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Feds offer youth leadership opportunities to keep young Muslims from joining jihad

Sep 9, 2015 7:55 pm By Robert Spencer

“Big Brothers Big Sisters has developed a mentorship program for Somali youth…” This seems to be based on the proposition that young men join the jihad because they lack trusted older people with whom they can talk. That seems to be a stretch. And as for the youth leadership opportunities, no details are given, but it also seems doubtful that a young devout Muslim would give up being a warrior of jihad for a chance to be a youth basketball coach or some such.

Meanwhile, “This is what community members asked us to do, and in some ways, demanded we do.” They demanded it, and they’re running it: “To address some of the concerns about the program, Luger signed a memorandum of understanding in May that said the program would not be used to collect intelligence. His office also set up a Somali task force to lead the project.” How does Luger know that his Somali task force rejects the understanding of Islam that is the real, albeit unacknowledged, impetus for these young men who join jihad? He doesn’t, of course, because he is doubtless certain that Islam is a Religion of Peace and that such concerns are entirely unwarranted.

Andrew Luger, Richard Thorton

“Federal program to fight terrorism takes shape in Minnesota,” by Amy Forliti, Associated Press, September 9, 2015:

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal pilot program designed to combat terror recruiting among Somali youth in Minnesota is beginning to take shape and will include a mentorship program, youth leadership opportunities and other initiatives focused on steering at-risk young people down a positive track, U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said.

Luger spoke about the program’s progress ahead of a Wednesday afternoon announcement, providing the most details yet about the effort, which the Justice Department unveiled a year ago. Similar programs are underway in Boston and Los Angeles.

The programs have rolled out slowly in part due to suspicion and some resistance in the pilot cities, where some have worried that they would amount to government surveillance of Muslims.

Luger said Tuesday that the ideas being implemented in Minnesota are the product of months of meetings with religious and community leaders, government representatives, corporations and other private partners.

The program includes several elements. Among them, Big Brothers Big Sisters has developed a mentorship program for Somali youth, which is being funded by the Carlson Family Foundation, and Cargill Inc. is setting up a pilot youth leadership program.

“This is the right thing to do,” Luger said. “This is what community members asked us to do, and in some ways, demanded we do.”

Minnesota’s program is focused on the state’s large Somali community, which has been a target for terror recruiters; roughly 22 men left the state since 2007 to join al-Shabab in Somalia, and roughly a dozen people have left in recent years to join jihadist groups in Syria. Al-Shabab has led an Islamic insurgency in Somalia for the last eight years, and has stepped up attacks in recent months targeting African Union forces, government officials and foreigners.

So far, more than $850,000 in public and private funding has been secured for countering terror recruiting in Minnesota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. That includes $216,000 in federal funds for the pilot program, and $250,000 in state money that has been allocated for similar efforts. The private funding includes money from the owners of the Mall of America, Luger said.

A nonprofit group called Youthprise, which invests in opportunities for young people, will allocate money that’s not already designated to a specific part of the program, leaving Luger’s office out of the financial process. Wokie Weah, president of Youthprise, said she anticipates her organization will begin accepting requests for project proposals in January.

The pilot program was dubbed Countering Violent Extremism by the Justice Department but renamed Building Community Resilience in Minnesota. To address some of the concerns about the program, Luger signed a memorandum of understanding in May that said the program would not be used to collect intelligence. His office also set up a Somali task force to lead the project….

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Filed Under: American jihadis, Featured, willful ignorance Tagged With: Andy Luger


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Comments

  1. sidney penny says

    Sep 9, 2015 at 8:09 pm

    The program includes several elements. Among them, Big Brothers Big Sisters has developed a mentorship program for Somali youth, which is being funded by the Carlson Family Foundation, and Cargill Inc. is setting up a pilot youth leadership program.

    “developed a mentorship program for Somali youth,”

    Something is really wrong for it to get to this stage.(especially when it relates to violence/terror).

    Question,how and why does it get to this stage?

    • Oceanside says

      Sep 9, 2015 at 8:27 pm

      Leadership still trying to convince the uninformed that Islam is not what Islam is.

      • EYESOPEN says

        Sep 9, 2015 at 9:40 pm

        Yep.

        • particolor says

          Sep 10, 2015 at 4:37 am

          yeah ! That’s gotta Work ! Dance them to the Beat of a Different Drum !! 🙂

      • Shane says

        Sep 10, 2015 at 10:50 am

        The solution is to deport all Muslims who want to join the global jihad and take away their citizenship.

        • Angemon says

          Sep 10, 2015 at 1:14 pm

          Shane posted:

          “The solution is to deport all Muslims who want to join the global jihad and take away their citizenship.”

