Minneapolis imam pushes back against police tying recent violence to Somali American gangs

If there's anyone who understands the nuances around youth violence, it's Imam Hassan Jama, the founder of Minneapolis' oldest and largest mosque.

He has spent his life teaching kids, but even he is perplexed by a surge in gun violence this week. Police in the Twin Cities suburbs say a shooting outside an Eden Prairie High School football game and the 100 rounds fired in a Bloomington residential neighborhood Tuesday morning are connected East African and Somali gangs. 

Hama blames social media and a lack of direction for young people. But he's pushing back on a narrative he says is driven by police and politicians alike.

"Anyone who commits a crime, we want to treat as a criminal, not name their ethnicity. A crime is a crime, regardless of who did it," he said. "Stop calling the whole Somali youth Somali gangs. You are not helping. You are harming more than you're helping."

He said the Somali community in Minnesota is trying hard to integrate and reach the American dream. He added that trust is quickly eroding between East Africans in Minnesota and law enforcement, but says he and other faith leaders are working to rein in the violence. 

"Loudly, I want to address to Somali youth, to any youth, to any youth in Minnesota, what you're doing is wrong," he said. "It's against your teaching, against your tradition, against what your parents teach, and it's against who your community is. Stop today. Stop right now. You're putting at risk the whole community."

Hama says it's the lack of trust between parents and police that he believes has many families not cooperating with law enforcement. 

Police say that's hurt their ability to arrest anyone for the recent crimes.