Somali activist tried to stop missing boys from traveling

St. Paul, Minn. – People who know Abia Ali say she is a voice of conscience in her community.

At a rally last week against Minneapolis street violence, she held a bullhorn on the steps of City Hall, urging her fellow Somalis to help police solve a fatal shooting that took place in front of a popular community center.
Proud graduatesA sturdy woman wearing a blue hijab that drapes over her head and body, Ali used her faith to make the case for putting the killer behind bars.

“If you get away with this — in front of Allah, you will not get away,” Ali said to the crowd. “Come forward, and please tell what you saw right there.”

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But lately, she has felt the spotlight of a federal investigation. The FBI is looking into whether the young men were recruited to fight with an Islamic militia that the U.S government considers a terrorist group. The disappearances have also triggered secret grand jury proceedings.

Ali has heard that FBI agents, working on what she says are false leads, have been asking about her in connection to the case. Agents have been showing Ali’s photograph while conducting interviews as part of their probe, according to some of the young people who attend Abubakar.

Ali said she’s even heard talk in her community that she was the one who sent the boys to fight in their homeland, a country where anarchy and violence are the rule. She denies the accusation.

“It’s very sad,” she said, pausing to dab away tears with the hem of her skirt. “It’s hurting me so much. I’ll be the last person on earth encouraging violence. I’m against violence.”

The truth, Ali said, is that she tried to prevent the boys’ trips to Somalia, even before the disappearances began to garner headlines.

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