Omar Dines at Karmel Mall After Federal Raid

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., spent part of Friday at the Karmel Mall of Somalia in Minneapolis. This marked her first day in the public eye following the Oct. 12 raid on her Washington, D.C., home. She dined in the mall's dining area alongside State Attorney General Keith Ellison and other members of the Somali community.

The Karmel Mall of Somalia is a four-floor building that houses 900 vendors. The structure resembles a storage facility more than a traditional American shopping center. Shop owners open their businesses by lifting metal garage doors. There are no strictly enforced opening or closing hours for the individual storefronts.

The dining area features flags from Somalia, Palestine, and the United States flying at the same height. The ceiling above the food vendors is painted light blue and displays a white star similar to the design on the Somali flag. Somali cafes in the complex serve traditional dishes such as sambusas, a fried pastry filled with meat and spices, and bijaye, a fried cornmeal item. Goat meat and basmati rice are also common menu items.

Omar, whose full name is Ilhan Nur Said Elmia according to sources familiar with the criminal investigation, was greeted by smiling patrons. She chatted with several shoppers and posed for photographs. Security guards surrounded both Omar and Ellison during the visit.

Basim Sabri, the owner of the mall, granted access to the facility for filming. He allowed entry after Omar and Ellison voted early at a nearby Minneapolis polling station. Sabri is a Gaza-born developer who built a real estate empire in the area. He owns several apartment complexes near the mall that are primarily occupied by Somalis.

The mall includes stores selling prepaid electronic SIM cards for international calling and money transfer services like World Direct Link Corp. Several travel agencies offer arrangements to the Middle East and East Africa. Traditional Somali clothiers and barbers also operate within the building. English serves as the second language in the complex.

Sabri described the location as an incubator for businesses. He stated that many companies start in the mall, succeed, and eventually move to larger spaces elsewhere. He claimed the Karmel Mall is the largest Somali mall in the world and the largest mall in the city of Minneapolis. The Mall of America in nearby Bloomington is the largest mall in the United States.

The complex is not explicitly designated for Somalis, but it serves as a hub for the community. Outsiders with cameras are often scrutinized by security staff and patrons. Sabri instructed guards to stand down during a recent walkthrough. He has a history with local politics, having banned Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey from the premises in February 2024 after Frey vetoed an Israel-Gaza ceasefire resolution.

Sabri is friends with Omar and knew her late father. The two posed for a photo with Ellison and an unidentified man during the luncheon. Sabri discussed his background growing up poor in the Middle East and moving to Minneapolis for study. He noted that he sends his son to Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, a private school with an annual cost of approximately $184,000.

The mall owner was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison in 2005 for bribing a local Minneapolis public official. He spent part of that time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Leavenworth, Kansas. Sabri described the mall as evidence of assimilation and part of the American dream for his tenants. He said Somalis are intelligent and hard-working business individuals.