Ilhan Omar Returns to Public Eye at Minneapolis Somali Mall After Home Raid
The Minnesota congresswoman appeared at Karmel Mall, described as the largest Somali mall globally, for lunch with allies.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., made her first public appearance following a raid on her Washington, D.C. home at the Karmel Mall of Somalia in Minneapolis. The congresswoman spent a significant portion of her Friday at the mall, described by its owner, Basim Sabri, as the largest Somali mall in the world and the largest mall in Minneapolis.
Omar dined in the mall's food court, an area decorated with Somali, Palestinian, and American flags. She was accompanied by State Attorney General Keith Ellison and others. The mall features approximately 900 vendors, with many shop owners opening their businesses by lifting metal garage doors. Traditional Somali foods such as sambusas, bijaye, and goat meat with basmati rice were available.
<!---->  <!---->Karmel Mall is described as more of a storage facility than a typical American mall, with an incubator-like setting for businesses to start and grow. The mall houses shops selling international SIM cards, money transfer services to East Africa, and travel agencies. Traditional Somali clothing stores and barbershops are also present, with English serving as the mall's second language.
Sabri, a Gaza-born businessman and owner of the mall, has ties to local politics, having previously banned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey from the premises in February 2024. Omar and Sabri are acquainted, with Sabri noting he knew her late father. The congresswoman and Sabri posed for a photograph with Ellison and another individual during the lunch.
Sabri, who has built a real estate empire in Minneapolis, shared details of his own past, including a federal prison sentence in 2005 for bribing a public official. He views the mall as a symbol of assimilation and the pursuit of the "American dream" for the Somali community, despite past national headlines concerning fraud scandals within the community. He emphasized the intelligence and hard work of Somali individuals and invited others to visit the mall to witness their success.
Omar and Ellison also cast early votes at a Minneapolis polling station before visiting the mall. The congresswoman's appearance at the mall marked her return to public activities following the federal raid on her Washington, D.C. residence.