Gabbal Posted February 23, 2006 The rise of Somalia's Islamic courts tips balance of power Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) February 23, 2006 Mogadishu - Calm has returned to the Somali capital Mogadishu as people return to their homes after fleeing four days of heavy fighting between a group calling itself Alliance for Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism and the city's hardline Islamic court militias. Following the fighting, the worst in recent years, the two sides are currently in talks aimed at agreeing a ceasefire. Yet many Somalis say that the continuing battle for control of Mogadishu has revealed the Islamic courts to be an increasingly influential power base in a city dominated by rival warlords. The warlords-turned-politicians formed the new alliance to curb the growing power of the brutal but efficient courts, which are currently the only functioning law enforcement agency in the war- scarred city and are widely support by a population tired of conflict. One of the main leaders of the Alliance, Mohammed Qanyare Afrah, who is also a government minister in the transitional government has accused the courts of having links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network and has threatened to capture and hand over the court leaders to US forces. The sharia courts' union is led by a charismatic 45-year-old imam, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed Siyar, a hardliner who was largely unknown in Somali politics until his election to the head of the courts union. Some of the courts' leaders are former members of al-Ittihad al- Islami, a militant Islamist organization thatis listed by the United States as a terrorist organization. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweis, a former al-Ittihad leader, and currently a leader of the Sharia courts union has repeatedly denied any al-Qaeda link, but makes no secret of the court's ambition to install Islamic rule in Somalia. Some community leaders told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that while there are militant Islamist leaders within the courts' leadership, they fear that Somalis will baulk at any hint of foreign intervention in its religious affairs. The courts first emerged in the southern part of the city in 1992 as the Islamic disciplinary unit that amputated the right hand of a 20-year-old youth accused of stealing. It has since steadily rose in prominence and power, with its brand of rough justice respected by many locals who say it does not discriminate between social status and clan affiliation. The courts' militia of about 1,500 members are reportedly well armed, more disciplined than other militias and their numbers are periodically bolstered by fighters of warlords who agree with the courts' faith-based political agenda. Last year the courts raided film dubbing studios, after banning the watching of movies during the holy month of Ramadan, calling them immoral. Mogadishu has a thriving business of more than 800 video kiosks where the city's residents can watch mainly action flicks for a small fee. Meanwhile, rival factions of President Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed's transitional government are preparing for the first parliamentary session on Somali soil since the divided administration was formed in Nairobi, Kenya in 2004. It is widely expected that the emergence of the Islamic courts as a political and military force will be high on the agenda at Sunday's scheduled meeting, where all 270 legislators are expected to convene together with representatives from the international community. The row between the president, interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and parliament speaker Sharif Hassan has paralysed the fledgling administration, prompting two rival government bases - one in Mogadishu led by Hassan, and one in Jowhar 90 kilometres from the capital, where President Ahmed has been holed up. Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur , Feb. 23, 2006 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
