Taliban, I know Munyo and other well known Benadiri and Bantu individuals who played a key role in the last regime. Bare's socialism and its framework policy of creating a climate propitious to the minorities was commendable, but still they hardly played a role proportion wise because their population is not small. They settle in the most populated areas of Somalia. I agree with you and Duke that every clan suffered in this civil war but none surprises the ferocity of heavily armed nomads who had easily conquered Shabelada Hose and inflicted much misery and horror on a daily bases. But then, we are all similar to them(Benadiris). They blame each and every one of us regardless of which region you hail from. A nomad is a nomad to them as Lamagoodle is one of epithets they use to describe us.

He went to AU summit among other things mainly to get votes of AU for Turkey's non-permanent membership to UN Security Council in 2009-2010. ----------------- ANKARA (A.A) -30.01.2007 -It is necessary to take brave steps to change the fate of Somalia and Darfur Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport in his arrival from Ethiopia on Tuesday. Recalling that he attended the 8th African Union Summit, Erdogan said this was the first participation from Turkey on prime ministry level to the summit. He added that he exchanged views with several African leaders on bilateral and international issues. "It is the world's common problem to stop wars and clashes, prevent epidemics and natural disasters as well as to settle prosperity and justice in Africa," he noted. He said that countries should fulfil their responsibilities to rapidly end humanity tragedy in Darfur and the clash milieu in Somalia. Erdogan said that he had the chance to ask for the support of 53 member countries of Africa Union for Turkey's non-permanent membership to UN Security Council in 2009-2010. He said that they also decided to hold a meeting in Istanbul with leaders of Africa Union member countries to deepen the relations between Turkey and the Union. -Source: Anatolia news agency, Ankara,

He went to AU summit among other things mainly to get votes of AU for Turkey's non-permanent membership to UN Security Council in 2009-2010. ----------------- ANKARA (A.A) -30.01.2007 -It is necessary to take brave steps to change the fate of Somalia and Darfur Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport in his arrival from Ethiopia on Tuesday. Recalling that he attended the 8th African Union Summit, Erdogan said this was the first participation from Turkey on prime ministry level to the summit. He added that he exchanged views with several African leaders on bilateral and international issues. "It is the world's common problem to stop wars and clashes, prevent epidemics and natural disasters as well as to settle prosperity and justice in Africa," he noted. He said that countries should fulfil their responsibilities to rapidly end humanity tragedy in Darfur and the clash milieu in Somalia. Erdogan said that he had the chance to ask for the support of 53 member countries of Africa Union for Turkey's non-permanent membership to UN Security Council in 2009-2010. He said that they also decided to hold a meeting in Istanbul with leaders of Africa Union member countries to deepen the relations between Turkey and the Union. -Source: Anatolia news agency, Ankara,

Macalin Dugsi Qur'aan oo noqday Raaisul Baarlamaan. Good News

I agree. Asalamu Aleykum

If you are ably deterimined, do it on the first person you see in the street. What an irrational and unIslamic Fatwa?

Absolutely but they have to return their home and take the initiatives of the government to heart. One of the major clans has a good history of resisting the colonial rule, so getting the chance to be the captain of their ship would quickly bear fruits for them. Let us face the truth, they were surrounded by heavily armed ferocious nomads from tribal encampments of Galgudud and Mudug. It was hard for them to challenge or overcome such obstacles at their doorsteps.

This is completely one of the very sad and recorded events of Mogadishu. It is not new to us that this type of despicable action would occur in Mogadishu. Many recall like yesterday People who were even killed while bearing witness to Allah that there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger.

What happened to them was that they hardly played a role in the last regime. They were also unarmed after the civil war hence becoming an easy prey to the wolves. They were also divided and systematically persecuted for petty matters. Now is the time for them to maximize their gain and think about their future by working and collaborating with the government and rebuild their city by getting direct help from the post-conflict recovery and reconstruction projects of the JNA.

Nothing but defamation of character!

I am delighted finally my birth town was freed from the forces that occupied so long. The local clans should be appointed to lead the district's council and most of the police and army personnel should recruited from them. This will be firstly a source of income to the locals. It will also empower them politically.

