Ibn Qayyim wrote, centuties ago, a very good article about the strangeness that results from being minority Muslim practitioner in an environment where most people dont practice or reflect on the true teachings of Islam or are not muslims. Ibn Qayyim's article can be found here: Strangeness and the Strangers But as i was watching a dvd of Sh. Craxman Sulayman of Jabbuuti, i was struck by his take on this topic. The brother really looks this topic at a different angle in the sense he asserts it’s Islam itself that feels the strangeness of those who claim as its adherents. He cites experiences one gets when shopping in a western grocery vs. shopping in a modern Islamic bazaar. The mucaamalah and customer services that prevails in many non Muslim countries vs . the muran iyo qajajac that's reportedly the norm when engaging transactions in many Muslim lands. The respect for diversity opinions, the conflict resolution approaches, and the mas’alatu tolerance is another area where i think Islam as a religion contradicts how its supposed adherents behave. In 2004 i went to Nairobi for a brief visit and I really felt the strangeness of the place, especially the neighborhoods Muslims populate. while the business is booming and the place is buzzing with activities (buildings going up, malls opening, and new bacadlaas everywhere), the lack of social responsibility and the sense of detachment was apparent and noticeable. You could see rubbish piling up, broken sewage everywhere, roads are bare paved, boundaries of public property not respected, etc. I mean, with the amount of money exchanges hands, it shouldn't take that much effort to organize and do something about these basic services. Even Mosques are badly maintained and the nadaafah , which a central theme of Islam is hardly practiced. My friend who come back from the Xaj told me in Madiinah as he was trying to get inline to buy shoes, people were just indifferent the manners he was trying to observe. Wuduuu lines were routinely violated he said, and he just felt out of place. When he went out to buy bear of shoes, the shopkeeber he observed wouldn't care who got there first, he would just sell the shoes to whoever shouts the loudest. You look at other dealings you would some times question whether people really understand the priorities of Islam. You can see people violate things that are very basic to their faith yet are mulish on other stuff that are not so basic or that pale in comparison to what they violated. I could talk about Somali politics and cite examples of people exhibiting toddler like quality when facing challenges but I guess I could be rightly accused with a political bias, I would pass that one on… I am just rambling here i guess, so i must stop and ask the question; do you guys see the strangeness i am talking about? Are our priorities misplaced? What does it take to go back the sense of measured balance Islam advocates? --

The Russian Empire Strikes Back

Good to see Somalia represented. Where are our hijabi girls though?

