Somali speech draws protests

Published 10:16 am Monday, August 11, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS — More than 100 people protested Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s speech at the University of Minnesota.

A crowd gathered in Northrop Auditorium to hear Mohamud discuss relations between Minnesota and Somalia, others gathered on the David Lilly Plaza and charged him with supporting Al-Shabaab, a militant Islamic group based in the country.

Nuradin Ali, a translator from St. Louis Park, said they want him to step down as president.

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Minneapolis has the largest Somali population in the U.S. and Mohamud also faced protests when he visited the city’s convention center last year.

Abdi Warsame, the city’s first Somali councilmember, took office this year. Somali-born Mohamud Noor is challenging state Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis.