Show Pilot: Minneapolis and Fellow Somalis

show pilot: That why I'm writing this."' HBO Mogadishu, Minnesota thrusts Minneapolis Somalis into unwanted spotlight Filming of the show pilot wrapped Friday after shooting at about 14 main locations in the Minneapolis area, according to CBC. K'naan, who lived in Minneapolis in his early 20s, said he wanted to shoot in a city he found "inherently cinematic." Telling a story that goes beyond stereotypes Born in Somalia, K'naan came to the U.S. when he was 13 and lived in New York and then Toronto, where he spent his teenage years. But the 39-year-old ran into vocal opposition from fellow Somalis as he prepared to film the series pilot in Minneapolis, home to the largest Somali community in the U.S. While K'naan envisions a family drama, critics worry the series will focus on young Somalis who have gone overseas to join terrorist groups — concerns raised by the series' original title The Recruiters and the involvement of Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow . "'We don't want Muslims being stereotyped,"' K'naan says opponents tell him. "I say, 'Me, too. He said he is "trying to tell a story that reorganizes in the public consciousness how they see Muslim-Americans," and wants to move away from stereotypes and tell a tale about "people lives and how they really live them." When the dust clears, we're the ones going to be left to pick up the pieces and continue to live here and be concerned about our safety.'- Ayaan Dahir "The Somalis living here are a summer people against a winter backdrop," K'naan — looking relaxed in a tweed jacket, plaid shirt and jeans after a late-night shoot — told The Associated Press in a recent interview. While K'naan emphasizes the true-life aspects of his characters and his desire to tell a nuanced story, opponents worry that the show will focus on the recruitment of young, disaffected Somalis to join terrorist groups and stoke Islamophobia. He called Minneapolis "a new American experiment, a place where America is negotiating its differences and its commonalities." "It a new Ellis Island, in a way," said K'naan, who said he came up with the idea for the series — named after the capital of Somalia — about three years ago. "And I thought, what a great place to set a story, to dispel the myth about Somalis and immigrant threats and Muslims in general." An estimated 57,000 Somalis live in Minnesota. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.