Anti-Somali sentiment

Global distribution of the Somali people

Anti-Somali sentiment, Somalophobia, or Somaliphobia,[1] refers to fear, hostility, discrimination, or other negative attitudes towards Somalis or Somali culture. The phenomenon manifests globally through interpersonal prejudice, systemic discrimination, xenophobic political rhetoric, and targeted violence against members of the Somali diaspora.[2][3][4]

In the African continent, anti-Somali sentiment has historically manifested in neighboring countries, occasionally intersecting with border disputes, security policies, and localized conflicts. In Western nations, including parts of Europe and North America, prejudice against Somalis often intersects with Islamophobia, xenophobia, and Anti-Black racism,[5][6] a combination described as a "triple threat"[7] or a "tripartite"[1] interlocking system of oppression.[4]

Terminology

Anti-Somali sentiment is sometimes referred to by the uncountable sense Somalophobia, the countable agent noun of Somalophobe, or adjectivally as Somalophobic sentiment.[8][9] The antonym and opposite sentiment are referred to by the uncountable sense Somalophilia, the countable agent noun of Somalophile, or adjectivally as Somalophilic.[10]

Somalis overwhelmingly prefer the demonym Somali over Somalian, which may be viewed as incorrect[11][12] since the former is an endonym, while the latter is an exonym with double suffixes.[13]

Scope

Africa

Ethiopia

The territorial reach of the Adal Sultanate within the Ethiopian Empire c. 1540.

Anti-Somali sentiment in Ethiopia is rooted in centuries of territorial and cultural friction, mirroring the long-standing regional rivalry found in neighboring territories. This animosity gained a distinct religious dimension during the 16th-century Ethiopian–Adal War, which established a lasting narrative of conflict between the Christian-dominated Ethiopian state and the Muslim Somali population.[14] This historical friction was exacerbated during the 19th-century expansion of the Ethiopian state into the Ogaden, which formalized a relationship defined by persistent military control.[15]

The Ogaden War (1977–1978) acted as a primary catalyst for modern anti-Somali sentiment, as the Ethiopian state began to view its ethnic Somali citizens as a potential "fifth column", a group suspected of harboring secret loyalties to the Somali state’s desire to reclaim territory.[16] In the 21st century, this suspicion intensified during the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) insurgency, where authorities frequently conflated Somali identity with political militancy, leading to mass arrests and detention campaigns.[17] Scholars note that these historical narratives are often leveraged to frame Somalis as "outsiders," complicating their integration into the Ethiopian national project.[18] Despite these historical tensions, the Ethiopian government moved toward greater inclusion in 2020 by formally adopting the Somali language as one of the country's five federal working languages.[19]

Kenya

In 2014 there was a rise of terrorist attacks in Kenya caused by Al-Shabaab, such as the Westgate shopping mall attack. As a result many Kenyans had negative sentiments about Somalis. Since 2014 the Somali community in Kenya has faced marginalization.[20]

South Africa

The 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s have been marked by significant, sporadic outbreaks of violence targeting Somali shopkeepers in South Africa. This hostility is frequently attributed to intense economic competition and resentment surrounding the prevalence of Somali-owned spaza shops in townships and informal settlements.[21] However, scholars and human rights observers note that such violence is rarely isolated; it is often embedded within a broader climate of systemic xenophobia that frequently targets numerous African immigrant communities, including Ethiopian, Nigerian and other foreign-national entrepreneurs operating similar businesses, irrespective of their specific national origin.[22]

Western world

Islamophobia, xenophobia, and anti-Black racism in Somalophobia described as an interlocking systems of oppression.[4]

Germany

During an interview on Al Jazeera's Head to Head in June 2026, German Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician Maximilian Krah defended his party's positions on selective immigration and "remigration." Asked by interviewer Mehdi Hasan which national backgrounds he would consider acceptable under his preferred immigration policy, Krah said he would welcome "10,000 Iranians" into Germany but added, "I don't want to have 10,000 Somalis in Germany." He argued that Germany should distinguish between immigrant groups on the basis of their perceived integration outcomes, citing Somalis and Iranians as examples.[23][24]

Netherlands

In 2003, Mark Rutte, then State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment, advised municipalities to carry out extra fraud checks on welfare recipients of Somali origin after reports emerged of welfare claims by some who had moved to the United Kingdom for work.[25][26] The policy, sometimes referred to as the "Somaliëproject" (Somalia Project), involved targeted checks using population registers and led to accusations of ethnic profiling and racial discrimination.[25][27]

