Starbucks Somalis Anticipate State
06/11/2006
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Up in Minneapolis, local Somalis ("the largest concentration in the United States") are considering their options given the Islamist takeover of the capital of their homeland, which has been without a government for 16 years. (How time flies!)

Many are happy that a government may be formed and that security will be improved, albeit in the Taliban style. None of the Starbucks Somalis (they seem to have a lot of leisure time) seems exactly unhappy that a brutal Islamist group has taken power, although one "Somali scholar" noted that the militias mean to impose an Islamic caliphate over that region of Africa, which will be exceedingly strict. [Somalis ponder the possibility of peace, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/11/06]

Out pour the views:

Yes, the victory of an Islamist coalition in the battle for Mogadishu is a good thing. But not if they turn out to be Taliban-style Islamists. But they aren't. Well, some of them are.

One predictable portent occurred the other day when the new rulers unplugged Mogadishu residents watching the World Cup soccer tournament. Such activities are western and therefore corrupt, the Islamist militiamen believe.

So will any of these suburban Somalis actually pack up and move home, as a couple said they would? Doubtful, although the Minnesota winter may be an inducement in a few months.

 

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