Salaam yaa Jammaacah, Liqaye: In the absolutely immediate sense the factions of this conflict are the Ethiopians and Al-shaabab . Since this is an armed conflict then we must assume that the men with the guns are to be addressed across the negotiating table. The TFG as an entity and I will keep on harping to this end does not exist except where ever a reconciliation confrence is held, and in the pictures that General Duke presents all over the forum. The ARS on the other hand and I am refering to the faction in eriteria are only marginally better, but can only offer advice and guidance to the men on the ground and can in no way dictate a ceasefire or even set a period when the cease fire can occur. I wish Somali conflict was between Ethiopia and Alshabaab. I even wish that it was between Ethiopia and a single Somali clan. I wish that was the case. But sadly Somali conflict did indeed precede the emergence of alshabaab and Ethiopia’s incursion into our land. The conflict has been raging for the last 17 years, and the factors that kept its flames blazing remain unchanged. There’s nothing more tragic than not knowing the name of the illness you have been living with for the last two decades. You can’t manufacture a new rationale for the continuation of our azmah. We are qabaa’il mutaxaaribah. That’s what Somalis are. That’s the name of our conflict. To ignore it is to delude your self. The warlords have names and strongholds. They have bases of power. They are there to preserve and advance perceived clannish interests in the absence of governmental institutions. That they only look after their political interest and fatten themselves up is beside the point. To rabble rouse and build on the mistrust among Somalis masses is how they come to survive. That’s what Ina Yusuf does. That’s what Cadde does. That’s what Riyaale does. That’s what Qaybdiid and Indhacadde do. That’s what Barre Hiiraale does. Today majority of warlords and Somalia’s strong men are collected in one entity. It’s called TFG. It has not only local constituencies who support it, but it also has international and regional support. These are the men who crippled Somalia. Good leaders they are not. But they do know how to drive and continue Somali conflict. There is an entire history behind my assertion. I too once thought that these men could be sidelined. I thought Somalia was on the verge of transformational revolution. Only to wake up to a different reality, and watch how the country is sat back. How men whom I thought were experienced enough, knowledgeable, and religious enough succumbed to internal pressures and shirked to take a strategic stand. You can’t ignore facts. That Somalis are divided along clannish lines is the primary reason why our civil war continues. Ethiopia’s just a mere enemy taking advantage of our internal conflict. Its influence is directly proportional to our divisions and mistrust. To reduce our long civil war as a one between Ethiopia and one Somali faction is, to put it mildly, to burry your head deep in the proverbial sand. Wallaahi there are so many different ways to demolish your argument that I don’t know where to start. Shall I start Puntland whose entire resources and military might has been spent in supporting the old man and this tfg thing. Is it part of the conflict? Shall I start with the host of other clans in Northern Xamar and its environs who fully participated, and still do, in supporting this tfg faction? Are they part of this conflict and on which part should we count them? Can alshabaab’s brute force defeat all of these sides of the conflict? When you talk about Somalia, which Somalia are you talking about? The Somali republic we knew and whose center had sadly fell? The South? The North? The North-East? What strategy do you have beyond fighting Ethiopia? I mean come on brother! You can’t be serious to dismiss the men who brought Ethiopia and caused all the mayhem as irrelevant to the Somali conflict. The real truth is that it’s better to deal with the warlords and strong men in one go when you have them represented by one entity, like the tfg does. Sharif might come across gullible and naive but he indeed seized that important truth. That he wants to address the Somali issue in a holistic fashion is also thousand times better than the piece meal approach you seem to be advocating for. This is a conflict adeer. It’s ugly and its main drivers have no morals. Talking to them in pursue of peace settlement is the correct thing to do however. Whether that approach will succeed is something we don’t know. Trying it though is no crime. It goes without saying that alshabaab is not the only jihadi movement fighting Ethiopia. The division, and the segmented nature of our people could never be more pronounced than it is today. Why ignore it then and burry your head in the sand walaal? If war is possible, so is peace. In fact, peace has more chance to succeed. The factions of the conflict are known. Majority of primary drivers of this conflict are onboard with the peace caravan…and the hope shall never die. ps--Qurb Land = anywhwer outside of somalia, Africa and Middle East included.

Yours, yaa NG, is a misplaced post. It realy is. Uncharacteristically, you chose to comment on the fringes of this raging debate. The issue is not whether Xiin is dreaming or not adeer, for that is really irrelevant to the issue at hand. The issue IS yaa el Haji NG whether reconciliation and dialogue between Somalis factions tfg included is the way to go. Whether what has started in Jabbuuti can be propelled forward. Whether maximizing peace, instead of war, can solve the Somali equation and satisfy its variables. A word of advice for you may good friend: understand what the contentions are before you hastily start sketching with your proverbial stick. Baashow: as always you’ve comprehensively laid things out. And brother Liqaye I am sure if the time permits him will come back and address your and my questions.

^^Thanks for your insight brother. At this point, at the risk of sounding another gullible, naïve geography teacher, I must ask you to share with us who you think factions of this conflict in its immediate sense are. I say that because you seem to be suggesting as many did that tfg is irrelevant and Sharif has no constituency on the ground. Please don’t pull a Baadiyow on me by saying that you are a just an old soul waiting to rot in a European hut and collect whatever doll outs the system would allow. ps..I am neither ignoring nor misunderstanding your pertinent questions about the viability of peace. I am not questioning your sincerity in wanting peace to prevail. I will insha Allah share with you what I think is the real truths about Somali conflict. But lets try to understand the nature of this conflict walaal and who its parties are.

