Hi there Juxa-- nice name. I am not worried about getting a job mate, the firms practically drool over us every bloody week here at the Univ. Anyhow, there is a drinks and bussiness talk with Slaughter and May on this 24 November for Cambridge Lawyers, if you are up for it then I can give you a ticket! reply soon and I will send an email to the concerned RVSP thing. Cheerio mate Sophist Ps: Have we met before?

Now the US backs its old enemies America left Somalia in 1993 when it lost 18 men while trying to snatch a warlord. Now, Aidan Hartley reveals, the US is back, this time siding with the warlords against al-Qa’eda Ridley Scott’s bang-bang movie Black Hawk Down is a big hit these days in the pirate cinemas of Mogadishu, the world’s most anarchic city. The Somalis roar with delight every time their militias shoot a US soldier. One show recently had to be aborted when a member of the audience became over-enthusiastic, produced an AK-47 and opened fire on the big screen. Wow! Security for Bush is pretty tight! For those who don’t know, Black Hawk Down tells of a raid on Mogadishu by US Special Forces on 3 October 1993. The raid — whose purpose was to capture the warlord Mohamed Farah Aydiid — went catastrophically wrong. Two helicopters were shot down and 18 Americans were killed in the subsequent battle. A thousand Somalis were killed or wounded, most of them innocent city residents caught in crossfire. The death tolls in Iraq and Afghanistan make the Somalia fiasco look like a minor skirmish, but at the time images of white corpses being dragged through the streets so horrified the American electorate that US forces withdrew from Somalia, and the UN was forced to abandon its attempt to get rid of the warlords and restore stable government in the country. As a result of the so-called ‘Mogadishu effect’ the US refused to intervene in any African conflict, no matter how appalling, from Rwanda in 1994 to Liberia this summer. But now, for the first time in a decade, US forces are dipping their toes back in ‘Skinnyland’, as the troops used to call Somalia, only this time they are conducting top-secret missions with ‘friendly’ warlords against al-Qa’eda and its allies. Among their warlord allies is Hussein Aydiid, son of Mohamed Farah Aydiid. In other words, 9/11 has so changed American global priorities that it is now doing business with the forces that prevent Somalia emerging from darkness, in order to catch terrorists who find haven there. The reason they find haven there, of course, is that there is no government. And there is no government because of the warlords. Al-Qa’eda has probably been in Somalia since 1993, when it formed an alliance with al Ittihad al Islamiya, a group that has sporadically held both towns and territory. These bases have provided staging posts for a series of attacks against Western interests, mainly in Kenya, starting with the 1998 US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Next was the Thanksgiving Day 2002 suicide bombing in Mombasa, and the attempt that same morning to shoot down an Israeli charter plane as it took off. Kenyan police interrogations of terrorism suspects reveal that al-Qa’eda aborted a plan to blow up the newly constructed US embassy in Nairobi in June, using a truck packed with explosives and a small aircraft carrying a bomb. Al Ittihad is linked with Islamic rebels opposing the Christian government of Meles Zenawi in neighbouring Ethiopia and was involved in the 1995 assassination attempt against Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia has invaded Somali soil several times since 1996, and created an alliance of warlords who willingly became its puppets. Following 9/11, it was these proxies who became America’s off-the-peg allies when it found that it had few friends left in Somalia and had to turn to Ethiopia. According to UN estimates, there are fewer than 50 Westerners in all of Somalia, and Mogadishu is largely off-limits to them. In late 2001, CIA operatives established their main base of operations in Baidoa, a godforsaken inland town and epicentre of the terrible 1992 famine. Aid workers have seen these spooks regularly arriving on charter flights from Nairobi and stalking around in aviator dark glasses and hunting jackets. At the same time, German and US navy aircraft and ships are patrolling Somali skies and coastline, conducting electronic surveillance, intercepting pirates and arms smugglers on timber dhows. In the French Foreign Legion stronghold of Djibouti, 1,800 US troops have been deployed to track down terrorists across Africa’s Horn. The Djibouti base is part of the global reordering of US forces now under way, involving the creation of what General James Jones of the US European Command calls ‘lily pad’ bases to get closer to the action. Early this year, the snatches began. The Americans, lubricating their Somali friends with plenty of cash, focused on Mogadishu. My sources cite two examples. In March the Americans used a minor freelance warlord known as ‘Mr Tall’ to track down a man named Suleiman Abdalla Salim Hemed, a Tanzanian of Yemeni Arab origin. Abdalla hardly looked like an al-Qa’eda terrorist. He was about 20 and was into hip-hop music and dancing; hence his nickname ‘Travolta’. But he is believed to have used boats from Somalia to import the explosives and missiles used in the Mombasa attacks. Mr Tall and his boys initially muffed the capture, got into a gunfight and injured Abdalla in the process. He escaped, but checked into a hospital, where he was sniffed out by Mr Tall, who dragged him out of bed and delivered him to the Americans at an airstrip outside the city. On 24 July, the Americans returned to Mogadishu. Witnesses this time saw nine CIA or Special Forces arrive by aircraft outside the city. They were met by a convoy of battlewagons manned by militias of the Murosade clan warlord Mohamed Afrah Qanyare. The combined forces then drove into Mogadishu and surrounded a building near the Green Line, a part of town that was blown to smithereens during the civil war. Their target was a Yemeni known as Sheikh Jaylani, who was allegedly linked to the suicide boat bomb attack against the USS Cole in Aden some years ago. The Americans arrested him and whisked him away, probably to Djibouti. Independent security sources have told me that the operations to capture Abdalla and Sheik Jaylani were devised as dry runs to see how easy it was to conduct more snatches in Mogadishu. Further operations are likely in and around the city. The challenge is how to capture the more important and better-protected terrorists in Somalia, such as Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. Nabhan, another Yemeni, is linked to both last year’s Mombasa attacks and to the plot to blow up Nairobi’s new US embassy this June, but he is related by marriage to a warlord in Baidoa and has some well-armed friends in Mogadishu. Another alleged al-Qa’eda terrorist, who feels safe enough in Mogadishu to openly attend mosque prayers, is Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a Comoros islander believed to have masterminded the 1998 US embassy bombings, as well as playing a role in the Mombasa attacks. Capturing men such as Nabhan and Fazul will need to involve a more overt American military operation along the lines of the 3 October 1993 plan before it went wrong. One presumes that this is why the bulk of US forces are waiting in Djibouti. But for now at least, the ‘Mogadishu effect’ still has the power to scare the Bush administration, especially in an election year and with the unfolding debacle in Iraq. This is a pity because, thanks to the chaos in Somalia, al-Qa’eda’s threat remains higher in East Africa than anywhere else outside the Middle East and Central Asia. A UN panel of experts investigating the illegal weapons trade in Somalia has reported that it had ‘learnt of recent attempts by extremist groups to procure explosives on the Mogadishu arms market, as well as ongoing militia training in the use of explosives ...Transnational terrorists have been able to obtain not only small arms, but also man-portable air-defence systems, light anti-tank weapons and explosives.’ Hussein Aydiid claims to have sold 41 missiles to the US. But UN sources privately express alarm over a report that a further seven sophisticated surface-to-air missiles were recently imported to Somalia for the purpose of carrying out fresh attacks in neighbouring states. Kenya is evidently the main target, where authorities have had only mixed success intercepting terrorist suspects. In August, Kenyan police arrested a man in Mombasa but failed to search him for weapons. He detonated a grenade in his pocket, killing himself and two security officers. A cache of surface-to-air missiles and guns was later discovered at the terrorist’s home. As is happening in Iraq, the terrorists are also lashing out inside Somalia itself by trying to kill or chase away the remaining handful of Western aid workers. The elderly British schoolteachers Richard and Enid Eyeington, shot last month through their living-room window as they watched television in their home in Sheikh, in the breakaway region of Somaliland, were almost certainly the victims of Islamic extremists. In the last few weeks, foreign-aid workers and their Somali friends or counterparts have been attacked repeatedly. Assassins murdered the Italian nun Annalena Tonelli in Boroma, again in the Somaliland region. A Kenyan working for a Christian charity was shot dead in a separate incident; a Somali former US embassy employee suffered gunshot wounds in Mogadishu, while in Mandera, a frontier town that has become a hotbed of Islamic extremism, a Kenyan died and a Dutch MSF doctor lost his leg in a grenade attack. Annalena’s murder hit me personally. This woman had tended TB sufferers and the poor in Kenya and Somalia for 30 years. I first heard about her from my father, who while working for Oxfam in 1983 flew into a place called Wajir, where Kenyan military forces had massacred 1,500 Degodir nomads by shooting or burning them alive. The soldiers then poisoned their wells and machine-gunned or dispersed their livestock. My father came across Annalena caring for dozens of survivors, who apart from being wounded were dying of thirst and hunger. She was as close to a saint as ever I have met, choosing to operate ‘without a name, without the security of a religious order, without membership of any organisation’. But she was famous among Somalis, and it was precisely this that made her a target. I’d like to argue that the Americans shouldn’t be hanging out with the warlords — the forces of darkness — and should instead be attempting to nation-build again in Somalia. But in Nairobi, Somali armed factions are taking part in the 14th successive peace process — financed almost entirely by Western taxpayers — to restore peace and government for the first time since 1991. Conference delegates are having far too good a time on their per diems to agree on anything. They spend their days having punch-ups, walking out or complaining about their accommodation. This month a moderate delegate and his two employees were found dead on a forest road with bullets in their heads. Somalia’s inhabitants have proved beyond doubt that they are incapable of ruling themselves. The West doesn’t acknowledge this because nobody wishes to be accused of racism. Having wrecked itself, Somalia has become a bottomless pit for humanitarian aid, a sink of refugees swarming for Western shores, a graveyard for foreign altruists, a bazaar for illegal weapons, narcotics and toxic waste — and now an al-Qa’eda sanctuary. If the lingering ‘Mogadishu effect’ causes the US and its allies to prevaricate any longer, fresh outrages are inevitable, while an entire region will be destabilised. Return to top of page · Send comment on this article to the editor of the Spectator.co.uk · Email this article to a friend © 2003 The Spectator.co.uk

Aloow kabadbaadi. War caawa qof walba markuu Taraawiixda tukanaayo Alaah hakabaryo Masiibadan inta Rabi kaduwo. Sophist

:eek:

Salaams Nuune, Celebrity aa! Areey gabunku xaw sheegaa? Nuune, come on bruv, I and celebrity life! As much as I would like to indulge the glitery world of celebrity—endless bashs and trifling excitement of meeting my fellos celebs-, I don’t think I am yet to be prepaed to take such full on life upon shoulders. Anyhow, Which list are we. Certainly some of those names are A-list celebs!!! dare I say others mere mortels of perhaps C-list! Sophist

Salaams, Good Afternoon all those potential and current lawyers (here, the term Lawyer constitutes those who are reading the degree or for deserved hard work already graduated with LLB and practicing law as either Solicitors, Barristers or government legal advisers—or even with those unfortunate souls with Law degrees but don’t practice the art). I am posting this to perhaps create a forum (a medium) where we can exchange our ideas, share view, discuss legal issues that have bearing on our society etcetera. In case you are wondering, I am reading a Law at an English University. I find the subject tedious though the prospect of either wearing the silk (this does not mean the real silk, so no words of warning from those who are inclined to do so) or perhaps working in the magic circle firms where we are accused by selling our souls to the co-operate fat cats In return of big cash—don’t listen to this slur, they are only jealous of your potential success!!!!!. So, guys, let us network, tell us whether you have done any internship with the likes of Linketers, Alan and Ovary, Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith and the last but not least Clifford Chance. Or perhaps you haven’t because you think you have something against these “fat cats”. Tell us where you are studying and how you find the course. Don’t you hate Roman Law!!!! perhaps not, most of compassionate law schools won’t subject their poor over worked students to this mind numbingly boring subject which have no relevance whatsoever in modern Law.

Salaams, Good Afternoon all those potential and current lawyers (here, the term Lawyer constitutes those who are reading the degree or for deserved hard work already graduated with LLB and practicing law as either Solicitors, Barristers or government legal advisers—or even with those unfortunate souls with Law degrees but don’t practice the art). I am posting this to perhaps create a forum (a medium) where we can exchange our ideas, share view, discuss legal issues that have bearing on our society etcetera. In case you are wondering, I am reading a Law at an English University. I find the subject tedious though the prospect of either wearing the silk (this does not mean the real silk, so no words of warning from those who are inclined to do so) or perhaps working in the magic circle firms where we are accused by selling our souls to the co-operate fat cats In return of big cash—don’t listen to this slur, they are only jealous of your potential success!!!!!. So, guys, let us network, tell us whether you have done any internship with the likes of Linketers, Alan and Ovary, Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith and the last but not least Clifford Chance. Or perhaps you haven’t because you think you have something against these “fat cats”. Tell us where you are studying and how you find the course. Don’t you hate Roman Law!!!! perhaps not, most of compassionate law schools won’t subject their poor over worked students to this mind numbingly boring subject which have no relevance whatsoever in modern Law.

Salaams, Good Afternoon all those potential and current lawyers (here, the term Lawyer constitutes those who are reading the degree or for deserved hard work already graduated with LLB and practicing law as either Solicitors, Barristers or government legal advisers—or even with those unfortunate souls with Law degrees but don’t practice the art). I am posting this to perhaps create a forum (a medium) where we can exchange our ideas, share view, discuss legal issues that have bearing on our society etcetera. In case you are wondering, I am reading a Law at an English University. I find the subject tedious though the prospect of either wearing the silk (this does not mean the real silk, so no words of warning from those who are inclined to do so) or perhaps working in the magic circle firms where we are accused by selling our souls to the co-operate fat cats In return of big cash—don’t listen to this slur, they are only jealous of your potential success!!!!!. So, guys, let us network, tell us whether you have done any internship with the likes of Linketers, Alan and Ovary, Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith and the last but not least Clifford Chance. Or perhaps you haven’t because you think you have something against these “fat cats”. Tell us where you are studying and how you find the course. Don’t you hate Roman Law!!!! perhaps not, most of compassionate law schools won’t subject their poor over worked students to this mind numbingly boring subject which have no relevance whatsoever in modern Law.

