User:Aynte

Abdi Aynte is a Somali-American journalist and the Executive Director of the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, Somalia's first think tank, based in Mogadishu, Somalia. Previously, he was a news producer for Al Jazeera English, based in Doha. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia in the late 70s, Abdi is a widely published writer. In 2010, he helped write the New York Times Magazine cover story on Omar Hammami, also known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, an American commander with Somalia's al-Shabaab fighters. Aynte is the author of a seminal study on the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab.

Prior to joining Al Jazeera, Abdi was a senior news editor with the VOA in Washington DC. He also worked as a producer and web editor with the BBC World Service.

Abdi has covered the 2008 US presidential elections that saw Barack Obama beating John McCain. In 2006, who was then a reported with The Minnesota Independent, was the first person to report that the newly elected U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison was going to swear on the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an. The story became an international news line, and Abdi was interviewed on MSNBC.

Abdi has also provided on-air analysis for Al Jazeera several times.

BACKGROUND

Abdi grew up in Saudi Arabia and Egypt before moving to the United States. He's fluent in Somali (native), Arabic and English.

EDUCATION

Aynte received a B.A. in professional writing and political science from the Metropolitan State University in St. Paul Minnesota, and an M.A. in government from The Johns Hopkins University