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Sharia Law in Minneapolis St. Paul Minnesota

Reader comment on item: No Islamic Law in Minnesota, for Now
in response to reader comment: On alcohol and Muslim cab drivers

Submitted by G. Bedford (United States), Sep 8, 2010 at 20:57

The Twin Cities have one of the largest Somali populations in the country. We have a reasonable size community of Lebanese people both Christian and Islamic. The communities could not be more different. Many of the Lebanese own restaurants - deli - some are business people - they go to our colleges both Christian and Islamic kids. The Somali people go out of their way to not become a part of the community. I think the main reason is that people that come from Lebanon are more sophisticated and more cosmopolitan even considering the problems their poor country has.

The women from Somalia seem to do all the work - I see them working at supermarkets, Target's, etc. I never see any Somali men working. I'm sure there are reasons for this but from my standpoint I just don't see them becoming part of our community. Fair or not I will compare them to the Hmong people. These folks came from a tribal society in Viet Nam and the cultural shock for them was very large. They now have representatives that are Hmong in our state legislature - some are bank mangers, doctors, lawyers on and on. While they of course want to maintain their cultural identity - they have made a point of being successful here. The Somalis want no part of this.

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