Salaams, Good Afternoon all those potential and current lawyers (here, the term Lawyer constitutes those who are reading the degree or for deserved hard work already graduated with LLB and practicing law as either Solicitors, Barristers or government legal advisers—or even with those unfortunate souls with Law degrees but don’t practice the art). I am posting this to perhaps create a forum (a medium) where we can exchange our ideas, share view, discuss legal issues that have bearing on our society etcetera. In case you are wondering, I am reading a Law at an English University. I find the subject tedious though the prospect of either wearing the silk (this does not mean the real silk, so no words of warning from those who are inclined to do so) or perhaps working in the magic circle firms where we are accused by selling our souls to the co-operate fat cats In return of big cash—don’t listen to this slur, they are only jealous of your potential success!!!!!. So, guys, let us network, tell us whether you have done any internship with the likes of Linketers, Alan and Ovary, Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith and the last but not least Clifford Chance. Or perhaps you haven’t because you think you have something against these “fat cats”. Tell us where you are studying and how you find the course. Don’t you hate Roman Law!!!! perhaps not, most of compassionate law schools won’t subject their poor over worked students to this mind numbingly boring subject which have no relevance whatsoever in modern Law. Sophist

Uuh such a soothing pictures make this dumpy afternoon shine with sun that I once knew!!1 just kidding people. The first time I saw the ugly, the bad and horrid of what Southhal was to become to many (few exceptions accorded here) was a sunny August afternoon. In my formative teen years, just came from UAE I was to delivery a present to a distant cousin. I was told that I could find people who knew him in some house that was behind what then was Southhal Broadway (before it was burnt down by the Sikhs). As it was pointed to me, the name of the house was called 37 (the number was too 37). As I was about to knock the door, the door swung open; there emerged someone who you would take the save bet of being not only extremely intoxicated also you could swear he was deprived of a shower for a long days that he chewed on. Anyhow, frightened, but not completely afraid I proceeded to enter. There sat numerous men chewing (you guess it, Qaat of course), looked happy, laughter flowing as though they are chatting with their intimate partners. I sheepishly asked whether there was anyone who knew my cousin (at the time, I was secretly hoping there would not be a person who would, cause I dreaded the fact that there may be people who were related to me in this horrible den)? A middle aged man, asked me what tribe my cousin belonged. I hesitated, and then the habitual idiotic shiteness of Somaliness came upon him, and he said in air of mocking Is he Midgaan? I was shocked the core, and immediately vacated the place. Jamaal, that was my first experience of Southhal, a place full of brothers lost to the world they live. Happily marching on a journey that only besets their human destruction. Anyhow, perhaps I am being bias being East End boy and what have you! The East rocks!!! Sophist

The difference is between the two, to put is simply, in the European case, there was no complete Economic dependency whereas the african case there is absolute dependency on various things-- social, cultural and most of all economic dependency. There lies the difference.

Salaamu Alaikum I concur with the clarification there my dearest brother. You will greatly be missed.

Athena dear sorry! two vots and counting!!!! :eek:

Firimbi iyo dharka askarta nooh! maxusuusataa duqa? that was then, now for the American boys it is all about what kind of Truck one rents Firinbiyaasha meesha ey aadeen makaseysid miyaah? waxaa jiri jirey firmbin fairy! kuwaas aa gurubsan jirey nooh:)

Hitler baa u weynaa wiil arlada galiya hawl weyne, isagaba meel haad ku cunay hubati loo waaye. --------------------Abwaan: Aadan Carab

Roobab ka da`ay meelo ka mid ah gobolka Sool iyo Sanaag Roob ayaa xalay si lama filaan ah uga curtay meelo ka mid ah dhinacyadda magaaladda Laascaanood taasi oo ahay mid noolaysaye niyadda dad badan oo quus ka taagnaa biyaha dayreed. Roobkani oo helay degaanka ku teedsan soolka u dhexeeya Tukaraq iyo Ganbadhe ayaa doojiyey degaan badan iyadoo ay si lama filaan ah ay hoos ugu dheceen biyaha iibka ah ee magaaladda Laascaanood oo awal ahaa in ka badan 60,000 oo shilin halka ay haatan ka joogaan 15,000 oo keliya. In kasta oo taniyo xalay ayay dadku filayeen roob hadana maysan moodayn inay isbedelkaasi weyn ay ku samayn karto hogol keliyahi qiimaha biyaha. Dhinaca Gobolka Sanaag ayaa laga soo sheegayaa inay roobab doorahi ay ka de`een meelo kala duwan oo ay ka mid yihiin dhulka ay abaaruhu saameeyeen. Cirku weli waa camiran yahay iyadoo ay dadku filayaan inuu maruun camiro dhulka oo laga baxo cabsidii laga qabey in la waayo dayrta gebi ahaan teedba Source: R.Laascaanood -------------------------------

Salaam I have one comment upon the fatwa which my dear brother Nur had formulated. The term Aboowe is not intrinsically bad word. In Hamar (not the Whole of southern Somalia) the word is use like Walaal. Walaal has no salacious ingredients to it in the north, consequently in Hamar Aboowe or Abaayo is not a word that connotes any sexual or anything bordering salaciousness. “Allah SWT instructs women " Falaa takhdacna fil qowl" meaning do not give-in while talking to non mahram males, so that " Fa yadmaca alladii fi qalbihi marad" lest the one with bad intentions exploits it as a window of opportunity.” Brilliant substantiation of what you have based on your xukum (judgment on the matter). My brother all depends upon the intention and the meaning of what is layin- jileec. Akhii, I am sure your judgment on Aboowe is purely based on cultural conception of what Aboowe or Abaayo is. For me and large part of those who uses the word, it is just like walaal gacaliso (as they say in Ceerigaabo). Sophist