          That can’t be done – you can deport foreigners, and you can strip citizenship from people with dual citizenship, but you can’t remove the citizenship from, let’s say, Americans with no other citizenship. Even if you could, where do you suggest they should be deported to if no country was willing to take them in?

          As far as I know, the US have laws on treason – American supporters of the islamic state should be judged as traitors, assuming law enforcement ever decides to consider the islamic state as muslims consider it: a nation for all “true” muslims from all over the world.

      • Dr. Divinity says

        Sep 10, 2015 at 1:46 pm

        Yes, stupidity piled upon stupidity

    • eternal vigilance says

      Sep 10, 2015 at 11:14 am

      Kerry seeks to duplicate Somali inclinations to terrorism by bringing in Syrians. Gird your loins, citizens, the left (Democrats/Progressives/Socialists) is determined to enlarge our indigenous Musim Islamic Jihadist terrorist base. The FBI thinks it can’t handle the existing threat…..more to come……

    • Jay Boo says

      Sep 10, 2015 at 11:49 am

      @sidney penny

      As soon as the lips of appeasement start puckering in eager anticipation of being allowed to grovel for Muslim approval, its almost to late to ‘talk’ any sense into these people.

  2. Angemon says

    Sep 9, 2015 at 8:34 pm

    So far, more than $850,000 in public and private funding has been secured for countering terror recruiting in Minnesota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

    As far as wastes of money go, at least it’s cheaper than the “moderates” trained in Syria…

    • eternal vigilance says

      Sep 10, 2015 at 11:18 am

      Is it any surprise that Minnesota is the seat of terrorist development in the USA. Do-gooder social agencies and leftist ideology is intent on the suicide of Democracy. These poor dislocated Muslim people are so unfortunate! Yes, but, how do you separate the “GOOD” Muslim from the “JIHADIST” Muslim? Better to keep them all out than bring in one Jihadist who can bring in a biologic bomb or………

      • Dr. Divinity says

        Sep 10, 2015 at 1:51 pm

        As long as obummer iS in office terrorist will continue to be plentiful.

  3. Jay Boo says

    Sep 9, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    This is a training program.
    That means that foreign Somali Muslim students might also apply for admission on temporary (overstay) student visas.
    No the authorities could not possibly be that gullible.

  4. David says

    Sep 9, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    Who are the idiots who decided to allow the Somalis to come to this country?

    • eternal vigilance says

      Sep 10, 2015 at 11:20 am

      John Kerry wants to bring in “unfortunate” Syrian refugees…..he is such an idiot!

  5. somehistory says

    Sep 9, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    Big Brother/Sister had some good results in times past with kids who didn’t have role models at home, due to death, divorce, etc. The kids needed someone to do things with them; homework, ball games, to talk, and things to teach them solutions to life’s problems

    This is a fail from the beginning when it comes to keeping these muslims from engaging in what they are taught from birth is the path for them. But, the *experts* refuse to admit that islam is the reason for the violence, the mind-set that says the muslim is superior to all others and that only subjugation or death has to be. It is what they are trained for, it is what they learn. A Big Brother/Sister won’t undo the damage done by islam.

  6. Budvarakbar says

    Sep 10, 2015 at 4:28 am

    Latest “Midnight Basketball” scam — putrid bastards in WA DC

  7. Matthieu Baudin says

    Sep 10, 2015 at 4:52 am

    “…some resistance in the pilot cities, where some have worried that they would amount to government surveillance of Muslims…”

    Well what’s wrong with decent surveillance? We expect government agencies to be actively nosing about when lives are in peril.

  8. Jeff says

    Sep 10, 2015 at 6:40 am

    Robert, you forgot to include the outright sad response from CAIR. They were mad that this program was being targeted towards Islamic youths, and that there weren’t any programs to target other types of extremism.

    It’s like something from a comedy sketch, but it’s real life. When was the last time a group of Christians beheaded someone in the name of their God? Jews? Buddhists? Hindis?

    • Keith Jordan says

      Sep 10, 2015 at 9:58 am

      Amen!

  9. Shmooviyet says

    Sep 10, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    $Carlson$, Cargill and BB are sadly–and dangerously– mistaken if they think these sorts of programs are going to work in this day & age. Maybe in the 70s and 80s… drag yourselves into the 21st century, guys.
    These are NOT the disaffected youth of Minneapolis’ past!

  10. patechinois says

    Sep 11, 2015 at 2:10 pm

    That sure is a lot of our country’s time, money, and effort spent making sure followers of the religion of peace remain peaceful. Too bad their “holy” book and imams aren’t teaching these people peace…but then again, that would be altering the words of Allah.

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