The Dr. is indeed lost in the murky of Somali problems by sharing destructive sentiment with the secessionist clique. He has probably had contact with the lobbiest of the seperatist. The So called "Somaliland" does not have reign over Sool and Sanaag, two regions it claims, so recognizing an empty and illusive entity would spark the biggest conflict ever in the Horn and it will be burden on the International community to deal with.

Who listens to Matt Bryden? I am wondering why you will listen to this man who strives to dismember our country.

THE RISE AND FALL OF ISLAMISM IN SOMALIA January 29 2007 The people of Somalia are and have remained Sunni, Shafi’ Muslims for the good part of 14 centuries. Islam is much intertwined with their culture that it takes no one to think twice of his identity as a Muslim. Thanks to the orthodox religious community, generally known as the “Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamaaca”, who have catered, over the centuries, for the faith related needs of the largely nomadic and rural society. They provided for basic literacy in the Arabic language to enable people understand and practice their faith as Muslims. In addition they continuously produced the religious leaders of the community. They were these men who have played a role in conserving the faith, despite attempts at Christianization over the last two centuries throughout the Islamic world. These orthodox religious men and their moderate interpretation of the Faith though, have suffered systematically, if tacitly, in campaigns to diminish their role by the colonial powers of old. The so-called modern educational programs started by the colonial governments were designed to compete with the traditional religious schools, “malcaama” or “Dugsi Qura’n” in towns, and the “Xer” camps, mobile Qura'nic schools following the trace of the migrating nomadic camps. As the new colonial system of education became dominant; the erstwhile Somali school—traditionally available in most villages or shifting camp with the nomads through their transhumant migration—was made to look redundant and a waste of time. For example, the teachers for the formal schools were formally trained and were provided opportunities for continued education as well as study facilities and support systems. These teachers were also handsomely paid by the government compared to the conventional religious teachers who traditionally survived on community handouts. These colonial systems of education paid lip service to the teaching of religion. Arabic Language and, specially “Religion”, as subjects of study, accounted for a small proportion in the curriculum notation, given that the country was predominantly Muslim. Add to this the fact that these colonial governments were also encouraging the credo of separation between the church and state. The teachers for the Arabic language were prepared by the system but the teachers for “religion” as a subject were invariably enlisted from the traditional school. Occasionally, some Arabic teachers were also enlisted from the traditional school. Those trained Arabic teachers were paid as equals to the other regular teachers. But those borrowed from the traditional pool were, however, paid as much as a third of the salary of the regular teachers, perhaps to make the point that they were uncertified and therefore inferior to those prepared by the formal system. In addition, graduates of the colonial system of education were sure to land on better paid jobs and could speak at least one foreign language, all of which was meant to intimidate the products of the old school and their traditional followers. The strategy worked. It catered for the production of new elite, the majority of whom although, still considered themselves Muslims, had little regard for their tradition, including their Faith. Indeed, having had bitterly experienced the resistance staged by the religious leadership against colonization and Christianization throughout the Muslim world, the colonial masters used the new school as an instrument for social and political engineering. Without the regular funding or proper facilities, religious education was limited to the very early years of children, later to only the kindergarten stage, after which the child left for the formal school. Despites those discouraging policies to frustrate the religious community, however, these men of Faith took a greater role than most in resisting the colonial masters and eventually participated in leading the march towards independence. They were better placed for this, perhaps, by virtue of having been literate, at least in the Arabic language, and having remained largely independent, unlike the formally trained Somalis, who were almost invariably employed by the colonial administrations. A good number of the Parliament of the sixties comprised of those sheiks. The postcolonial governments inherited the same system of their colonial masters as they were run by the then colonially produced new elite. They failed to make reforms in either the processes or products of the educational system. With the immigration exodus which started in the early seventies many Somalis fled the country to those oil rich conveniently adjacent Arab countries —partly to escape the oppression of Barre’s Regime and partly for those skilled enough or educated to gain greater economic returns against their formal qualifications. There, they were exposed to opportunities to learn the Arabic language and understand their faith better, as a welcome byproduct. Many made the choice to go or send their children to religious schools and institutions. They came back not only financially richer but supposedly stronger in their faith and wiser in their understanding of their religion. Adult gatherings for religious study in mosques and Qura’nic schools and institutes started to proliferate around the country. Funding from varied Islamic institutions in the Arab World flowed systemically, if covertly. In other words, the new arrangements and facilities compensated for everything missed under the colonial and neocolonial educational systems of the State. The new breed of religious men clandestinely catered for the needs of the elite, who were willing to review their attitudes to Islam as sort of new borne Muslims. Tolerance to fundamentalism began to take root, but Barre’s government, threatened by the advent of the new trend, resisted by persecuting the Islamists and, indeed, co-opting the traditional religious school as its allies. They began to certify them in greater numbers as religious teachers, Mosque Imams and court judges. At the same time, the Regime openly ostracized the new Islamists. Still, the advent of the new school of fundamentalism was considered positive by many people. For example, I was of the opinion that, while the old school had still catered for the largely nomadic and the rural community, who have not had equal access to the formal system, the new Islamist school has been catering for the elite and the urban community in the major cities, who had, in the past, drifted further away from their faith, and many of whom were now willing to revisit it. Hence, the logic that it was a good thing for the two schools to co-exist, not without tension between them even then, mainly because of the Regime’s policies deliberately playing the one group against the other in its divide-and-rule tactics. However, with the collapse of the government in 1991, each of the two camps had to shift for themselves to seek a new role in the disintegrating social and political milieu. History has it that a faction of the Islamists—namely, al-Itihad al-Islami—sought power in the vacuum that followed, by starting a premature uprising, led in part by Hassan Dahir Awes, the current leader of the defeated UIC, in 1992. The skirmishes in some north eastern towns of Somalia lasted for a matter of months, in which the resistance staged by Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf, the current President of the TFG, and others defeated and emasculated the Islamists. Little was heard of them since then, except in relation to their affiliation with Alqaeda, as per the US assertion, or their accusation of subversion and attack by Ethiopia in places along its border with Somalia, in the mid nineties. By comparison, members of the orthodox school responded to the lawlessness and insecurity prevailing in the Capital, and established clan-based Islamic courts, initially, in north Mogadishu. The courts helped a lot in the north, so that the courts were also adopted in the South of the capital by individual subclans. Neither the Islamists on their own right, nor the courts, had openly shown ambitions for central power until they married into an alliance with the Transitional National Government (TNG), in whose Parliament they had a sizable number of members and with whose President they had a rare influence. Hence, Political Islamism, in earnest, started with Abdiqassim Salad Hassan’s short-lived Transitional National Government (TNG), which was single-handedly crafted by the Djibouti Government in the year 2000. With the dissolution of that government came the advent of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which took two years to contrive, only with the patience of the international community, as an outcome of the Embagathi Conference held in Kenya, 2002-2004. With the new government headed by an arch enemy of the Islamists, President Abdullahi Yusuf, to replace their earlier found bedfellow, Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, neither the latter nor his fellow Islamist allies were ready or willing for the new government to take its seat in the Capital to become an effective government in any way, shape or form. Even better for them, they had an unexpected ally in the warlords of Mogadishu who, although were not friends of the Islamists, happened to become a blessing in disguise for them in their resistance to the TFG. In other words, they were the enemies of their enemy, until the US unleashed its clandestine operations in support of the warlords, sidelining the rightful TFG, to do its dirty laundry of hunting down for it the foreign operatives, it alleged, were harbored by the Islamists in Mogadishu. The Islamists who were gradually solidifying their alliance with the Islamic courts exploited the opportunity to produce a popular anti-warlord and anti-US uprising, initially in the Capital, immediately spreading it to much of the South of Somalia, as they gradually realized they could. But, the UIC was never as militarily powerful as people thought. They had a number of factors to their advantage though. The Mogadishu populace was sick and tired of the tyranny and division perpetuated by the warlords and needed a way out of the prevailing quagmire. Hence, the UIC militia succeeded with little resistance as the clans swiftly transferred their loyalty from the warlords to the UIC. The Islamists have also been in control of trade, foreign exchange companies and some of them were shareholders in all major business and infrastructure enterprises and schemes. Experience in other parts of Somalia, with the onslaught of the Islamists, also indicates an even more important factor which works immediately to the success of the Islamists in the short-term, but which backfires in the longer term. The onslaught of Islamism almost invariably creates a confusion of the predominantly Muslim community, where people are assaulted to make a sudden choice between their loyalty to their Faith, in a new flask, and their allegiance to their clan system. It is during these early stages of confusion and divided loyalty that the Islamists were making inroads into the corridors of power in those communities. The UIC has also had a similar opportunity. By the end of six months, however, people were ready for an alternative leadership, mainly because of the rigid shari’a application. Thus, by all indications, it was not so much that the Ethiopian and the TFG forces invaded with an overwhelming force, as it may have been that the honeymoon was over by the time they invaded. Hence, the victory of the TFG can also be considered a popular choice made by the people to get rid of the Islamists after a short lived trial. Islamism, therefore, is neither a popular political ideology nor is it an alternative interpretation of Islam. At best, it has been a radicalizing the old school of thought—largely, out of a literal interpretation of the text of the Qura’n and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Prayers be on him). Islamism encourages extreme Puritanism. This brand of interpretation popped up here and there over the centuries, throughout the Islamic world. The ideas almost invariably originated with scholars and thinkers who felt there was more to Islam than just the name and there was need for the purification, by revisiting the fundamentals of the Islam in order to realign the faithful to the interpretations of the Shari’a as per the works of the original four jurors and scholars—Shafi’, Hanfi, Malik and Hambal. It has also been often the case that those new ideas for purification, which were intended for social discipline through re-education and social revival by instilling new blood into the faith, also became prey to some with political ambitions, or who were simply disillusioned with the social and political order of the day. More often than not, these pseudo-Islamic political movements disappeared into oblivion as speedily as they emerged out of nowhere. By all indications, the recent UIC movement in Somalia has not been any different, by my estimates, at least. While that is so, most people forget that the orthodox Islamic leadership remains well and alive in Somalia. They exist as they have done for the centuries past, always supportive of the wishes and choices of the community in collaboration with the other forms of social and political authority in the land, while specifically remaining responsive to the needs of the community in learning about their Faith and playing their role to the full in all faith-based social services, which literally accounts for most everything the society lives, breaths and thinks in the predominantly Islamic community. Indeed, those orthodox religious leaders can be called the “moderates”. However, individuals like Sheikh Sharif, who crossed the line of orthodoxy into the oblivion of Islamism are no longer salvageable. The Islamists are neither “moderates” in anyway, nor would they ever accept to share anything out of the realm of their prism of reasoning with anything, which is, in turn, very difficult for others to accept. Therefore, those calls for reconciliation between the TFG and the emasculated Islamists by the international community are only questionable even by the standards of the most moderate secularists. These Islamists can only be accommodated and given the opportunity to participate if and when they renounce violence and announce a ceasefire with the TFG, because they have not as yet. On the other hand, the traditional religious leadership has, as always, remained neutral, if silent of the new developments, while the Islamist leadership coerced people into a Taliban-like stile of religious practice. As always, the majority of them have avoided confrontation with the Islamists during those six months in which they ruled. Hence, one can safely assume that the victory of the TFG over the UIC has been liberation for them too. They have created an umbrella organization the leaders of which met with the leadership of the TFG upon its arrival in Mogadishu and have promised support and cooperation. The international community must appreciate the presence of these orthodox religious leadership not only because they are non violent in their approach and reasonable in their interpretation of the text of the Shari’a; but they also represent a majority of the religious community in Somalia and they are agreeable to a majority of the population. Towards a Conclusion: Fellow Somalis and concerned friends of Somalia, I have staged the preceding argument not to blindly support the TFG, which I agree, may not necessarily constitute the right or the best material of men and women to represent Somalia. They are not necessarily endowed with the right skills or the propensity to rescue Somalia from its abyss, like many of you, who I am sure could have played the role better. But, I am concerned that Somalia cannot go on without a government far too long into the future. The international community is almost fatigued of respecting our statehood by virtue of suspended animation. Soon enough we face the awkward, if dangerous, likelihood of letting us loose to become prey to even greater division, dismemberment and annexation, which would make our Somalia a thing of the past. I admit that I have succumbed to the flimsy, if demagogic, argument of the Somali elite that “a bad government is better than no government”, which I have, up to now, resisted to accept and rejected as a ploy by the elite to re-impose the same old form of government from the top. Two decades later, I realize that we deserve non but our elite, for we could not produce an alternative breed of leaders—not yet any way. The thirteenth Reconciliation Conference held in Djibouti produced the Transitional National Government (TNG) preceding the current TFG. If the current TFG is a government of warlords, as some prefer to call it, the previous one entirely comprised of their arch rivals, the alliance of the civilian clan elite—an equally corrupt and power hungry civilian politicians commonly known as the "Manifesto". All Somali clans were equally represented in the Embagathi process as were all of those feuding factions and personalities. The fact that the warlords dominate the current TFG is but the fault of those who tried and failed to stop them. Hence, all we need to say to them is: tough luck. The 14th Reconciliation Conference produced the TFG as the government de jure, recognized by the international community. For the rest of us, what is important is not so much who won in the last political encounter between the political groups. It should be what are they doing about the mandate given to them? But, first, they have to be given the opportunity to try. The TFG has only just been given the opportunity to even arrive in Mogadishu for the first time since its inception. It has already lost half of the mandated term—5 years. Our concern should be: can they do anything about their mandate in the short time left? If only one of the two major groups of the political elite contending for power could give the opportunity to the other (The TNG, the last time, and the TFG, this time around) to try, we would have a solid system of government by now. It is not too late for the opposition to afford this opportunity for this government to succeed, so that they can participate in the elections to be held at the end of this mandated term and perhaps peacefully replace the current TFG. In the meantime, we now have none better, or even worse, than this TFG to call a government—our government. Perhaps, we deserve non better, I am inclined to accept. At least, it made it to Mogadishu despite the odds; no matter how, and on that point alone it deserves a chance, as was the intention of most of us, upon its formation—that chance which it missed because of the greed and opportunism of some of its own. But above all, I fear that there will be no next time for reconciliation for Somalia after the last one—the Embagathi Process. Surely, we are temporarily stuck with this government which is represented, by all Somalis, carbon copies of the rest us, as far as clans go, and recognized by the international community. We cannot produce another one faster than we can give it the opportunity to try. And that would be the shortest cut for making it to a better future for our unity, stability and prosperity. It is a matter of choice between a futile and an endless search for the ideally perfect government and making do with what we have to work from there towards better governance in the future. Abdalla Hirad E-Mail:MHirad@aol.com Source