Are you kidding me? you are taking all that time off of Unive! you must have very adorable profs. I myself will go to London on Monday night (24 of this month for some dinner organised by Slaughter and May firm) and I hope eid falls on Tuesday so I can stay tuesday there and come back on wensday and try to make the first lecture on Tort in 10pm. That is what left of eid Walahi. ciideey waan kuweynee, war manoo hetsidoo!!! Sophist

1) A nomad you always read his/her topics and replies Samurai, he reminds me someone whom I intimately know, and yes you have guessed I the forceful one Mr Sophist 2) A nomad you think is an asset for SOL Libax Sankataable, with his visionary empowering ability to bring all these nomads together says a lot about him being an asset to this diverse forum. 3) A nomad you have a feeling is Habar or Oday (old) Sophist Oday! I even feel that sometimes! Quite grubby old chap. 4) A nomad you would love to meet None, have already met all the enchanting people—and so not enticing ones too 5) A nomad you are proud to know…. Barwaaqo, isn’t she is just a adorably darling? Her cool composure, imposing intellect not to mention an air of confidence makes any man appreciate this extra cool sister! 6) A nomad you think is popular in SOL (in terms of the replies to his/her topics) Jamal11, this man is just awe-inspiring being with energy that can drive a whole nation into prosperity. 7) A nomad who has an extremely cool personality Wildcat147: what can I say about this lady! Words would not do justice to describe her being. AND Maliaka, she is fresh breeze out of Amazonian wilderness. 8) A nomad who makes you laugh out loud No one have yet put a big grin upon my over-used face 9) A nomad whom your like his/her mentality Athena, she is fierce intelligentual and contrary to the popular believe she is well mannered too! and of course the Mujahid whose persona makes any man envious for his cool mentality—though it is become spicy lately!. keep reading those Islamic Websites 10) A nomad you want to whoop his/her *** Sophist- me simply I can not resist to vilify myself for once!.

LSK, thanks Sire, that is my home man! I use to take the ido up the mountain for grazing! maxaa naga taqaan dee!

Hi there Rayaana, glad you have liked what you so in Somalia. On the matter of employing only females, I hate to sound like a lawyer, but that is illegal under domisticated European law in Britain-- the European Court of Human Rights deems this to be discrimination under the human rights convention. So there you have it.

LST, that was good. Sxb stayed there the past summmer on the tune of $30 per night! that is not bad. I seriously like the picture, the boys from Shefield did well for themselves.

Salamu Alaikum Waraxma, With great sympathy I have read your post my fellow Baashi. The problems that BEING good nurtured people and dependable brings are so vast and you have indeed illustrated with damming example which is frightfully recognisable. As it happens, I had a friend who was in similar situation. This chap is great man with beautiful Islamic character even wears the specially tailored trousers . The guy was educated in one of those new Universities in London and after graduation could not get a job in the industry (he did E-Commerce, he graduated ill-faattedly when the slump of the IT took off). So as honourable man, he started looking for alternative job because there waited mouths to feed here in Britain and back home in Somalia. After a while he felt the pressure in his house hold. Money, as he use to say was the oil that smoothed the human relationship, and luck of it, things were not as smooth as they use to be. His wife is great person, educated read English Degree (contarary to the popularbelieve English is indeed hard and prestigious Degree in Britain), she had you know all those dreams we all have when we are undergraduates-good salary, beautiful home and equally satisfying partner. But reality was quite different to that greeny picture she painted for herself. The continious phone calls from Somalia, the kids needing all the things they need (no idea what they require since I am a lonesome bachelor ); the marriage has become quite difficult to bear. The love was there, but the worldly difficulties were taking thier toll. She could not get a job because she had to look after the kids. He had a job that just paid cheaply the bills. Menial job that he never thought about before doing. After a while negativity ensued. My friend become quite depressed. But as he was a sagacious man, he thought about the alternative way of living handsomely without the difficulty that marriage had introduced to his life. After a long contemplation and hard pondering he came to the conclusion it was only viable to move from this country to Somalia and make life there. He consulted with his wife, she reluctantly agreed with it. They moved to Hargeisa where he set up A construction business and now wherehe employs more than sixty 60 people and makes nearly half a Million Dollars a year, lives a Villa with all the modern gadgets installed and worships Allah-- performs his Salaat in Jamaaca every day; beautiful life. So, there you have it, as Allah said, "Man yataqilaha yajcal lahu Maqraja, wa yursuqhu min xeythu laa yaxtasib". I am telling you brother, it is difficult to live in Britain with less than £30.000 per annum income. Life is tough in the West. I think because we are not suppose to live in this sort of environment-the whole of working market is geared to unsavoury things. But ther is always an Alternative, though it may not be clear at the present time. Salaams to you all. Sophist

