BALDWIN: Have you heard about the young men who either came to this country from Somalia or were even born here, but they ended up in Somalia fighting on the side of Islamic extremists? This also came out today at the hearing in Washington, and there were some charges about the roles of certain mosques in Minneapolis.
So joining me now to talk about this from New York, here is Omar Jamal of the Somali Mission to the United Nations.
And, Omar, how many people are we talking about here who have actually ended up leaving this country to go and fight in Somalia?
OMAR JAMAL, SOMALI MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Yes, Brooke, thanks for having me on.
It's very difficult to determine exactly how many left, but so far, what we know for sure is that 20 of them have left from Minneapolis, some from Seattle, from Columbus, Ohio. But it is going to be very difficult to come up with exact number of how many -- of those young kids have gone to join al Shabab in Somalia.
BALDWIN: What about the role, Omar, of these mosques? We heard a man at this hearing saying something was going on at this mosque in Minneapolis, and then somehow his nephew ends up in Somalia fighting with Islamic extremists.
JAMAL: Well, I think there is a concern that somebody out there must be doing this indoctrination , but how do you determine that? And I think it's one thing you have a problem when you -- when you take everybody in a mosque or on a street (ph) as a suspect. When the FBI is investigating the case, they get a lead and they follow the lead. But if you turn everyone into a suspect, that is problematic.
However --
BALDWIN: So how do you do it? How do you do it?
JAMAL: Well, this is not a new scenario. I think we've dealt -- this country has dealt with communism, have dealt with drug warlords and what have you, and now terrorism issues. I think you do it at the same time upholding the basic rights that's quoted in the constitution of this country.
But again, Brooke, I completely disagree with the idea of equating Peter King as McCarthyism. He's got a point. He has got an issue to --
BALDWIN: What specifically -- what point -- what point do you really agree with? Other than the fact that he's saying, look, we need to have this national conversation, what specifically are you in line with?
JAMAL: Well, the fact if you just visit recent the history of this country, you have a guy who tried to blow up Times Square from Pakistan. You have another guy from Somalia, who tried to blow up Portland, Oregon. BALDWIN: Christmastime.
JAMAL: So you have all these cases -- yes, Christmastime. And -- and the kids going back to Somalia joining, and even some committing suicide bombing.
So yes, there's a legitimate issue. How to do it, my guess is as good as everyone else's guess. And that is the --- this is the problem, this is not a conventional war. This is completely unconventional. You don't know the bad guy and you don't want to turn everything into a bad guy, so how to do it is a delicate balance.
BALDWIN: If you don't paint everyone with a broad stroke, because not everyone is a criminal, how do you -- how do you go forward?
JAMAL: Right, but the thing is -- for instance, if I give you an example. Those 20 kids who left from Minneapolis back to Somalia, half attended, all of them in one mosque. They joined the game -- afterschool program game in one mosque. They participated in programs in that mosque.
So if anybody comes along and say, OK, wait a minute, we need to talk to the imam and the leadership of this mosque, that doesn't necessarily mean they are against Muslims.
So the thing is --
BALDWIN: Right, and that's one point that Congressman King was making. That, you know, and certainly not all leaders, but he wants to take a closer look at some of the leaders of some these mosques.
Well, this is just the beginning of the conversation.
JAMAL: Right.
BALDWIN: I wish we could continue it.
Omar Jamal, come on again, we'll continue the conversation. Omar, my thanks to you.