Duke, I think reshuffling of cabinet will be made or a Council of Religous affairs will be set up which accomadates scholars of the ICU.

Personally, I believe that women are more intellectual than men through out the experiences I have had. They always strive to improve the overall welfare of society. In State and Private colleges, for instance, women have outperformed men according to a recent study. The country that recognizes the contribution and involvement of women into every sphere of our life will no doubt attain symbiosis--that is interdependence and mutual benefit. This will also enhance our innovativeness in reaching long-term goals of comparative advantages.

I agree with Xiin , lol.

Inside Somalia is the best path to our domestic problems. Great move

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf agreed on Tuesday to call a broad conference of clan and religious leaders, triggering the release of European Union funding for an African peacekeeping force in Somalia. Brown, do you see now that a broad conference of clan and religious leaders was called on by the president. Xiin, what you think of this conference?

Brown, check this Link . Yuusuf went on a state visit to Kigali to learn from the model Rwandese people used to reconcile their ethnic conflict. I think the president is doing all he can now to promote reconciliation and preserve our relationship.

Only time will tell whether the Ethiopian intervention was good or bad, but the mere fact that it is Ethiopia (and not another country) which intervened created shock waves in many quarters. The reactions have been generally hostile. It is so because Ethiopia is a country many of us still love to hate and is still seen as a “traditional” enemy. I was once told by a Tanzanian lady working for the OAU in Addis Ababa that according to her observation Somalis hated Ethiopians but that Ethiopians did not hate Somalis, and she asked why. I told her of course that Ethiopians connived with the British while we slept, stole our land and ruled our people in the most savage and repressive manner and that that was something that we never did to them. She was satisfied. I laughed with satisfaction.