Salamu Aalaikum Ikhwaani Fil Caqiida, Sayfulahi Al Maslull, walaal, Brother you threading a dangerous road that may lead to precariousness situation. The question who was right and who was wrong (the fight between the Sahabah) is quietly rightly answered by the Ulumaa'u Salaf Saalih. Ibnu Taymiyah speaks about it comprehensively in his Fatawaa and also in a book called Iqtidaa'u Siraatul Mustaqiim can Muqaalafatu Ahlu Jaxiim. So as his student Ibnu qayim, Iqaathatul haafaan (not sure the complete title) the concluded thoughts on this issue that we can not formulate a judgment upon the Sahabah, we are Khalaf and they are Salaf; it is matter that is entirely up to Allah Subna Lahu Tacaalaa. What makes you think you can judge the matter better that those Uluma who came before us? The whole of Salaf kept quite about this, and called it wasqtu Fitna. We the current Muslims have other matters far important to discuss then what went between the Sahaba, that is history and unlike the history that is taught in western insttutions, this is one that needs not any speculation. There is no need to formulate any hukum on this brother. You can learn from the history without lebbeling the part of the Sahabah some sort of lunatics. Mucaawiya was great Sahabi Radiyalu Canhu so as Ali Radiyallahu canhu (I am quite suspicious the over usage of Karamalahu Wajha, the Suna- the practice- of the Salaf a Saalhi was to say Radiyalahu canhu when a member of the Sahab's name was mentioned. However, the Shia, especially the Imaamiyah, invented this term Karamalahu Wajhu because they want to elevate the possition of Ali above that of the Rest of the Sahabah including Abu Bakar, Omar and Uthman; so we can say this is muxadatha, as in invention). It is futile exercise to busy onself on the issue. The matter has been solved and that is it. We are not judges and we certainly have no legal knowledge to pass a verdict on this case. Secondly, On the matter of who elected Abu Bakar, you can read the detailed account in all the books of History of Ahlu Suna Wal Jamaaca, Taariikhu Dabari, Albidaaya Wanihaaya Ibnu Kathiiir. Ali was not even in the picture, the seat was between Omar and Abu Bakar. Further, when the prophet SCW was ill, he asked Abu Bakar to lead the Prayer, this was indicative of his sucession. Brother, walaai this khatar. Just read those authentic books and the matter will be cleared Insha Allah. Walahu Aclam bisawaab Sophist

