Somali-Americans Divided Over How To Prevent Youth From Joining ISIS

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More Somali-American young people have disappeared from the Minneapolis area. Community leaders there fear the missing have joined the terrorist group ISIS in the Middle East. As Minnesota Public Radio's Laura Yuen has found, Somalis living in the Twin Cities remain divided about how to stem the flow of potential fighters to battlefields in Syria.

LAURA YUEN, BYLINE: Reports about yet another batch of disappearances have been circulating in the Somali community here for weeks. A group that calls itself the Somali American Task Force has been warning elders and parents to be vigilant. At a recent town hall meeting in Minneapolis, task force member Abdirizak Bihi took the mic and confirmed to the crowd that the stories were true.

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ABDIRIZAK BIHI: (Foreign language spoken).

YUEN: He told the crowd, "we're now telling you that a number of Somalis, including women and men, have left in previous weeks. It's news we're telling you today." Bihi emphasized that this group was in addition to the young Minnesotans who traveled to Syria about a year ago. But the details are slim and federal authorities haven't commented.

BIHI: We don't know how many left. There were some concerns from the community that more young people might leave. What we all know is that we all share a heightened sense of urgency.

YUEN: Some people here think Bihi may be exaggerating the problem. But others in the community have confirmed these latest disappearances. The task force that Bihi sits on is aligned with the U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis in a joint effort to prevent Somali youth from being radicalized. They're promoting things like after-school programs, job training and mentoring. But that effort has faced a backlash from other leaders in the Somali-American community. Back in April, following the arrests of six men on charges of conspiring to travel to Syria to join ISIS, families and friends held protests. They waved the American flag and wore T-shirts saying Free Our Boys. They distanced themselves from the brutal extremists in the Middle East, chanting we're not terrorists.

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UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: We're not terrorists. We're not ISIS. We're not terrorists. We're not ISIS.

YUEN: Many Somali-Americans say they don't entirely trust law enforcement and worry about being singled out because they're Muslims. And that makes attempts to find an antidote to radicalization so challenging. Federal authorities are offering to bolster social services and community outreach for Somali kids at the same time they're investigating terrorism. Jaylani Hussein heads the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations. He says some of his fellow Somali-Americans fear the program will be used to spy on the community. Several dozen Muslim groups have signed a statement opposing the outreach program.

JAYLANI HUSSEIN: Sometimes when you're dealing with a department that investigates you, you should know that there is obviously some concerns there. You know, it's not like the Department of Human Services is providing you a grant to do after-school programming. I mean, the human services does not investigate people for crimes.

YUEN: But critics of the government outreach efforts haven't offered their own detailed plans to try to prevent radicalization. Aside from the most recent departures, the FBI says at least 20 Minnesotans have joined ISIS in the Middle East. At least five are believed dead. Abdisalam Adam, a local imam and public school teacher, says he's left with little choice but to work with law enforcement.

ABDISALAM ADAM: One thing is clear - the need for resources is obvious and it will address some of the issues relating to economic deprivation, upward mobility in a sense of being involved and engaged and becoming part of the American dream.

YUEN: But it's also clear that even as the community struggles with how best to address terror recruitment, young Somali-Americans are still being lured overseas. For NPR News, I'm Laura Yuen in Minneapolis. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.