In 2007, the District Court of Haarlem ruled that investigations aimed exclusively at persons of Somali descent constituted racial discrimination and violated Article 1 of the Constitution of the Netherlands.[28] Rutte defended the measures, arguing they were needed to combat fraud and that the law should be changed if it prevented such targeting.[26][29]

Sweden

A 2011 report by Centrum mot rasism (CMR), drawing on European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS) data, documented widespread experiences of racism among people of Somali background.[30]

In 2012, Somali residents in the small town of Forserum in Småland faced systematic harassment and violence from a local youth gang. Incidents included stones being thrown at homes and the Somali association premises, physical assaults, racist insults, and threats against children on their way to school. Many Somali families kept their children home from school out of fear. Out of approximately 160 Somalis living in the town a year earlier, around 95 had left by August 2012 due to the hostile environment. The Somali association advised its members to move, and the case received national media attention after local authorities were criticised for a slow response.[31][32]

The right-wing populist Sweden Democrats have repeatedly used rhetoric portraying Somali immigration negatively, linking it to welfare dependency, crime, and integration problems. Party figures have referred to a “wave of illiterates from Somalia” and warned against the formation of ethnic enclaves described as “Little Mogadishu”.[33]

United States

An August 2016 anti-Donald Trump protest in Minneapolis, home to the largest U.S. Somali population, rallying against racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia.[34][35]

On 30 October 2015, Asma Jama (a Muslim woman of Somali descent and Kenyan nationality) was viciously beaten for speaking Swahili in an Applebee's on the outskirts of Minneapolis. The perpetrator of that violence was convicted of third-degree assault. In June 2016, two Somalis were shot after wearing their traditional clothing.[2] A week prior to the shooting, a Somali halal shop in the city was vandalized.[36] Minneapolis City Council member Abdi Warsame discussed anti-Somali sentiments in the aftermath of the shooting of Justine Damond by a Somali police officer.[37] In Dodge City, Kansas several Somali men were the victims of hate crimes ranging from racial slurs to serious bodily injury in 2016.[38]

Due to the high concentration of Somali-Americans in Minnesota, anti-immigration sentiment has been used as a campaign talking point, including by candidate Donald Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.[39] After Trump referred to Somalis as garbage and called for the deportation of all people of Somali descent,[3] some female Somali Americans or female Horner Americans in Minnesota stated that they were religiously harassed, and others sexually assaulted by members of the U.S. ICE agency.[40]

In the 2020s, the Somali community adjacent to the Dar Al Nur Community Center in Fairfax, Virginia were repeatedly subjected to physical attacks and destruction of property over a three-year period.[41] The Somaliphobic remarks led to a backlash from the Somali-American community and its supporters in Minneapolis, a city that has one of the largest Somali-American populations in the country with civic and business leaders in the city condemning the rhetoric as tarnishing.[42]

In December 2025, a viral video showed an employee at a Cinnabon bakery in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, harassing a Somali couple with racial slurs after mocking the woman's hijab. Cinnabon subsequently released a statement on Twitter stating that the employee had been immediately fired, as their actions "do not reflect our values or the welcoming experience every guest deserves".[43] A fundraiser in support of the fired employee later raised nearly $100,000 on GiveSendGo;[44] meanwhile, a GoFundMe set up for the Somali couple raised over $1,000.[45]

In June 2026, Somali FIFA referee Omar Artan, who had been named Africa's Best Referee at the 2025 CAF Awards, was denied entry into the United States by border officials, preventing him from officiating at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[46] Following an 11-hour interrogation at Miami International Airport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and White House officials stated that Artan was deemed inadmissible due to national security vetting concerns involving alleged communications with suspected members of terror organizations, specifically Al-Shabaab.[47][48] The entry denial was condemned by human rights advocates, critics, and Canadian political figures including Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, whose city was co-hosting tournament matches. Chow criticized the decision, stating that "denying entry to Omar Artan, who has earned his place on the world stage through hard work and perseverance, is not right," while affirming that he would be welcome to officiate in Toronto. [47][49][50] Following his exclusion, FIFA confirmed Artan would receive his full tournament fee, and UEFA subsequently appointed him to officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup match in Europe.[51][52]