^^Liqaye, Ninkii ilo biyyo leh soo arkoo ooman baan ahay’e, nin ugaas walaalkii yahoo aarsan baan ahay e, afdhabaan-dhab ninkaa aayar aamusaan ahay’e . Thanks brother for the provocative thread… It’s not (and it shouldn’t be perceived that way) a very difficult proposition for Somali parties to sit down, talk and reach a political settlement. That’s not to say that Somalis will realize peace tomorrow or anytime soon. I know there is no guarantee for that. If however Somalis continue fighting as they have been doing for the last 17 yrs, one thing is assured, and that is Ethiopia’s dominance, militarily and politically, will be entrenched and Somalis the ones left to bear the brunt of that humiliation (and not those who are today shouting from the roof tops of their Qurbo homes in opposition to Sharif’s efforts) will live with it for the years to come! Supporting the Jabbuuti efforts, a process that could ultimately create a level of understanding between relevant factions, and consequently produce a politically cohesive caretaker entity however imperfect it might be, is not only nobler, but more realistic and sensible than supporting a segmented war effort that has nothing to offer other than punishing the other side. You have been on these boards long enough to know where I stood on the Somali politics. What I am supporting now is more realistic than what I supported then. That’s to say if I ever was dreaming it was then, and not now. But I was always correct on one thing, and that’s what brought Somalia to its knees is a grand failure of leadership in every category and class. You cant reject peace because the other side is bad, you must try first to find out if it’s so bad that it cant even tell what the powers-that-be’s, its masters, marching orders are today. So brother Sharif is trying things out…he knows that he can fail. Those who opposed him opposed him out of anger at what the TFG has done. To entertain to sit down with the tfg is deemed a heretic act in some circles. And that, I think, is mindless. I am surprised that you are arguing along the same line that I did a year ago. It’s not tfg legitimacy that which Jabbuuti deal seeks to achieve. It’s the survival of Somalis that’s at stake here. There is no unified front on either side. Tfg is divided along clannish lines, and the opposition is divided along ideological divide. If Sharif’s effort does not succeed whatever the reason may be, the era of Afghan warlords will be a reality in Somalia. Afghan warlords were different than Somali warlords of today. They were religious in their political persuasion and had unrealistic goals in their political platform. And that’s the trend good Sharifs see in the current resistance movement and he is correct in his assessment that Somalis cannot afford to go through another cycle of civil war adeer. That’s why, as things stand today, there is no alternative to the Jabbuuti Accord in my mind. And inshaa Allaah it will succeed. We must overcome the fear, pride, and past grievances and see the big picture adeer. Please post more threads oo lafa gur arrinta Jabbuuti...what is it that people are afraid of?

Originally posted by Brofessor_Geeljire: Xiin, there is no other alternative to Djibouti, other than to continue negotiating with the world and other Somali groups. ^^That, my good friend, is a profitable saying. There is no alternative to dialogue with the other side. War is not an option for Somalis today. The rest of your post is a peculiar mix of emotion-laden questions and misplaced feelings about what has transpired in the past. I want you to deal with the present. TFG is a reality. And so is Ethiopia’s presence in Somalia. If you can manage to see the big picture of things, you need to deal with these two realities. What makes your logic missing just like a broken tooth in a comb is that fog of emotion I pointed before. As for xiin wanting to legitimize a warlord government, A & T, yaa Doctor Geelle, said as much. Labadiina inaan mar idiin jawaabo rabaa haddii alle idmo because I sense some level of desperation in the formulation of your argument. Hase yeeshee bal qisadaan ila dhuuxa: Waxaa jirey nin markay rag is qabtaanba yiraahda, war nabiga ku salliyya. Dadka intooda badan marka nabigey ku sallinjireen, intay salliga waddan buu isna gar heli jirey. Maalintii danbe baa ninkii iyo nin kale is heleen. Sidiisii buu yiri war nabiga ku salli . Ninkii baa yiri, war nabiga waligay baan ku sallin jiriyye anaga iyo nabiga adigu hana kala dilin . Adeerayaalow, aniga iyo shareecadda yaan lakala dilin oo haddaad doodaysaan dawlad secular ah baa sharci laga dhiggayyaa xaajadu ma taagna ee saa u ogaada. Rather dad is dilay baa la heshiisinayyaa cadowga ka faaideystayna waa laga saarayyaa meesha.