Written by Dr. Abdi Aden Mohamed: Ethiopia's betrayal and hidden agendas towards Somalia By Dr. Abdi Aden Mohamed In early 1992, Meles Zenawi and his Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) came up with the idea of paying back Somalia. The TPLF government noted that Somalia provided to it millions of dollars during its long struggle against the regime of Mingistu Hailemarium and openly admitted that for over fifteen years it used to purchase arms in the official documents of Somalia's defense ministry. It continued to say that most of its Executive committee members, including Meles have been provided with Somali Diplomatic passports that they used to travel a round the World as well as with special luxurious villas in Mogadishu and Meles used to stay in a villa just behind Towfiiq Hotel. Because of all the above cited, TPLF said that its intended to pay back Somalia by helping them to reconcile and thus create a government of national unity in Somalia, however, later on it become clear that such intentions weren't true at all. As the deputy minister of health of Ethiopia, I led a nine member Ethiopian delegation and participated in the first International meeting on Peace, and Rehabilitation of Somalia that has been organized by the United Nations in October 1992, in Geneva, Switzerland. Our main mission was to lobby for the continuation of successive meetings on Somalia to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Most of the countries that were represented in the conference voted in favour of our proposal on the second day of the meeting and that was a big achievement for Meles and his Foreign minister, both of whom warmly congratulated us on the successful mission while we were still in Geneva. The first Meeting on Peace, Reconciliation and Rehabilitation of Somalia was organized by the UN in Addis Ababa on January 03-05, 1993. Besides the UN and Ethiopia, delegations from the Western nations, Africa, Arab countries and others participated actively in the first three meetings that were held in Addis Ababa in 1993 and I was the Deputy-Chief Delegate of the Ethiopian delegation to those meetings. The leaders of Somalia's warring factions met face to face for the first time but nothing tangible come out of that first meeting. Several member of our delegation met with the warlords and their delegations at the Ghion hotel before they left and told them to include in their next delegations representatives of their communities, like elders, women's groups, doctors and other with the intentions that the Somalis might interact more among themselves and the next meeting might be more productive, however, the foreign Minister was upset by our move and ordered us not to take further actions in the future without his consent and knowledge. The second meeting was on 11-13 March 1993 and it started in more optimistic atmosphere since the warlords were shaking hands without our interventions and more than one thousand Somalis participated. However, I noticed policy changes in the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry, which started to favour some of the warlords. The Ethiopian delegation was instructed for the first time to keep in mind Ethiopia's interests as a priority during these meetings and the whole attitudes of the Ethiopian government changed to the opposite of its originally declared policies. Again, the foreign minister through the instructions of Meles informed our delegation that some of the warlords were hostile to Ethiopia while others were friendlier and hence the latter should be put in power in Somalia. At the same time the foreign ministry started to provide secretly large amounts of money to the pro-Ethiopian warlords so that they will not sign to the agreements at all unless it was in our interests and later on, the Minister of defense was order similarly to supply arms to the friendlier warlords. It was of utmost importance in keeping these maneuvers secretly from the other Somali warlords, the UN and other international delegates, particularly those from the Western Nations and their Embassies in Addis Ababa. At this point in time, I complained to Meles about our policy changes, but he told me that we will support the pro-Ethiopia warlords. Now, I came to realize the motives of why Ethiopia wanted in the first place the meetings to be held in Addis Ababa, which were to road block in the reconciliation of the warring factions and thus prevent the creation of a national government of unity in Somalia. The meeting in March ended with the Somali warring factions more divided than ever and the delegates headed home once more empty handed. Within a month the pro-Ethiopian warlords were invited back to Addis Ababa and as guests of the foreign ministry stayed in lavish hotels with all services available and more secret meetings were planned. I wasn't invited to these secret meetings, but was still able to get information through some of the members of our delegation who weren't TPLF. The 3rd meeting was held in Addis Ababa on November 29-December 03, 1993. Meles refused my request to be excluded from the Ethiopian delegation saying that such a move will cause suspicions to the Somali factions. They knew my stand and excluded me from the briefings of our delegation with Meles as they continued to plan for the failure of the meeting. Again, the third meeting concluded in absolute chaos and with the Somali warring factions much further and further apart than they were in their first meeting of January 1993, but for the Ethiopian regime it ended with success in accordance to its hidden plans towards the peace process, reconciliation and rehabilitation of Somalia. Also it should be absolutely and without any doubt understood that Ethiopia wasn't or isn't opposing only to the creation of a national government in Somalia but does so against any Somali region that was or is peaceful and stable in line with its policy of divide and rule the Somalis and Somalia. To that effect, towards the end of 1993, The Ethiopian regime become anxious about the peace, stability and unity of the Somalis in the self-declared republic of Somaliland and thus started planning for possible actions in order to alleviate its concerns. The Ethiopian government invited a group of politicians from some of the clans in Somaliland to Addis Ababa and successfully kept this event as secretly as possible. Abdulmajid Hussein Bare, who was the external economic cooperation minister of Ethiopia was appointed to be fully responsible for that secret operation, where he prepared all the necessary arrangements. For over a month the group met secretly at his residence and several times with Meles and his foreign minister at their residences and finally, the group unilaterally declared that they were against the succession of Somaliland and joined the warring factions in Mogadishu. It must be noted and clearly understand that at this point in time, Ethiopia wasn't advocating at all for the unity of Somalia, but was rather concerned with the peace, unity and stability of Somaliland and was simply trying to weaken it. Those maneuvers have led to the outbreak of the terrible civil war in Somaliland during 1994-1995, and the group hasn't been allowed to return home since than and are an opposition to it. Again, look at what Ethiopia is currently doing to the Somalis in Puntland, a region that has been successfully peaceful and stable for the last decade! The foreign ministry used to provide secretly money to the pro-Ethiopian Somali warlords mostly just the night before the reconciliation agreement signing day in Addis Ababa, and I am convinced that had the meetings were held in any other East African country or elsewhere in the World, Somalis would have reconciled and a viable central government could have been established during 1993-1994. Ethiopia has tried since early 1993 until today with its power, influences and