Film

Black Hawk Down

There are also some pejorative terms that serve to dehumanize Somalis. The term skinnie became popularized with the film Black Hawk Down. The term has been said to allude to reducing Somalis to their humanitarian struggles[53] and National Public Radio has suggested that its usage deprives Somalis of their own point of view.[54]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Yusuf, Isma; Oklikah, Desmond Ofori; Kutor, Senanu; Arku, Godwin (2023). "There's no place like [your] home: Exploring Somali hospitality as a care-full choreography enhancing Somali Canadian diasporic wellbeing". Wellbeing, Space and Society. 4 100145. doi:10.1016/j.wss.2023.100145.
  2. 1 2 "Lauderdale Man Charged In Alleged 'Hate Crime' Shootings". CBS Minnesota. 25 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 Matza, Max; FitzGerald, James (3 December 2025). "Trump urges Somali immigrants to leave the US". BBC News.
  4. 1 2 3 Waters, Anita M. (2012). "Racial Formation and Anti-Somali Ideologies in Central Ohio". Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies. 12: 53–59.
  5. ↑ Ellis, B. Heidi (2024). "The Association between Perceived Discrimination, Age and Proportion of Lifetime in the United States Among Somali Immigrants". PMC / National Institutes of Health.
  6. ↑ "State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2012: Kenya". Minority Rights Group International / Refworld. 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  7. ↑ Lincoln, Alisa K.; Cardeli, Emma; Sideridis, George; Salhi, Carmel; Miller, Alisa B.; Da Fonseca, Tibrine; Issa, Osob; Ellis, B. Heidi (2021). "Discrimination, marginalization, belonging, and mental health among Somali immigrants in North America". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 91 (2): 280–293. doi:10.1037/ort0000524. PMC 8606194. PMID 33289573.
  8. ↑ Quist-Arcton, Ofeibea (18 November 2011). "Tension Runs High In Kenya's 'Little Mogadishu'". NPR.
  9. ↑ Dirye, Abdirahman Mohamed (15 July 2015). "Does South Africa black-phobic blacks suffer inferiority complex?". Sudan Tribune.
  10. ↑ Maren, Michael (1997). The Road to Hell. Free Press. ISBN 978-0-7432-2786-5.
  11. ↑ "Somali - Other Considerations". Cultural Atlas. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2026. The word "Somali" is used to refer to something of, from or related to the country of Somalia, as well as the majority ethnic group and language. Do not use the word "Somalian" to describe the country or people, as this is an inaccurate demonym invented by the West.
  12. ↑ "APStylebook (@APStylebook) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 16 June 2026. AP Style tip: It's Somali, not Somalian, for a person from Somalia or as an adjective.
  13. ↑ Michel, A. D. A. M. "Panorama of Socio-Religious Communities1." Indian Africa: Minorities of Indian-Pakistani Origin in Eastern Africa (2015): 69.
  14. ↑ Erlich, Haggai (2007). Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia: Islam, Christianity, and Politics Entwined. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 15–17. ISBN 978-1-58826-493-0.
  15. ↑ Eshete, Tibebe (1991). "The root causes of political problems in the Ogaden, 1942–1960". Northeast African Studies. 13 (1): 9–28.
  16. ↑ Kendie, Daniel D. (2003). "Toward Northeast African cooperation: Resolving the Ethiopia-Somalia disputes". Northeast African Studies. 10 (2): 67–109. doi:10.1353/nas.0.0004.
  17. ↑ Hagmann, Tobias (2020). Fast politics, slow justice: Ethiopia's Somali region two years after Abdi Iley (PDF) (Report). London School of Economics.
  18. ↑ Thompson, David K.; Matshanda, Namhla T. (2023). "Political identity as temporal collapse: Ethiopian federalism and contested Ogaden histories". African Affairs. 122 (486): 119–145. doi:10.1093/afraf/adad003.
  19. ↑ Getachew, Samuel (3 March 2020). "Ethiopia is adding four more official languages to Amharic as political instability mounts". Hiiraan Online.
  20. ↑ Gathara, Patrick. "Kenya: The perils of racial profiling". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  21. ↑ Charman, Andrew; Piper, Laurence (October 2012). "Xenophobia, Criminality and Violent Entrepreneurship: Violence against Somali Shopkeepers in Delft South, Cape Town, South Africa". South African Review of Sociology. 43 (3): 81–105. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  22. ↑ Crush, Jonathan; Tawodzera, Godfrey (2016). Migrant Entrepreneurship, Collective Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa (PDF) (Report). Migration Policy Series. Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP). Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Is the AfD a threat to Germany? Mehdi Hasan & Maximilian Krah". Al Jazeera. 26 June 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "AfD Politician Outlines Hardline Stance on Muslims in Germany". Clash Report. 