LEWISTON – A Somali advocacy group will visit Maine next week to counter a rally in Lewiston planned by a white supremacist organization calling for the expulsion of Somali residents.

Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minn., said he would meet with Somali community leaders, government officials and the media. He said his visit is part of the center’s “National Tour Against Hate” to draw attention to the struggles of Somali communities in Lewiston and elsewhere.

Jamal said he is also considering organizing a peaceful gathering on Jan. 11 in response to an anti-Somali rally by the World Church of the Creator, an Illinois-based white supremacist organization.

“We are calling for tolerance and understanding and are asking the governor and the U.S. attorney to protect the rights of the most vulnerable part of the community, which are immigrants,” Jamal said.

The World Church of the Creator is one of several white supremacist groups that have targeted Maine since Mayor Larry Raymond asked Somalis to discourage friends and family from relocating to the city.

About 1,100 Somalis have moved to Lewiston, and Raymond said the city’s resources are taxed to the limit.

The World Church of the Creator has said it expects 30 to 40 church members and sympathizers for its rally to be held on Jan. 11 on National Guard property about five miles from downtown. There could be another 300 to 400 protesters from outside Lewiston and Maine.

Jamal said Somali immigrants have been targeted for violence and deportation in other parts of the country. “But we haven’t encountered such a well-organized group calling for the expulsion of a group like we’re seeing in Lewiston,” he said.

Jamal said he requested a meeting with Gov.-elect John Baldacci, who will be sworn in as governor on Jan. 8.

Lee Umphrey, Baldacci’s spokesman, said the meeting won’t take place, but added that Baldacci plans to hold community service in Lewiston on Jan. 10 with all members of the community, including Somali residents.