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Tom Crann and Rupa Shenoy
ST. PAUL, Minn.

Somali-American businessman hopes to preserve homeland's culture in museum

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Somali artifacts
Osman Ali displays two artifacts from Somalia, including a container that holds water for washing and drinking and a wooden slate used to teach writing, at his Minneapolis, Minn. restaurant, The Bright Moon Cafe, Friday, March 15, 2013. The historical items are two of more than 700 he wants to display at the Somali Artifact and Culture Museum, which he hopes to open in the Twin Cities.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

A Minneapolis restaurant owner wants to create what might be the only museum of Somali artifacts and culture.

Osman Ali says he has more than 700 artifacts in storage that he wants to house in a museum. He and other organizers are holding a two-day benefit beginning Friday at Lincoln International High School.

Ali says he was driven to collect artifacts because all the museums in Somalia were destroyed during the long civil war.

"Right now there's not any museum in anywhere except some collections in some small rooms in some regions of Somalia. But we don't have any kind of a building that says that's a museum," Ali said.

He says the museum will serve as a resource for younger generations of Somalis to learn about their heritage.

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Somali artifacts
Osman Ali displays two artifacts from Somalia, including a container that holds water for washing and drinking and a wooden slate used to teach writing, at his Minneapolis, Minn. restaurant, The Bright Moon Cafe, Friday, March 15, 2013. The historical items are two of more than 700 he wants to display at the Somali Artifact and Culture Museum, which he hopes to open in the Twin Cities.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson
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Somali artifacts
Osman Ali's collection of over 700 Somali artifacts, including everything from rugs to bowls to shoes, is displayed at his Minneapolis, Minn. restaurant, The Bright Moon Cafe, Friday, March 15, 2013. Ali wants his artifacts to be displayed at the Somali Artifact and Culture Museum, which he hopes to open in the Twin Cities.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson