Somalia refuses a divorce indeed. Well-written piece. Thanks for posting

^^Give us two years, and I will consider inviting you for coffe in a Burco tea house

Oodweyne, wax walba ma ku murmaynaa awoowe? I thoght you admitted that the sixty marriage was valid. I know we disagree who maried whom, but we shall never debate the legality of the union awoowe

Midda kale, xaaji NG, I must ask you this: How are things going in SL these days ? Or you are more concern with Sharif’s success then you are with the fading hype?

^^You are being simplistic. We are talking about complex matters that require careful consideration. Aweys is not a factor in this conflict awoowe. If you did not know it before, learn from me now. There is no single army that takes its command from Aweys. He has known preferences as to what the final outcome of Somali conflict should be, but his base is with Sharif. Turk is not a factor in this conflict. Xizbul Islam in its current form is not a factor either. It’s all about alshabaab. Muslim scholars, and not politicians, are dealing with them on behalf of Sharif. Calling opponents without having real preparatory work in place is just meaningless. And that’s what is happening on the ground where it matters the most. Abdullahi Yusuf is gone. He is no longer party to the Somali conflict. He has made, in my opinion, one of the most consequential political decisions, and a positive one at that, when he resigned. We are not reverting back awoowe…

Only if cyber ku muranku could break a legal union.

Originally posted by NGONGE: Nothing that the one before him did not do, saaxib. How long has he been in the job now and what did he actually do that may give people hope? Did he sit down and talk to Al Shabab (even on the phone)? Did he talk to Sh. Aways? Is there anything different about Somalia today? Other than the new face on the top chair! Come on, face it saaxib, Sh. Armani (how about this new name? Note it down) has let you down. Your questions are meaningless. Sharif is talking to his opponents. A lot of people are helping him on that. You want to reduce the whole Somali conflict to mere phone calls. It ‘s not about Aweys, has never been. It’s about alshabaab. And alshabaab, yaa NG, has no telephone numbers . Instead, they have banners. They have political billboards. Sharif got their message loud and clear. He read, and understood them very well. UNISOM will gradually withdraw, and Islamic Sharicah will, slowly but surely, be adopted. In the meantime, the political engagements and dialogue will continue. You will continue to deny it, and we will continue to report it. How Somalia is different today than it was a year ago? Ethiopia is no longer an issue Peace reigns in majority of Somali lands There is a roadmap for peace Of course you will deny all of this, as you have done before, but it’s the truth.

No, that is not it yaa WA. The fact of the matter is Ina Yusuf saw early on the value of being on top of things but sadly never mastered to develop the capacity to sustain once he gets there. What you defended and we condemned was a Somali government ku shaahaynaysa on top of Ethiopian tanks. Your explanation then, and your revisionist history now does indeed show your failure to grasp the nature of Somali conflict. Granted that Sharif is operating on a much different political environment now than did Ina Yusuf. But the history of how that has come about and what it took to get there is more complex than your simple clannish equation. The basic atom of Sharif political strategy is walaalow , and not baddaan ku shubaynaa . At least, you gotta appreciate the style. Have you no taste my friend!

^^First off, don’t get me wrong. I think you have every right to mourn for the things you lost. The fact a geography teacher successfully infiltrated and took over what was essentially a western construct is not a simple matter. To critique the process by which Sharif took to get there is your god given right, and we have no intention to take it away from you. But facts, yaa WA, you have no entitlement to. Here are few facts to ponder: Sharif is not causing mayhem. He is insisting on reconciliation. He is listening to you. He is willing to reason with you. You call him Sh. Hotel; he calls you his confused brother. You think he is from clan x, he thinks what he shares with you are more than whatever differences are there. In short, Sharif does not antagonize. He does not exacerbate. I forgot to tell you one more thing. You think Sharif is dark. To a certain degree he agrees. Even on matters of skin complexion, and physical features, the man is quite rational awoowe. What do you say, yaa WA?

Originally posted by Shankarooni: Throughout all my life, I have not seen a signal Somalian opposed to somaliland without using an ill tribal daydream scenario. This makes me more confidant that those who call for unity most of them are clannish and thus with very low mentality. Says the confident man.

Sharif is doing great, meeting with head of states, explaining the mechanics of shariicah to the world. He was gullible and naive He was Sh. Hotel , was unable to go to Xamar He could not get elected He could not name a PM When the mortars fell, he was too fullay to go to Madaxtooyada now he did all of that, he is too dark and ugly, and other guy looks more somali.. ^^Those are the stories of the confused amongs us.

I think Duke penned a reasonable post. MY friends from teh other side of the political divide should appriciate Duke's nice sentiment. Duke is not alone. I my self had previously registered my interest in peace with landers. I was welcomed by some, others's response was however quite negative. Siilaanyo for 2009. And we mean it.

^^well put indeed. Yours yaa Abu Diaby, unlike Kashka's, are germane questions. As'ilatun tadhraxu nafsahaa calaa maaidati niqaash, fahal lahaa min mujiib! Does good Kashka understand Siyaasati alsharciyah? Does he understand, masaali fiqh as it relates to masaalix wa mafaasid? To what end does his group fight if they could not even appriciate the value of dailague among Muslims, especially when in disagreement? Slogans are cheap. Jihad. Xaq. Sharaf. Gobonimo. Though great in concept, those words require much bigger sacrifice than good Kashka and his friends are willing to pay. It requires the courage to say I was wrong, and agree with your brother when the very survival of the nation is at stake. If its current course remain unchanged, Somalia risks desappearing from khariidhatul caalam. Sadly Kashafa does not know, or if he knows, apparantly does not care.

May Egypt live long enough to fence off the wicked designs intended to undermine the territorial integrity of our suffering land. Mesra baladii, wa suudaanu ardhii

Classic Abtigiis & Tolka.

Originally posted by NGONGE: Are we going to argue over this simple fact, saaxib? No, we should not argue over a simple fact. That simple fact is good Sharif reached out, and got rebuffed. To show that he is a serious man meaning to bridge the differences that existed before and after his rise to power, he invited different scholars to mediate and intercede. It’s noteworthy that some of the scholars invited, Sh. Umul included, held contrary views to Sharif’s political approach and said so even as he was preparing to contest in the Jabbuuti election. So it’s a simple fact. Sharif made the move, and continues to insist that dialogue is far better a tool to end the Somali conflict. As for Al shabaabs, awoowe, we love the youth for they are ours to lose. But they are wrong, and their strategy has been shown wanting. Sh. Omer Faruq has once been quoted saying about youth in general, Nin hooyadi irmaantahay, talo lamo weydiiyyo. And I reluctantly agree .

NG, You really disappoint me there. What do you mean by first move? Are you deaf or blind? Do you not follow the news? When a man invites his opponents, calls scholars to mediate, and goes public with his peace agenda, what do you call it? Does it have a name waryee? I mean cant you just once and for all repress this timidity of yours and call things with their names awoowe? Hear it now. It’s called initiation of peace. It’s a courageous move toward achieving peace. If you are still uncomfortable with the small pains of this teething peace, you are fullay . Even good Oodweyne would agree with me on this.

Kashafa, first welcome back. Jumce wanaagsan too. Secondly, the position of Abu Ayyoub in the wars of fitnah between the companions is immaterial to the argument I am making here. And with all the fuss you made in your post, whatever Abu Ayyoub has done in the xuruubul fitnah, he has remained true to the concept of Muslim brotherhood when he accepted the subsequent agreements to end the war. Unlike you and Al shabaabs, the man understood the value of Musaalaxah between Muslims. Proof: after the agreement was reached and the war was ended, he did not sit on the sidelines nursing past grievances. He did not hold grudges against Mucaawiyah Ibn Abu Sufyaan, the victor of the war. Instead, Abu Ayyoub gladly joined and supported the state and its leader. The fact that he enlisted with Yazid’s army proves his deep understanding of the priorities of the time. Note we are talking about Yazid Inb Mucaawiyyah of all the people, a man surrounded with great controversy as I hope you know. Unlike you and alshabaab, the man, Abu Ayyoub that is, had scholars he respected and whose words he considered without calling them culumaa for sale, as you did. Unlike you and alshabaab, the man appreciated the sacredness of Muslim blood, and I reject your insinuation that Abu Ayyoub took Muslim lives lightly during those wars of fitnah. If you want to debate about the nature of Somali conflict, and whether Sh. Sharif has done enough to earn the support of his opponents that will be a better argument than justifying your current position by, in essence, saying Abu Ayyoub ba xuruubtu cali iyo mucaawiyye buu ka qayb galay. Deceitfully hiding his courage afterwards to move on, hs courage to tend to the affairs of the Ummah, and above all his courage to enlist for its defense under the same man whom he fought fiercely against him, Mucaawiyye. Waryee do you see the point there or you want to continue dramatizing, drawing false analogies, and painting Abu Ayyoub an small man whose ijtihaad during fitnah wars overshadow the khaatimah xazanah his life was fortunate to end with? Alas, waxaan maqli jirey ninkii qalab buris ka lihi, wax walba duqsi buu moodaa. Cakku Kashafa iyo caqligiisa. One more thing yaa Kashka: the fact you resorted to talk about xuruubul fitnah (a controversial topic of which far learned men in religion and Islamic history chose to forgo the urge to comment) shows that you really miss the point of Abu Ayyoub’s legacy adeer. Seeftii Abu Ayyoub, represented Islam. Alshabaab’s Seef represents ignorance, and as a result is unguided one. It does more harm than good. My side of Somali divide made the first move by calling the scholars of the land, seeking their advice and counsel to end the civil war. My side of Somali divide calls for reconciliation day in and day out, a concept your ignorant, and deviant side openly ridicules. My side of Somali divide desires to lead the nation with all its political segments. Yours ya Kashka want to destroy it, unwittingly. Yours lack priorities. The Takfiiri inclinations you espouse are apparent to us. Thanks Allah the scholars whose innocent words were abused used to be taken out of context and used to justify to shed Muslim blood in our ardhi are actively engaged today in finding a solution. One side is accepting their counsel. The other side, your side, disrespects them and calls them names. What I am trying to say is if it’s a question of Islamic theology and jurisprudence, the authority made a decision. Support Sh. Sharif. If it’s a question of politics and appealing to the masses, your failure is clear of all that cares to discern. The story of Abu Ayyoub is a beautiful one. Soiling it with a wicked reference to the xuruubul fitnah in an effort to depict him a man less than I originally painted him is Kashafa talk.

Oodweyne, You are absolutely correct in your assessment of the current political climate as far as Somalia is concern. These sorts of beautified historical analogies may not resonate with the battle hardened alshabaab youth who view, as you eluded, the current political outcome in Somalia as the fruits of their military campaigns, and not as a mere milestone of larger effort as many of us judge. But it’s that very lack of appreciation for the complexity of Somali conflict from their part that I was trying to massage when I hastily (it was late in the night, and did not give the attention it warranted as apparent in its quality or lack thereof) penned this post. Truth of the matter is that this group needs to learn from past history. Before I go any further I shall make it clear that you are wrong on your assessment on Sh. Sharif. If you accuse him gullibility, the man has shown you and all who doubt his ability to tread with care on the un-chattered political waters of marrying strategic political objectives to revive Somali republic with the necessary tactical appeasements to give measured consideration to the forces whose sphere of influence Somalia, and Somalis to a larger extent, falls today. He might have looked naive and unsophisticated, but beneath his humble posture lie a keen appreciation of the murky Somali matters that few have thus far become capable of. Add that to his decorum and self-worth, and all the right qualities that benignly restore the equilibrium---all the reasons one needs to rightly lionize Sh. Sharif. I am not sure if it’s because of capable advisers and judicious counselors of his that always steer him to the right direction and help him occupy both the intellectual and moral summit of Somali affairs, but the fact is he does it indeed with remarkable consistency. On the issue of negotiating with other parts, he early on saw the value of talking to his opponents. On the issue of Shariah and its implementation, again he made it clear, at the beginning when he came to the fore of Somali politics in the capacity of Courts leader, that force will never be a legitimate means to implement Shariah, and that it will always be a gradual process. Today, when many doubted his ability to build coalition that could convert his public pronouncements to policy agenda, he again succeeded. How else can one explain a secular prime minister, at least by training, successfully passing a ministerial resolution accepting Islamic Shariah? I could go on and on giving example after example as to how good Sh. Sharif maneuvered with marked brilliancy and without slightest friction to cruise onward with his peace agenda. That, my friend, is not the act of a gullible man. Man on a mission is what I think it shows. Lets come back to the story of Abu Ayyoub and his famous sword. It’s a great story in many ways and one can draw many lessons from it. For one, it shows that for one to succeed one needs to be consistent and patient to achieve greatness in the real sense of the word. For the other, it’s story of a man who was passionate for achieving victory and who chose riding on the front end of Islam’s just sword so to say as a means to fulfill it. But his love to fight was significantly different than the love today’s Jihadi movements claim. His was one of understanding priorities of the time and what it demanded from him. In the military campaigns he participated he was representing a unified Islamic community that wanted to defend its rights, and fence off aggressing empires of the time. His was also a community that had the organs of the state and harmony within members, he was not waging a jihadi war in the midst of warring clans each fighting for primacy. Abu Ayyoub also was a man of understanding. I already cited one of the most beneficial narrations in our collective Islamic hadith literature this man contributed. It’s the hadith that marks the boundaries of the mucaamalah among Muslims. It’s that combination of having the passion to advance the Islamic cause as well as having a deep understanding as to how Muslims treat each other that I found most fascinating. Alshabaab’s bravery in the battlefields as widely reported is a quality worthy of praise. There is a parallel in Abu Ayyoub’s focus on the matters of war and that of Alshabaab. But where the similarity ends is their divergent take on the mucaamalah among Muslims, especially when the said Muslims disagree as Abu Ayyoub’s hadith explicitly refers. That lack of understanding and appreciation is what will spell Alshabaab’s disintegration, and ultimate demise, I am afraid. We hope however the final conclusion of alshabaab story will not be a one that ends in disappointment. To avoid such tragedy, Abu Ayyoub’s story offers perfect modality for alshabaab to safe face, and survive within Sharif’s political framework. Student of Islamic history will instantly note the name Yazid ibn Muawiyah and the political complexity it entails. Recall Yazid was the commander of the military campaign in which Abu Ayyoub died.

Abu Ayyoub Al ansari was not only a patron of Muhammad (scw), he also was the one who hosted the messenger close to seven months when Muhammad arrived the city of Medinah, or Yathrib as the Arabs knew it then. That he lodged Muhammad (swc) was not the only honor he achieved though. Of Abu Ayyoub it was said, that he never missed a military mission to defend the word of Allah. From battle to battle, Abu Ayyoub drifted from the barren Sahara of the gulf and penetrated deep into Marsha land of Iraq, and onward to frontal trenches of the Byzantine Empire. During the siege of Constantinople, the seat of Christian Byzantine, Abu Ayyoub was among the prominent military men enlisted in Yazid’s army. By then he was an old man and shortly after engaging the enemy Abu Ayyoub fell ill and withdrew from the battle. Yazid fully appreciative of the position of the man and his sheer battle experience visited him and asked him: “ do you need anything, Abu Ayyoub?” Abu Ayyoub, did not shirk from making a remarkable request: "Abu Ayyub urges you to penetrate deeply into the territory of the enemy as far as you can go, that you should carry him with you and that you should bury him under your feet at the walls of Constantinople." He uttered these words as he gasped his last breath. Muslim fighters had done exactly what their elder brother requested, and Abu Ayyoub was buried at the gates of Constantinople. After the fall of Contatantinople, a mosque was constructed upon near Abu Ayyoub’s grave to give especial significance to his final resting place. When the Othaman Empire was born, it was the preference of Islamic Khalifs to have their inaugural ceremony be performed on Abu Ayyoub’s burial grounds. In that context, the honor given to Abu Ayoub’s courage was quite fitting in its symbolic rituals. Even reportedly Islamic Caliphate leaders used to embrace a puppet sword named Seefta Abu Ayyoub to feign bravery and decisiveness. What propelled Abu Ayyoub to such immense victory was the vision of Islamic unity he was able to articulate not by rousing speeches of his, but by his deeds. An Arab Muslim from the heart of Sahara was able to persist till victory was achieved for the larger community that’s bound not by blood, but by more deeper, and nobler concept, Islam. But his sacrifices came after his deep understanding of this religion and what it truly means in its communal harmony and social cohesiveness. He knew Muslims civil rights, to use a word that falls way short of capturing the true meaning of xaqul Muslim calal Muslim . This is not rhetoric yaa jammaacah. Watch Abu Ayyoub speak as he narrates what he remembers of the many words of wisdom he collected from his friend and beloved messenger, Muhammad (scw). Allah's Apostle said, "It is not lawful for a man to desert his brother Muslim for more than three nights. (It is unlawful for them that) when they meet, one of them turns his face away from the other, and the other turns his face from the former, and the better of the two will be the one who greets the other first” In otherwords, Muslims (ponder this jammaacah) are supposed to talk to each other, especially when they angry with each other. That’s the correct approach. Such was Abu Ayyoubs understanding. what would you reckon then the measure of a group who when a fellow Muslim reaches out and publicly vouches for the soundness of the political creed he so gladly desires to reflect, demands reconcilation to heal the wounds of civil war , and opens the door for an eqautable sharing , when such group, the target of such beutiful gestures, reject it outright, what would you think their measure would be? Abu Ayyoub, the companinon, the brave man who fought all the way to the walls of Byzentine Empire and died trying, was no Alshabaab. Abu Ayyoub’s sword, and not that borrowed, aimlessly swirling Alshabaab sword, is what we should desire.

