatar with clear evidence from the Holy Qu’ran. I could not be thankful enough to Allah Azza Wa Jal for Brother Diini and Abukar Arman’s presence in this event. These are the kind of people we, the Somali Youth, look up to and are, without a doubt, our role models who empower us not only to be successful in terms of this dunya but also to better Muslims for the Hereafter.

This event proved to me that most of the Somali youth have a very strong Islamic identity, patriotic and unified on the issue of Somalinimo and function from a point of view of unity. In times when Islam is the most misunderstood religion by people—a target of the ugly and false propagandas of the media and the suspicious eye of our fellow Americans—we need mentors who will encourage and show us that Islam is not a religion of violence, hatred and oppression. But rather, it is a religion that is a beautiful and peaceful way of life. We do not need mentors who will denigrate and insult our beliefs to come to events that are designed to empower us. On a daily basis, many of us are already dealing with much negativity about being a Muslim in a country that is hostile at the mere mention of Islam. We do not need to hear similar negativity from our own people, who come to us in the name of empowerment while they spouse hostile ideas towards our success and accomplishment because they dislike Islam.

The event, minus Dr. Samatar, was a perfect and successful platform where we—the Somali Youth—were inspired to be proud and active members of our society and to contribute to the betterment of, both, our homeland Somalia and the place that we call home now: America.

Halima Ali Ahmed
Email: [email protected]

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