Bloomdeyr, Ismail as often being a great political thinker and as well supporter of TFG is now giving TFG concrete recommendations by exposing their faults. However, let us not underestimate the very wide conceptual gap that separates the two sides. Though the TFG may very well negotiate from a point of strength it is scarcely likely that the ICU will give much ground. But with skillful handling of the negotiations it is not altogether impossible for the parties to reach a common ground and thereby spare us yet another round of armed conflict which will drive us and our well-wishers to despair. It is inconceivable and unacceptable that those rogue and unscrupulous warlords are accommodated by the TFG while the ICU luminaries, with all the good deeds that speak for them, are thrown to the wolves. The TFG should seriously consider, inter alia, the setting up of a powerful Council of Religious Affairs with a clear mandate and stipendiary positions in order to accommodate the scholars of the ICU. I do earnestly hope that wiser counsels will prevail and that an amalgam of TFG/ICU Administration will emerge. I wish the same.

In my early comment on ways to help the TFG, I emphasized reconciliation as a platform to heal our ills and mend past wrongs . Link --------------- KIGALI, 24 Jan 2007 (IRIN) - Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf is on a visit to Rwanda to learn from that country's experience in national reconciliation and reconstruction and to discuss Rwanda's possible intervention to stop the cycle of violence in the Horn of Africa country, which has been in a state of civil war since 1991. At a press briefing on Tuesday in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, Yusuf, who was flanked by his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagamé, said the time had come for Somalia to seek the advice and intervention of other countries in the region to help Somalia in its peacekeeping process and reconstruction and reconciliation efforts. During a visit to the memorial museum of genocide on the Gisozi hill near Kigali, where 200,000 victims of the 1994 genocide are buried, Yusuf said Somali people could have a lot in common with Rwandans, especially the fact that both countries had experienced years of civil war and fratricidal conflicts. He said conflict in his country had a potentially injurious effect on the region's security, saying each country in eastern Africa and the Horn should "feel concerned by this possible instability in order to restore peace and reconciliation among the Somali people. "We believe our concerns have been understood by Rwandan officials and other neighbouring countries, and we feel now that in the near future, Somalia will start a new era of peace, reconstruction and reconciliation after 15 years of violence," he added. Yusuf's remarks followed an indication by the Rwandan government that it was committed to assisting Somalia. However, Rwanda has not made a decision on whether or not to send its troops on a peacekeeping mission to Somalia. In December, Ethiopian troops backed Somalia's Transitional Federal Government to oust the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) that had taken control of the capital, Mogadishu, and most of southern Somalia, since June 2006. "From its experience in the years after the genocide of 1994, Rwanda as a country has made progress in national reconciliation and reconstruction. There are many aspects where this [country] can serve us as a model and adviser to enable us to go beyond the tragedy of the past years and build hope for the future," Yusuf said.

Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Legendary Cruelty March 23, 2006 In the days when Buraan* was a thriving village and maize and crops grew abundantly, a mighty queen ruled over it. She was a highly venerated ruler and womenfolk were forever extolling her virtues. Rulers from distant lands, such as Queen of Sheba, sent her gifts consisting of gold coins to sustain her and her dynasty as well as slaves to communicate reverence and accommodate the queen’s indulgences. Queen Arawelo was the eldest and shrewdest of King Abdullah’s three daughters. The serene village of Buraan was struck by severe droughts. The harvest season came but there was nothing to harvest. It was the Xagaa* season and Buraan was hit hard, causing the death of many cattle and sheep. Having failed with incantations and prayers, Arawelo one day decided to fetch water from a tiny tarn at the periphery of the woods, at the foot of the mountain. Whilst there, she also vowed to hunt for food and save her village from eating themselves to death. She set out for her expedition in the early hours of daylight. Accompanied by her trusted squad of female hunters and armed only with her home-made spear, a bow and a few arrows, she fastened her Buraashad* to her waist-band and they set off into the woods. They reached the tarn by mid-day, the following day and after filling their Xabab* with water for the entire village they decided to return. In the middle of the woods, Arawelo and her fellow hunters rested under a tree to seek shelter from the sun. Arawelo was still firm on her decision to make a kill, and thus she set off on her own, filling her Buraashad and giving the water sack to the other hunters. She searched for the entire forest but hadn’t made a kill. Soon it was dark and the elongated tree trunks resembled a legion of soldiers surrounding an enemy. Arawelo had lost all hope of returning home jubilantly to her expectant villagers with a kill, so she made her way home. Darkness thick upon her came, as she passed the dense part of the forest covered with bushes. She was on the lookout for wild animals that roamed the night and constantly looked around her surroundings. Suddenly, in the dim of the moonlight she saw something quickly dash past some bushes nearby. Wild animals, especially lions were said to be prevalent in that area of the forest, hence the name God-Libaax (Lion’s Den), but Arawelo was a brave girl and would fight it with her spear if that meant her survival. She moved briskly intending to get out of the denser part of the forest. Looking back, she saw the same figure scurry past the set of bushes adjacent to the Acacia tree, rustling them as it moved. She quickened her steps, looking back now and then, to survey her surroundings, when her guntiino* got entangled in thorny bushes. As she strove to free herself from the thorns, the rustling of the bushes became closer and closer. She got up from her crouching position, and looked around; staying still as she held her breath to listen for any disturbance. Just as she untangled her dress, the dark figure pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. It was an animal. It was a man – a strong bare-chested man. Arawelo wrestled with the man, but in vain. He was far too powerful for her lithe body. She was raped Legend has it that the revulsion Arawelo developed that night against her rapist, marked the beginning of her legendary cruelty against the entire male population in Buraan and the neighbouring villages where she was to reign over. Soon after her father’s death, who had no sons to be inheritors of the wealth and power, Arawelo, being the eldest daughter ascended the throne. Arawelo was a powerful woman, with a muscular build. Her short jet-black hair was often tied back, enhancing her facial features and elongated neck. Shortly after being crowned, the Queen embarked on a mission of ‘domesticating’ and ‘controlling’ the men - whom she considered feral. She was to accomplish this mission by castrating the male population of the village. She exercised her powers to avenge her rape and humiliation as well the rape of other countless women in and around Buraan. With a dedicated army of loyal subjects comprising of sturdy women, she succeeded in capturing and castrating the vast majority of the males in the villages. The few that were left at the Queen’s mercy were there for the prime purpose of breeding only. They were kept under close observation of her Majesty’s guards, as she was suspicious of them, believing that they posed a threat to her throne. Queen Arawelo had a daughter from her relationship with an elderly villager, Oday Biigay, a wise man who used to compose and recite her beautiful verses of poetry. Years have passed, and her daughter, Aisha had a son and named him Kenadiid. The queen was bent on castrating even her own grandson, but Aisha would dissuade her every time she attempted to. ‘Oh Mother, let him at least grow up a bit’ she would say. On reaching a certain age, the queen would again try to castrate him, but Aisha would find another clever deterrent. ‘Let him at least reach puberty mother’ she would proclaim. On reaching 15, Kenadiid escaped the knife of his grandmother and went into the woods, never to be seen again. To protect herself and her throne from the males with their manhood intact, Queen Arawelo often set for them tasks that were simply impossible to solve. The first of those tasks involved getting the men to fight a duel, using their spears, in a confined area ringed with burning logs of fire. Such events regularly took place monthly and the village’s most beautiful women would gather around the fire giggling and cheering. The winner of such a duel won his pick among