27 June 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  25. 1 2 "Mark Ruttes eerste 'toeslagenschandaal' (in 2003)". OneWorld. 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  26. 1 2 "Rechtbank: Rutte zette aan tot discriminatie". NU.nl. 19 May 2007. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  27. ↑ "Wide-ranging inquiry into discredited anti-fraud strategy begins". DutchNews.nl. 7 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "ECLI:NL:RBHAA:2007:BA5410". Rechtspraak.nl. 2007. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  29. ↑ "Rutte bij enquêtecommissie: hardere fraudeaanpak was in 2002 'logisch'". NOS. 7 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  30. ↑ "Report about discrimination and racism against Somalis in Sweden". RED Network. 19 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  31. ↑ "Somalier uppmanas att flytta efter hot". SVT Nyheter. 22 August 2012. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  32. ↑ "Somalier tvingas fly sina hem i Forserum". Aftonbladet. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  33. ↑ Somalis in Malmö (PDF). Open Society Foundations. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  34. ↑ "Survey: Nearly 1 in 3 US Somalis live in Minnesota". MPR. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  35. ↑ Warfa, Hamse (8 March 2017). "Somali-Americans make political strides in Minnesota". Marketplace. American Public Media. Retrieved 27 June 2026. Minnesota is home to the nation's largest Somali-American population... Somalia is one of the predominantly Muslim countries targeted by President Donald Trump's new travel ban, which he signed March 6.
  36. ↑ Harvard, Sarah A. (1 July 2016). "2 Muslim Men Were Shot Near Minneapolis Mosque, Police Are Investigating as Hate Crime". Mic.
  37. ↑ Pheifer, Pat (24 July 2017). "Warsame blasts anti-Somali rhetoric in wake of Damond shooting". Minnesota Star Tribune.
  38. ↑ "Kansas Men Sentenced for Roles in Federal Hate Crime Against Black Somali Men" (Press release). Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice. 22 February 2017.
  39. ↑ Herndon, Astead W. (20 June 2019). "'These People Aren't Coming From Norway': Refugees in a Minnesota City Face a Backlash". The New York Times. ProQuest 2243337128.
  40. ↑ "A U.S. Citizen Arrested by ICE, Family Says she was Sexually Assaulted, Community Demands Justice - Somali Media". 7 December 2025.
  41. ↑ "BREAKING: CAIR Seeks Hate Crime Charges After Anti-Muslim Attack on Somali-Americans at Virginia Mosque".
  42. ↑ Hernandez, Michael; Can, Hasasu (30 January 2026). "Somali Americans angered, perplexed by Trump attacks, find solace in community support". Anadolu Agency.
  43. ↑ "Cinnabon worker fired from Wisconsin store after shouting racist slurs at customers - CBS News". CBS News. 8 December 2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  44. ↑ Romero, Dennis; Lee, Jean (8 December 2025). "Wisconsin Cinnabon worker fired after racist tirade against couple". NBC News. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  45. ↑ Miller, Carlos (7 December 2025). "'I Am a Racist, and I'll Say It to the Entire World': White Woman Fired After Viral Video Shows Her Using Racial Slurs Against Black Customers". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  46. ↑ MacInnes, Paul (8 June 2026). "Top African referee Omar Artan refused access to US and will miss World Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  47. 1 2 "Somali World Cup referee denied entry into U.S. was talking to "some very bad people," White House official says". CBS News. 14 June 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  48. ↑ "Why a Somali World Cup referee was barred from the United States". BBC News. The Global Story. 9 June 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  49. ↑ Ofori, Morgan (10 June 2026). "The most inclusive World Cup ever? Tell that to Omar Artan". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  50. ↑ Ferreira, Beatriz (9 June 2026). "Olivia Chow says Somali FIFA referee welcome in Toronto". NOW Toronto. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  51. ↑ Robson, James (14 June 2026). "World Cup referee Omar Artan to get full FIFA pay after U.S. entry denial". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  52. ↑ "Top African referee Omar Artan to officiate 2026 UEFA Super Cup after being unable to participate in FIFA World Cup 2026". UEFA. 11 June 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  53. ↑ Behnke, Andreas (August 2006). "The Re-enchantment of War in Popular Culture". Millennium. 34 (3): 937–949. doi:10.1177/03058298060340030601.
  54. ↑ Jacobson, Harlan (2002). "Bad Day at Black Rock". Film Comment. 38 (1): 28–31. JSTOR 43754783. ProQuest 210274193.

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