Politics in the Mosque

[Rahima]

Sister, I am not speaking about Somaliweyn as such, rather what I was saying was that the establishment of an Islamic state is part of our faith and therefore the unification of Somalis is a stepping stone to the eventual unification of all the Muslims under the one leader. I hope that makes sense for I can’t possibly make it any clearer .

 

Nationalism is against Islam, but who was talking about nationalism (Spadez) :confused: ? I was referring to the unarguable point that to further divide the Muslim lands (including Somalia) is against the teachings and doctrine of Islam because of the rationale that we are to work towards the eventual unification and formation of the one land. I seem to be repeating myself, but I believe that is only because the point I am making is so simple, it does not involve nationalism or any such issues rather what our diin establishes for us all to follow.

 

Therefore, once again I ask you sister Yasemin (this time I hope I have made myself better understood) how you come to such a conclusion (with daleel of course, it is always part of Islam that we ask proof of everything).

 

Jazaakum Allahu Khayr

[Ace of Spadez]

Sister, Somaliweyn is only for Somalis. To me something that is only for a specific ethnicity is dead wrong. There is no such thing as a stepping stone. Either you declare a Muslim country for all muslims, including all those in east africa, or you forget about bringing Islam into the concept of Somaliweyn. It is a mistake to equate Somaliweyn to Islamic principles. Islam teaches that we unite. If that unity is missing, what is the difference between one nationalist state, vs another? Why can't Somaliland wait for that Unity Somaliweyn will wait with the rest of the world? I think its a sliperry slope to even bring Islam to Somali Politics, because Somali politics reeks... you will only be dragging Islam through the mud.

[Warmoog]

Rahima,

Walaal, firstly, thanks for the explanation. I understand your stance much better. You’re essentially saying Somali Weyn is an initiative to achieving the quintessential Islamic state because, before the Ummah can unify on a large scale, Muslims have to unify on smaller scales (communal, national, etc.). That’s a valid argument and, to some extent, I agree with it. But I don’t think nationalism, as we’ve known it in the Horn since the mid 20th century, is at all linked to Islam.

 

I view the Somali Weyn ideology as being the Somali equivalent of nationalism. I think it’s important to understand that it’s not an ancient or pristine concept. In reality, it’s a product of the form of political consciousness that came into being during the pre-union years. Exactly how that political consciousness was generated in the former colonies is something that I hope to one-day study and analyze more closely. But what I’m trying to say is, like all other forms of nationalism, Somali Weyn was a construct invented by people with specific political objectives in mind. In the case of the Somali colonies, I think it was articulated as a way to generate public sentiment against colonial presence… in an effort to initiate the struggle for independence on a wider scale. If you look at other nations that were seeking independence from colonialists during the mid 20th century, you’ll notice they all had to forge their own brands of nationalism too. As far being a political tool used for specific means (ex: unify a population, motivate them, generate a specific sentiment, etc.) nationalism worked then and it still does today.

 

Unfortunately, I think nationalism is a relatively malleable concept and it remains a tool for the ruling elite, regardless of what political ideology they’re following. For instance (since you’ve asked me to use examples I’ll use Somalia), during the reign of our first two presidents, Somali Weyn was representative of the nation as a secular democracy. During Siyaad Barre’s rule, however, it came to be associated with a secular socialist dictatorship. The common denominator here being that Somali Weyn has, thus far in recent history, been associated with secularism, not Islam. This is one of the reasons why I’m generally skeptical of the ideology. Although I appreciate the unification aspects of Somali Weyn, I’m not willing to blindly support it until I see it being associated with a government that I approve of.

 

Sister, you’ve said yourself that nationalism is against Islam. Yet, you see Somali Weyn (i.e. Somali nationalism) as being a stepping-stone to an Islamic state. It leads one to ask, how can something that’s against Islam be used to attain an Islamic ideal?

 

Salaamz.

[Qac Qaac]

LET'S CHANGE THE POLITICAL SECTION INTO SOMALILAND SECTION. since every topic in here is some how about somali land, whether is the passport, or anti- somaliland. i hope u reading this admin.