Unveiling Somalia's Islamists

[N.O.R.F]

By Rashid Abdi

BBC Focus On Africa magazine

 

The Islamist alliance, the Union of Islamic Courts, may have succeeded in gaining control in much of Somalia, but, having defeated the country's warlords, the papered-over cracks in the alliance are now becoming more noticeable.

 

The UIC is split between its Salafist and Qutubist tendencies, led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and moderate cleric Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, respectively.

 

Mr Aweys, on the US list of those allegedly linked to terrorism, is widely believed to be the genius behind the military campaign that led to the UIC's victory.

 

But while he was secretly planning, Mr Ahmed, a Sudanese-trained former secondary school teacher, was slowly carving a niche for himself in the international media as the acceptable face of political Islam in Somalia.

 

World Cup crackdown

 

Mr Aweys converted to radical political Islam in the early 1990s and joined al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, a group that, like the UIC, brought together various strains of modern political Islam.

 

But al-Itihaad was defeated by Ethiopian forces and militia loyal to Puntland leader Abdullahi Yusuf - now Somalia's interim president - and Mr Aweys retreated to his home region in central Somalia.

 

Later, he went to Mogadishu and began a period of self-education, which observers say led him to the Salafi ideology.

 

This doctrine, an off-shoot of the Saudi Wahhabi school, seeks to promote a version of Islam that emphasises ritual purity.

 

It frowns upon all forms of bid'a, or modern innovation, and it was in this context that UIC-aligned militiamen cracked down on cinemas showing World Cup football matches.

 

The Salafi ideology regards television and sports as lahw - vulgar past-times - and is both opposed to rationalism and virulently anti-modernist.

 

Salafis favour a rigid and literal interpretation of Islamic texts and regard other Muslim sects as deviants. They teach against compromise and holy war is the pivot around which their beliefs revolve.

 

Ambitions

 

The Somali counter-current to Salafism is Qutubism, which owes its birth to the Egyptian Islamist thinker Sayyid Qutub and his book In The Shade Of The Koran.

 

Qutub's vision is less atavistic than the Salafist vision and his critique of modern Western civilization is, in the main, not too extreme.

 

And it is Mr Ahmed who has emerged as its principle proponent in Somalia, speaking in favour of engagement with the West and with the transitional government.

 

But in a society where the gun rules, it is difficult to see how he can become a powerful player. Real power lies with Mr Aweys.

 

And given the deep grudge he bears President Yusuf following al-Itihaad's bloody defeat, he may capitalise on his new-found power to make life difficult for the weak president and further his ambitions for a Greater Somalia.

 

Meanwhile in Mogadishu, the situation is further complicated by inter-clan rivalries, as well as the apparent resurgence of the traditional mainstream Sunni sects that are creating their own Islamic courts in a bid to counter the influence of the UIC.

 

There have been suggestions that violence could break out between the rival Islamic groups as they jostle for power.

 

Backlash

 

At the moment, Mr Aweys needs Mr Ahmed to mollify the critics of the UIC at home and abroad, but a major falling-out is inevitable at some stage.

 

Indeed, Mr Ahmed has hinted at resigning in an interview with the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper.

 

The Islamists are fast squandering the public goodwill they earned since they ousted the hated warlords.

 

Liberal-minded Somalis feel uncomfortable with their puritanical creed. Islam in Somalia has traditionally been moderate, relaxed and tolerant.

 

But not only have the UIC's moral vigilantes raided cinema halls, but they have also stormed wedding parties and mixed-sex gatherings.

 

Petty traders are also unhappy with the high taxes imposed by the UIC. There have been protests, some bloody, in UIC-controlled towns such as Jowhar, north of the capital.

 

The honeymoon now appears to be over for the UIC. In Somalia's chaotic and fluid political landscape, a major backlash against the courts cannot be ruled out.

 

bbc

[xiinfaniin]

Northern, this author got it wrong. There’s no ideological rift between Sh. Aweys and Shariif. The only difference between them as far as I can tell is their style. If there’s something to worry about it is the priority gab between Courts real , and not the perceived, military branch and its political wing, i say.

