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Columbus: Local Somali activist invited to D.C. event


By  Mark Ferenchik
Wednesday, September 07, 2011

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Jibril Mohamed leads a Somali organization that works to steer youth from crime and extremism.

A local Somali leader has been invited to an event for young Muslim leaders on Wednesday at the U.S. State Department in Washington.

Jibril Mohamed, 31, who leads the Somali Community Access Network in Columbus, was one of about 50 people nationwide invited to attend and share ideas about improving their communities.

Mohamed works with local young people in an effort to steer them away from crime and extremism. He is on Ohio State University’s Youth Violence Prevention Advisory Board.

SomaliCAN also helps organize graduation programs for local Somali students.

Mohamed and others have recently worked on efforts to raise money in Columbus to help the victims of the famine in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. Mohamed said more than $60,000 has been raised.

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Mohamed said he and Sahid Ali, the English-as-a-second-language coordinator for Columbus schools, plan to travel to Kenya next summer to speak to Somali leaders about their leadership efforts here.

“Muslims in the U.S. can reach back to their countries of origin and motivate young leaders to be able to understand democratic values,” Mohamed said.

The State Department in 2009 appointed the first special representative to Muslim communities to help build better relationships with Muslims around the world.

Mohamed attended a similar State Department event last year.

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