the women and afterwards the Queen had him castrated and put in a solitary confinement Time had passed and the Queen would propose her next task. This time she asked her subjects to carry out an impossible task – to bring her a camel with a load of fruits on its back. She demanded that the fruits must be brought on the bare back of the animal without any containers, rugs or hide. The villagers tried and tried, but to no avail. There was no way a camel can be loaded with on its bare back for they will just roll off – it was simply an impossible task to accomplish and most of the villagers had abandoned any hopes of doing so. But when the Queen was told that a camel-load of fruits was sitting on her front garden she was alarmed – her suspiscion that a few men are still left was rekindled. A villager had managed to get the fruits to stay in place by first spreading the camel’s back with a thick mixture of bird lime and mud. This mixture with a few other mixtures of his own invention baked in the sun and acted as a bounding agent for the fruits. Who was this man? The queen wondered. Nobody knew who did this. It was later found out, after surveillance by the Queen’s guards, that a man disguised as a woman had carried out the feat – it was Kenadiid. The queen then ordered that houses should be checked and that man brought to her at any cost. But the man couldn’t be found, for he came into the village during the day and disappeared into the forest by night. The queen tried tracking him but to no avail. Buraan had one large well. The well was central to the existence of the village. Herds of Camels, cattle, sheep and thirsty villagers flock here every evening to drink from it. One day, after returning from Sahan* Kenadiid masqueraded as a woman passed by the well on his way to the village and found that a huge throng had gathered at its banks. ‘What is going on?’ he asked a one villager. ‘The Queen is taking a bath in the well today. We have been standing here since this morning and our camel hadn’t had a drink for days’ Replied the villager. Kenadiid, pushed his way past the crowd and saw his grandmother, relaxed in the well. Her guards were no where to be seen. He returned to the villagers and addressed them. ‘I shall go in the well’ he said ‘if she screams “ba’ayeey*” then I have killed her with my dagger, so stay put. But if she says “Hoogay*” then that means that she is overpowering me and you must come to my rescue’. The villagers agreed and Kenadiid walked towards the well, descended down into it and without wasting a minute drove the dagger right into her chest. ‘Ba’ayeey’ screamed Arawelo. He had overpowered her, the mighty Queen Arawelo. He then dragged her body out of the well saying: “Wadkeed Korisooy, Waqwaq ma kaa yeertay” ‘O’ nurturer of her own terminator, did thou not wail’ This marked the end of the legacy of the Mighty Queen Arawelo. The villagers lived happily after her death, under the rule of her Grandson, Kenadiid. After the death of the queen, it is widely believed that the men wanting to get even with the women for the cruelty they suffered introduced the female circumcision. Glossary of terms: *Buraan = A village in the Sanaag region, Northern Somalia. *Xagaa = This is the dry season, and falls between July and September. Severe droughts occur during this season and the temperatures usually reach 35-40 degrees Celsius. *Buraashad = A small personal water container. A Buraashad usually stores water for long periods of time retaining their original cool temperature in the dry season. *Xab (Plural, Xabab) = Also a water carrier, but this one is made out of cattle hide and is significantly bigger than the personal water container. It is used to store water in a way similar to the Buraashad, but for longer periods of time. Usually every family has at least one or two. *Guntiino = an embroidered four-yard clothe usually worn by the Somali women. A Guntiino is usually made of a single fabric and is draped around the waste, covering the lower body till it reaches just below the knees. Then it’s pulled under one arm then over the shoulders to cover her bosom. *Sahan = A nomadic practice where a young man, a scout, surveys far away lands in search of green pastures and water. On finding them, he returns to his people and leads them to the new found land. *ba’ayeey and hoogay = In Somali language, ba’ayey denotes someone being defeated, whereas Hoogay is said when someone is retaliating. Footnote: In the village of Buraan lived a pastoral society where rain had always been the determining factor of grazing and prosperity. When hit hard by droughts, a brave girl, Arawelo, decided to save her village from the thirst and starvation. But on her return she experienced an ordeal that would forever change her attitude towards the men folk - Arawelo got raped in the forest of God-Libaax (Lions Den) and from there embarked of a mission to castrate the entire male populations of her village and surrounding areas. She soon became the queen and devised tasks for the men. These tasks could only be accomplished by men who have their manhood intact, which upon completion of the tasks she would castrate them too. Her mission to turn the entire male population of the city into eunuchs would have become successful had it not been for the bravery of Kenadiid*, Arawelo’s Grandson who ran away from captivity at the age of 15 and disappeared into the woods. Kenadid disguised as a woman, later returned to the village and killed his grandmother. The village was thus saved from the terrible tortures of the mighty Queen Arawelo and they lived happily under the rule of Kenadiid. *Kenadiid-, not the once sultan of Hobyo. Source: http://shafisaid.wordpress.com/about/

Great move