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[Piecake]

Hassan, who was born and grew up in Minneapolis, has been an active member and a volunteer at several different Minneapolis mosques. Throughout those years, Hassan noticed one recurring trend in the Somali-run mosques: Young people generally don’t feel welcome.

There are several reasons why they feel isolated, but the main one has to do with a deep cultural divide between the community’s older generation and younger Somali-Americans, especially millennials. For the most part, religious leaders and older mosque-goers often expect younger people to speak Somali, Hassan says, dress “properly” and cut their hair as if they have an important job interview.

Many younger Somali-Americans, however, live in a different world. Some are big fans of the NBA players and pay attention to hip-hop culture, from which they take their fashion cues. That often means that the young men may come to the mosque with hairstyles that often draw negative attention from older worshippers and religious leaders. “They will ridicule you because of your hair, your appearance,” Hassan said. “There’s a lot of judging at mosques. It’s what makes a lot of young people not want to come near.”

But even if young Somali-Americans — most of whom were born or grew up in the U.S. — follow the proper mosque etiquette, the cultural and language barriers still force them out of the congregation, said Masjid Al-Rawdah Director Mohamed Farah.

That’s because imams at most Somali-run mosques in the Twin Cities offer important Friday lectures in Arabic or Somali, languages most young Somalis don’t understand. “The sheiks like to speak in Arabic and Somali,” Farah said. “They don’t know English. But even if they try [speak English], our youth don’t understand them. It’s funny to them to hear the sheiks’ broken English and the way they pronounce the words.”

It’s not only the language or cultural divide that young Somalis can find off-putting, however. Many also find the lectures imams deliver as irrelevant to the day-to-day lives of the Muslims living in America. “They talk about what a Muslim should do when slaughtering an animal,” Hassan said. “That’s good to know, but how many of us really slaughter animals on a regular basis? I mean, we’ve got Whole Foods here.”

https://www.minnpost.com/new-americ...american-muslims-minnesota-arent-going-mosque

I thought this was interesting and was curious if anyone here has experienced this.

 

[Viewt]

This doesn't seem super different to me than most tight-knit immigrant communities. Once you get a full generation born here in the States, they'll be culturally American as much as they are Somali.

My father's family is from Cuba. My father came to the States as a pre-teen. His father primarily spoke Spanish his whole life. My father is fluent in both Spanish and English, and uses both equally (living in Miami where there's a giant population of Spanish-speakers likely helps this). I don't speak Spanish at all.

It's the story of all immigrants, I think.

 

[Slayven]

This doesn't seem super different to me than most tight-knit immigrant communities. Once you get a full generation born here in the States, they'll be culturally American as much as they are Somali.

My father's family is from Cuba. My father came to the States as a pre-teen. His father primarily spoke Spanish his whole life. My father is fluent in both Spanish and English, and uses both equally (living in Miami where there's a giant population of Spanish-speakers likely helps this). I don't speak Spanish at all.

It's the story of all immigrants, I think.

Yeah when they got here mosques was probably the only way to build community. You don't know anyone so you go where similar people are. But young people already have a leg up in navigating society so they don't have to lean on that as much.

 

[Beartruck]

Sounds like what most catholics went through pre-vatican II, but that was even worse because the priest would have his back to you the whole time.

 

[painey]

all my Somali friends in Minnesota are religious as fuck and would never dream of skipping mosque. By contrast, almost all my other Muslim friends are lax about religion and haven't even been fasting for Ramadan.

 

[I-hate-u]

No one should judge a person's hair style or choice of clothing in a place of worship unless it's truly outrageous anyway.

The older folks tend to lose sight of what's important sometimes.

 

[Derwind]

If it matters as a Somali-Canadian, I somewhat agree but I think it's mostly to do with the fact that Mosques aren't really reaching out to these youths properly. Broken english aint the issue, our parents & grandparents have heavy Somali accents, can you tell me they don't understand their families?

 

[SecretMoblin]

I have a bunch of American-born friends in the Somali community here (Minneapolis), almost all of whom have embraced the more liberal approach to Muslim devoutness that has been typical of the area's Muslim community prior to the Somali immigration wave.

The young women look up to Beyoncé and the young guys look up to rappers, and all of them are dating outside of the community behind the elders' backs lol



The lack of Somali-exclusive schools is probably the biggest culprit tbh. Lots of my friends went to one of the few Muslim schools for a few years and then transitioned to public schools, where they very quickly caught up on English proficiency and exposure to American culture. Not many born here care too much about adherence to dietary laws or maintaining Somali culture/language, they just want to live the American dream. The idea of clan wars or traditional Somali fashion seems quaint.

It's worth noting that the Somali community here is quite large and there's a range of approaches to life in the US -- the government watches it closely for links to terrorism and extremism, for example.