Condolence: The Late Rev. Yaqub Mohamed

Rev. Yaqub Mohamed (1965-2008)

SFJ! announces with great sadness the sudden death of Rev. Yaqub Mohamed (MTh, Princeton; MA, Concordia) in Minnesota, USA. Rev. Yaqub Mohamed passed away on 08 November 2008.

The Somali church lost an irreplaceable shepherd; we mourn and the community of Faith mourns with us.

May our esteemed Reverend rest in peace.


Here is one American published article about Rev. Yaqub Mohamed and his ministry:

SomServ reaches out to largest Somali community in U.S.

By Dan Olson

Relationships between Somali Muslims and American Christians are becoming more common as Somalis begin to fully integrate into the fabric of the Twin Cities. Somalis and Christians pass on the sidewalk, work side by side and shop in the same stores. Muslim faith understandably remains central - even essential - to the cultural identity of many Somalis here.

One notable exception is the Rev. Yaqub Mohamed, his organization SomServ and the United Somali Fellowship (USF).

Mohamed is a native-born Somali living in Minneapolis. What makes him unique, however, is that he is also an ordained Christian minister. He came to Christ in 1986 through German missionaries in Djibouti, a small country north of Somalia, and has since desired to bring the Gospel to his fellow Somalians.

For years he and his wife believed their ministry would be in Somalia. Little did he know that it would happen in Minneapolis, Minn.

During the Somali civil war Mohamed came to America as a refugee, arriving in Dallas, Texas, in 1990. After moving around, he eventually graduated from Princeton Seminary and has served parishes in New Jersey and Florida.

Since arriving, he has always seen the Twin Cities, with its large Somali population, as the perfect place to start SomServ.

The opportunity to move came in 2000 at a missions conference in California. There he met Jon Good, then pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, who offered him some support. With support from a number of local churches, SomServ began operating in 2000, being granted nonprofit status in February 2003.

Unlike other churches and mission groups who focus on social justice and de-emphasize sharing their convictions, Mohamed and SomServ are focused on holistic ministry, including a religious dialogue component.

"We respect the people and we respect the culture," he said about his fellow Somalis, but, "We are willing to just share who we are." Instead of simply serving Somali immigrants and refugees, he said, "We would rather be open to loving and serving and sharing the Gospel." In other words, the approach of SomServ is to offer the same assistance that other groups offer - ESL, mentoring, employment assistance - but to be direct about the reasons behind its ministry.

In response to those Christians who might suggest that serving needs is enough, Mohamed feels it would be dishonest not to fully disclose the reason behind their service. He says that their goal is to be "honestly and truthfully and lovingly direct."

According to Mohamed, SomServ's most active ministry thus far is Somali Adult Literacy Training (SALT), serving 120 Somali adults at five sites around the Twin Cities. With over 100 volunteers from surrounding churches, Mohamed hopes that bringing together American Christians and Somali Muslims will lead to mutual understanding and respect for one another's convictions.

During the month of Ramadan, for example, Somali students share about the meaning of Ramadan, while Christian teachers will share about biblical teaching on fasting. In time, Mohamed believes some Somalis will choose to follow Christ.

He remains very sensitive, however, to the difficulties of being an immigrant/refugee community. Here in America, Somalis straddle two cultures and are often part of families torn apart by civil war.

Along with clan tensions within the community, Somali youth face the pressures that come with high school and the temptations of secular culture. It can be a tumultuous time.

SomServ has begun a program geared toward youth called Somali Youth Reach (SYR) for those looking for guidance in America.

According to Mohamed, "We want to provide a bridge whereby we can work alongside them ... just guide them to right decisions and rightopportunities."

Other SomServ ministry programs include Safe Home, which focuses on assisting Somali women adjust to American life, and Somali Christian Project, which focuses on microeconomic empowerment.

Besides the work of SomServ, Mohamed dedicates much time to discipling the USF, the largest community of Somali Christians inAmerica. This fellowship, a Christian community of Somalis, is the only known Somali Christian community in the U.S. While some local church leaders are reluctant to draw Somalis away from their immigrant communities and the religious teachings that hold them together, Mohamed sees an implicit stereotype in their concern.

"One of the issues we have is that a lot of church leaders basically have this one stereotype of the Somali community," he said, "Just as much as there is diversity in the American community, so there is diversity in the Somali community.

There are fanatics, there are liberals, there are feminists, there are communists, there are good people - it's all there. And you will find all people where they stand." For Mohamed, the USF is a place where Somali Christians can gather and find community and be discipled.

"It is interdenominational as a mission but united in teaching." Noting the theological confusion among many Christians today, Mohamed stresses that "it is good for the Muslims to see that we are united as Christians."

While many Somalis remain leery about Christian churches in general, Mohamed sees the Gospel as potentially transformative for the Somali community in the Twin Cities, who have experienced wars and for whom clan identity is so important.

"The name United Somali Fellowship has meaning behind it: We come as people who come from a civil war that had interclan wars and fights. In Christ we see ourselves as new creatures, and as new creatures we are one body - the body of Jesus Christ. And so whatever the clan, in Christ we are united." According to Mohamed, those Somalis who have joined the USF have experienced this transformation and hope others will experience the same.

Mohamed's vision for his fellow Somalis is a boldly Christian one, and he invites other local Christians to join in supporting the work of SomServ and the USF.

According to the Rev. Peter Della Santina, head pastor of Knox Presbyterian Church, a church that supports the work of SomServ, "It's an unreached people group in our own back yard."

Somali statistics for the Twin Cities
- At 55,000, the Cities have the largest Somali population in the world, outside of Somalia.

- 40 percent of Roosevelt H. S. is comprised of Somali youth Somalis are concentrated in the Phillips and Powderhorn neighborhoods in Mpls. and the West Bank area of the University of
Minnesota and Elliot Park neighborhood.

Many live in the suburbs and St. Paul, as well as moving out to more rural areas.

There are over 200 Somali businesses in the Twin Cities, including a Somali mall at Pillsbury and Lake Street.

There are around 450 Somali cab drivers in the Twin Cities.

Source: CityScope Report 2004, RIR).



We will post more information on Rev. Yaqub Mohamed and his ministry in the next few days--the Lord willing.