efforts to prevent the formation of a national government of unity in Somalia. The Ethiopian Empire has been held together by force for centuries and now most of the nations and nationalities are opting for their right for self-determination and is not capable of conquering Somalia, but might use some warlords to occupy their regions on behalf of Ethiopia and thereby create mini-Somalia regions under it's indirect rule!! Meles is not concerned with the development of poverty ridden Ethiopia, but does so in staying power in line with his long believes in Marxist-Leninism ideology. I remember the night when Meles invited the late General Mohamed Farah Aidid at his residence in December, 1993. Upon our arrival, he greeted Aidid warmly and said with raised voice: "Aidid, you are the Hero of Africa!" and congratulated him for fighting against the Americans in that terrible day of October the 3rd, 1993 in Mogadishu. Clearly, he was happy of that human tragedy, asked about the fighting and later on said: "Americans deserve what has happened to them and Africa needs more sons like you". But now, he is showing one of his other faces as being pro-American. The fact is that he is a man of many words! Look at his friendly way of paying back the failed nation, Somalia? Who on earth is going to trust him? he can deceive some people sometimes but he can't deceive all the people all the times!!! Meles officially opened the first Somali meeting in Addis Ababa on January 03, 1993 and said repeatedly in his speech: "My Somali brothers and sisters, Ethiopia has no hidden agendas towards Somalia by hosting these meetings in Addis Ababa and we are willing to help you at any cost". This was a dishonesty statement but the Somalis in the meeting honestly believed him and clapped their hands with joy and happiness and many of them instantly said: "May be he is a Somali, he is more of a Somali than us!!!" This man is a hypocrite and that is clearly shown by his destructive intentions towards Somalia, a nation that has practically brought him to power. Some confused Somalis might argue that Ethiopia has allowed the Somalis to live and stay in Ethiopia following the civil war in Somalia, but the Somalis were bringing millions of dollars to the impoverished economy of Ethiopia. Look at Ethiopia's current actions: why doesn't it allow the Somalis to reside in Ethiopia without the so called special ID cards for the Somalis only, even including the Ethiopian-Somalis? Meles told me in 1993: "Somali clans queue up for my office, each one claiming to be the largest and friendlier to us, however, we know that they are united in their long hate and enmity against Ethiopia". Whether some warlords or clans like the Ethiopians or not, for them the bottom line is: A Somali is a Somali, period! May be you are living in illusions with the temporary 'friendships' that will be simply terminated any time the present Ethiopian regime loses its grip on power or while its still in power! This man has been using some Somali warlords to his advantages; just imagine the Somali generals, colonels and politicians destroying Somalia upon the command of young junior Ethiopian military officers? What more goals could Ethiopia have achieved so easily and cheaply in this historic period? Tribalism which is the true opium of the Somalis has been practiced early in the civilization of mankind; unfortunately, Somalis trust and worship it even now and usually close their eyes and turn a deaf ear to the truth if it compromises into their tribal oriented interests and ideological thinking. Most of the Somali politicians and intellectuals practice tribal-based politics, which is not compatible with the modern way of governing in the 21st century. Somali politicians and intellectuals must wake up now!, the ball has been at your corner for along time and it is time to re-evaluate fully your responsibility to the Somali society and act responsibly with positive attitudes for the future of the Somalis and Somalia in this World, keeping in mind that unless you decide to change the present history course of Somalia by yourselves, no body is going to do it for you! Hopefully the Somalis will come back to think rationally, use their sense of reasonable judgment and work to bring Somalia back to its feet as a nation. Somalis must forgive each other, lessen or stop practicing tribalism and put national interest as a priority rather than self or the clan for the sake of reconciliation and nation building in Somalia. Whatever happened to the qualities of the Somalis, for the time being they are living in low life and have buried their dignity, patriotism and nationalism for clan and selfish interests! Ethiopia is considered to be the poorest nation in the World by many experts, but has been supplying arms worthy millions of dollars to the pro-Ethiopian warlords for the last eight years. The truth is that these weapons will haunt back Ethiopia sooner or later; what goes around will come back to you! Ethiopia is a landlocked country but isn't planning to use permanently even one of Somalia's several seaports that have been lured to it freely by the pro-Ethiopian factions, but has signed an agreement with Sudan to use permanently it's seaport at Port Sudan!!! Pro-Ethiopian factions, whether you like it or not the fact is that the over a century suspicions, mistrusts and enmity between the Ethiopians and the Somalis are still strong and alive and Ethiopia is using you for it's short term interests only and doesn't honestly trust you at all for a long ride!!! The Western Nations and the UN should understand the basis of the over a century hostility between Ethiopia and Somalia. Ethiopian regime's destabilizing policies against some of its neighboring countries in East Africa must not be underestimated. Ethiopian soldiers frequently cross the border into Somalia and thereby loot and terrorize the suffering Somalis. Besides, this regime is terrorizing its own citizens, particularly the Somalis and the Oromo, and there are 4-5 million Ethiopian-Somalis who have been exposed to long hidden atrocities, gross human rights violations and are presently living in subhuman conditions in the Somali region of Ethiopia, under it's illegal colonization against their will and consent. These Somalis will keep on pressing their long struggle of fighting injustice until they get back all their human dignities and rights, including their basic principle right of self-determination, all of which have been stolen and hidden from them as well as the World by successive brutal Ethiopian governments for over a century, the present one being the worst of all of them!!! Finally, the World, and particularly the Western Nations, has turned its back to the plight of Somalia for the last eight years, while its hostile neighboring Ethiopia has taken Somalia's internal affairs into its own hands uncensored. Let us say as an example that Pakistan become like present Somalia! Would the Western Nations and the UN have requested India to assist and come up with solutions in establishing a government of national unity in Pakistan or vice versa? Personally, I don't think so and the enmity between Ethiopia and Somalia is older and worse than theirs. Why is Ethiopia propagating massive propagandas against this failed nation, Somalia? The truth to this question is that Ethiopia is trying to deceive the Western Nations in order to get economic aid and arms that it will use against some of its neighbors in East Africa. Now, it is high time for the merciful, compassionate and peace loving Western Nations, the UN and the rest of the World to start to help and come up with viable solutions to the desperate situation in anarchized Somalia, brought on by the more than decade old civil war. Besides, Ethiopia should be told clearly once and for all to take off its brutal and destructive hands from the internal affairs of Somalia. January 30, 2002