^^Keeping in touch via pm is probably the best way to share similar hobbies with your new friend, sister dib qallooc.

Good development. Gradualy, Sharif's policies, deplomatic gestures and his calls for dailogue will eat away opposition's arguments and execuses. Raggeedii indeed.

Horn's theory is plausible. Waraa Oodka, ha na cayn ninyahow. Marax aa tahay maxaa dhahaa. Listen: waraaqihii anaa haysta waxaa rabtid sheeg, malagu fasaxaayyo. Waa joogee maahine, waligaaba qayli. As for boolo xooftadaan aad waddid, adeer others have been very shrewd in their political calculus, and when the push comes to shove the legal trappings others have set up for you will be good enough to detain you for ever. Let me put it this way: ستعلم حين إنكشف الغبار أفرس تحت رجلك أم حمار NG please do the needful

#1 talo. Xalwo ka fogow. When in Hargeysa or Burco stay away from Xalwo iyo buskud. In 1980's a man from Xamar nearly lost his life for saying out loud ani Xalwo markin arko waa dhareera , to which a lander with sizable traditional stick standing near by asked, waryee Xalwadaad u dhareeraysid waa tuma, xaggeese ku baratay?. The southerner, not understanding the connection between the man and Xalwo, said that he used to enjoy Xalwo while he was in Xamar, and he has been looking for it since his arrival to Hargeysa. Markiin soo xasuusto ani dhan si si aa noqohaa, he added. The man with the stick, after few propping questions, started to beat up the southerner man suspecting he has indeed inuu u gogol dhaafay xaaskiisa a xalwo la oran jirey. Apparantly the man had a wife called Xalwo who recently returned from a trip to Xamar. Adigoo London ka yimid, Xalwo ha ka sheekeyn. #2 Talo, iga war sug.

^^Oodka, In a word, you are repeating and saying the things that you have been saying last 18 years. Nothing has changed other than the inconsequential event of the city of Las Anod changing hands as it did before, which you, to your credit, composed many celebratory songs. You are starring at two insurmountable barriers as you have before, first one being the legal impediment as far as the outside world is concern, and the second one being the unfavorable clan composition Somaliland’s political polity is constructed up on, which foreshadows the eventuality you so determinedly seek. Talk to us when you overcome these two problems awoowe, haddii kale sidii Ina Igare ku faan wiil cad baa ii khudbeeyey. Simplel, is it not?