Jewish MusliM Friendship in western new York Vol. 1 no. 3 suMMer 2011
First Lady of Somalia
by Enid Bloch
On the day her husband was confirmed as the new
prime minister of Somalia, June 29, 2011, Professor
Hodan Isse’s phone in Amherst, NY, never stopped
ringing. She fielded calls right and left, from all over
the world, while tending to the needs of her four chil-
dren, also working on a manuscript with a University
at Buffalo colleague, chairing a meeting of HEAL, the
non-profit organization she founded in downtown
Buffalo to help recent refugees, then driving to the lo-
cation of another meeting, and finally, just before it
was time to sleep, writing up an exam to administer
to her economics students the following day.
This remarkable multitasking woman somehow kept
it all straight, never losing track of what she was try-
ing to accomplish. And in the midst of so daunting a
schedule, she paused five times, as she always does,
to recite her Muslim prayers. Except for the incessant
phone calls, it had been a typical day.
How has a women living in Western New York ended
up First Lady of Somalia? Some months ago Hodan’s
husband, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, a professor of eco-
nomics at Niagara University, was asked to return to
Somalia to assist its fragile transitional government
Hodan Isse, First Lady of Somalia. Photo by E Bloch
Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Prime Minister of Somalia. Photo courtesy Associated Press
Continued next page
Jewish MusliM Friendship in western new York Vol. 1 no. 3 suMMer 2011
First Lady, Continued
in drawing up a new constitution. Despite the dangers universities. Ali is a Harvard University graduate, and
existing everywhere in this war-torn, fragmented, and he and Hodan both received their Ph.D. degrees from
desperately poor nation, he responded to the call for George Mason University.
help, accepting a ministerial position alongside his
friend Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also a Western We who live in Western New York are deeply proud of
New Yorker. our eminent neighbors, who are contributing so coura-
geously and capably to their native land.
Mohamed had risen to the prime ministership in late
2010. After a clash with Somalia’s transitional presi-
dent, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, he recently agreed to HODAN ISSE ARTICLES
step aside, but only if his position were filled by Ali.
Hodan is a member of the advisory borad of Jew-
With a resounding 437 to 4 vote, Somalia’s lawmakers ish Muslim Friendship in WNY Magazine. She has
elected Ali their prime minister. His term is expected authored two articles in previous issues. See “The
to last one year. Meanwhile, Hodan herself is helping Inspired and Inspiring Work of HEAL: Refugees
in the drafting of the new constitution from her home Helping Refugees,” Vol.1, No.1, Winter 2011, pp.
6-7, and “Is It Religion or Culture?” Vol.1, No.2,
in Amherst.
Spring 2011, pp. 14-15. Both issues of the maga-
Hodan and Ali arrived in the United States in 1985, two zine are available at:
or three years after Mohamed. All became American www.jewish-muslim-friendship-wny.org
citizens, earning advanced degrees from top American
Hodan Isse with (left to right) her sons Mohamed, Ahmed, and Mustafa and daughter Fadumo. Photo by E Bloch