 

The combination of Ayrow (whom I know very little about), Hasan Turk (an uncompromising ideologue and deeply-jihad-committed man), and Ibrahim Afghani (a military genius and daring tactician in his own right) is quite a challenge for the Court’s political leaders like Sharif and SH. Aweys. Most military successes that Courts achieved were due to these three leaders and their battle-hardened men. They command a well-desciplined army that defies the norms of Somalia’s clannish militias. They are more interested in fighting than indulging themselves in tedious political dealings with the TFG and other regional entities. These are the men who made it possible for the Courts to win so quickly and overwhelmingly and thusly have a say as to what the final shape of this movement would look like. Their confidence in defeating their adversaries, I heard, is quite amazing that they actually prefer an open conflict with the entity in Baidabo! My heart kinda agrees with them, my head though says some thing else.

 

Shiekh Aweys on the other hand is a man well liked and greatly admired among the sons of Somali sahwah and he has deep connections within the organized dacwah movement that goes beyond Mogadishu. He remains the only (effective) link between the Courts and the rest of Somali dacwah in other regions. Sharif, though relatively newcomer to the dacwah scene, has a wining charm to him and his effortless eloquence won him many admirers and got him established in the wider sahwah establishment. The two and other likeminded ones in the Courts leadership have recently invited most Muslim scholars in Somalia to Mogadishu and welcomed thier input to leverage this accidental success. They both do see the possibility of unified Islamic front to the prevailing political culture of warlodism and separatism. Unlike the military wing, they seem to want that to come through peaceful means and strive to avoid more conflicts. This time my head finds no difficulty in comprehending their approach. So the challenge is not about reconciling between Court’s two public faces we see in the media but it’s a one of getting its victorious military wing and its political side in synch.

 

Case in point: as we now know the Kismayo take-over was not the result of a Courts political plan; it came about because men like Turk and Afghani insisted upon it and when saw Courts political wing hesitation actually went ahead with it and succeeded. The Courts, I was told, finally embraced Ayrow’s, Turk’s and Afgani’s decision as it delivered a military victory that had obviously won an overwhelming support from the locals. Court’s political wing reactively managed the victory as it were and put a recognizable face on the Kismayo episode.

 

So far things are working very well and the Islamic Courts that have started in Mogadishu are beginning to take a more of national shape and gradually loosing their local scent. Although that itself is a political milestone and a hopeful sign that good days are ahead of us, the coming days are however not going to be easy.

 

Lets all pray they succeed.

[Taleexi]

I believe this article lacks substance and objectivety and graded D-

[N.O.R.F]

Northern, this author got it wrong

I think its fair to say that!

[Chimera]

 

[NASSIR]

Xinfanin, Don't they have Morgan in contrast to Afghani?

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

 

 

Classic picture. I can just imagine what the two good sheikhs are laughing about.

 

Shariif: "hehehe, halkee hadda ku shidnaa Sheikh?"

Aweys: "hehee, Hiiraale aan dhegaha ku dhufano marka hore, deedna Galkacyo aynu shaydaanka ka cuudino"

Shariif: "Hehehe. Sheikh, Baydhabona?"

Awey: "Cabsi ayaynu ku ridi oo keliya daalimiinta halkaa isugu tagey. Taaban mayno. hehehe"

Shariif: "hehehe, hadalku waa xidhan yahay Sheikh"

[N.O.R.F]

^^lol

 

my take,,,

 

After the Presidents assassination attempt,,,

 

Sharif: Sheik Cabdillahi Yusuf sidu u-ordey ma-aragtey?

Aweys: ehehehe, dubaabad ka dheere!

Sharif & Aweys together: hahahahah

[Haashim]

Shariif "Ninkii Hiiraale ah muxuu la cararay?"

 

Aweys "Indhacadde hadalkiisii baa cayriyay"

 

Shariif haahaahaaa "Raggiisii ma ku biiri doonaa?

 

Aweys "Baydhabuu ugu tegehayaa" hahahaaa

 

Shariif "Shabeellada hoosaa inoo hartay"

 

Awys "Indhacadde wuu dhiibahayaa"

[Didi Kong]

Sheikh Sharif is on the right. Although from my humble assesments he seems like a reasonable man who is very patient with the fringe elements in his unit who are too radical, he is got to be assertive enough to say 'waryaada aniga i dhageysta' when they start calling the shots.