^^What exactly are you laboring to say? And what's your alternative to the Jabbuuti Accord? Jabbuuti deal recognises tfg for what they are; a somali entity that speakes for and represents for Somalia in many international and regional stages(whether that's fair or not is neither here nor there). More importantly Jabbuuti deal recognizes that the nature of conflict as a somali one in its most elemental way. Two things angry men like you have difficulty to grasp. Nin walaalki geed ugu jiraa geesi noqonwaaye Gacantii ninkii li goynayyaa waa gumudantaaye

@Brafasoorka Geelka. Adeer, it's the reality on the ground that points that tfg is part of the conflict. Xiin only acknowledges that fact. We can all wish them away. But they are still here adeer, and as long they exist xiin believes that they must be brought into the peace process.I dont think that's forcing this entity upon somali people! You can be angry with this entity, and what it has done. I however choose to think sidii la daba qaban lahaa dadka, adigu aarso adeer.

^^You may be right but if Cadde comes back it would be an Ethiopian scheme than a clannish arrengement adeer.

War meeshu saad moodayso maaha; we are not talking about Norway and elections. Meeshu waa reero wax isku darsaday marka qoloda Farjac waa fuleen, ilka jiir ciddiisa iyo Afqurac baa haray ee saa ula soco.

That's NOT manly adeer. Maaweelada caruurta iyo dumarkaa leh.

^^lol. waraa adigu qolodee tahay ninyahow,han yaridaa .

^^That's so feminine yaa Mr.G. Say after me: I hope somalia could one day manufacture a deadly weapon with which to destroy its enemy.

The Future is the Past Lacking both a coherent opposition and a coherent government, Somalia returns to what it was during the fifteen years following the fall of Siad Barre - a patchwork of power centers, often at odds with each other and often overlapping; a patch of thorny vegetation that will cut any intruder even when the intruder can trample on it. It is difficult to construct a scenario that would promise the revival of the A.R.S. and/or the T.F.G., and the achievement of reconciliation on a national level, even if one leaves Somaliland and Puntland out of the picture. The most probable eventuality is a drainage of power to local sub-clans and notables that are loosely administered by presumptive regional authorities, some of them allied with Islamic political and military forces, others coexisting with them in shifting arrangements, and the rest attempting to preserve their independence, sometimes under warlord rule. In the new version of the past, the question mark is how much support the Courts and their allies will generate as they pursue a strategy of consolidation and accommodation with local sub-clan and business interests. The Future is NOT the Past, i say. It’s probable that what this man prays for can happen. But Somalia Inshaa Allaah will not go back to what it was few years back. The scenario he found so difficulty to paint is almost happening now. Opposition groups who believe TFG is a part of the Somali conflict, and TFG entity are now talking and in the process of coming up a workable arrangement. Of course a lot will depend on how outside players support this initiative. It’s not impossible to imagine, a compromised deal where a joint government comprising leading opposition and TFG actors emerge out of the Jabbuuti initiative. As soon as this level of understanding and power sharing is reached, it will not be impossible either to see the practicality of Ethiopia’s departure.

Apparently he still is! Did you send him a missive Duke ?

No he's not, and never was!

Who put gediid in the doghouse i wonder. Waayadaan Jacayl baruu isku taagay, and i saw this coming...

lol@Farax-Brawn is. But you said you were born in Garisa.

Gaal qurmay warkii...

Zafir, are you a Sujjuu? And before i forget gartii NGONGE vs. A & T gunaanadkeedii wuxuu ku dhammaaday: NGONGE is guilty of fraud and breach of trust.

^^ Beesaani aa tahay, raggeedii wallaahi. Waa intaan ina Brown ka waayey.

^^Labadeenu isku qolo baanu nahay. Haddaadan hore u ogeyn maanta ogow. Consequently, I am your qolo's xildhibaan.

Val, welcome to Mini Xamar! Waryaa Faarax Brown, hadda Val waa so dhacday. Waad u jeedaa, Jemcaale waa out of state, Adiga, A.ladiif, and Duco guy please do the needful. Anigu, as always khulaasatul qawl baan leeyahay.