O.N.L.F WARNS PETRONAS

[Abtigiis]

The ****** National Liberation Front (ONLF) has stated on multiple occasions that we will not allow the exploitation of the oil and gas wealth of our country as long as our people are denied their legitimate rights to self-determination. In that context, the ONLF affirms that if reports that Petronas will resume oil exploration activities in ****** are true, this will not be tolerated.

 

When our people reclaim their rights to self-determination, all legitimate ventures aimed at exploiting the oil and gas wealth of our country will be entertained. However, until such time, all companies interested in engaging in such activities should be on notice that the ****** is a war zone and that the Ethiopian regime does not have effective control of ******, nor does it have the legitimacy to enter into contracts on behalf of our people.

 

Petronas and similar companies should consider the damage to their reputation if they effectively enter into a contract with a regime engaged in war crimes and crimes against humanity in ******. These companies would be better served by seeking to play a role in resolving the long standing conflict between the Somali people of ****** and successive Ethiopian regimes so that they can pursue their economic interests in an environment where they are welcomed by the people.

 

We urge Petronas to exercise corporate responsibility and steer clear of ****** so long as our people are victims of genocide and their rights to determine their own future are violently denied. To do anything less would be to act as an accomplice to a regime engaged in yet another African genocide.

 

****** National Liberation Front (ONLF)

http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/8153

 

Source: Ethiopian Review

[Nur]

Ayatollah bro.

 

The charter of the ONLF reads:

 

" The ONLF is a grassroots social and political movement founded in 1984 by the Somali people of OGDN who could no longer bear the atrocities committed against them by successive Ethiopian regimes. Today, the ONLF as both an advocate for and defender of the people is dedicated to resotring the rights of Somalis in OGDN to self-determination, peace, development and democracy"

 

I cant find Islam in their charter, in its place I see Democracy, which is contradictory to Islam, and the clan based name, which takes the place of all Somalis who live in the 5th region who are as oppressed and exterminated as well. Its unfortunate that this movement is acting more secular than the other movements in the region, please educate me more on this organization as my knowledge is quite limited.

 

Nur

[Johnny B]

Sheik Nur,

Not that i in my wildest fantasies try to sit for AT&T ( the man is capable ), but let me address a part of your(point of contention )question regarding the ONLF, as I've no intention reveling in another grotesque definition of Democracy vs Islam.

 

The Clan name in the ONLF comes from the Name given to the Somali territory (occupied today by Ethiopia) by the colonials, it's a historical continuation of our(Somalis)plight in the colonial hands,but that you take issue with the Clan-name in the ONLF does not seem to be where the grudge is.

 

Without questioning your motives, what difference would it make given that the name of the organization that offers resistance ( an armed one ) to the Ethiopian confiscation of a Somali-land consisted the name of another Somali Clan in front of the occupation.?

 

if none , why does it matter, Sheik?

 

If you've an issue with the ONLF as an organization (secular in your view),then please educate them and the gallery for that matter why would being religious organization benefit the ONLF better.

[Abtigiis]

Dear Sheik Nur,

 

Many thanks for asking. I will give you a breif summary of two paragraphs. But I will like you to go and see the background below which is taken from an article I wrote in 2006.

 

I will like to say that how the name come up and what the organisation should be called is not the real issue. For your information, the ONLF have repeatedly called on other clans in the region, for example, in Jigjiga, Shinile and Liben to organise themselves in whatever name they deem right and resist the colonisers. It offered to consider the change of name should that condition be met. Despite the claim of the region, it is only fighting in OGN clan inhabited areas and is not trying to impose its will on other clans. What holds others from taking up the gun is the mystery?????

 

The ONLF has also not included Islam in its official charter in order not to face the wrath of the west. They understand that Ethiopia will use it to undermine their 'non-religious' localised aspirations. I think that is prudent. But, I don't think the name Islam will disappear from the charter of a free Somaligalbeed under the leadership of ONLF.

 

-------------

BACKGROUND

 

The acrimony over the name ‘OGDN’ and the disarray among Somali’s

 

The name OGDN in the ONLF has started to generate an untimely dispute and rancor; Untimely, because there should have been other priorities. Yes, the name is the genesis of the acrimony; but certainly not the most difficult to resolve. I will ask a question here, just to show what the real difference is? What should we do now as Somali’s in the region? For the sake of the argument, let us shelf the name and agree on Somali-galbeed or a generic ‘Hawd area’ for that matter. Among the likely answers will be:

 

- Let us come together, take a common name and continue the struggle

- Let us stop the fight and seek ‘our rights’, ‘peacefully’: this will need a definition of ‘rights’ and ‘peacefully’. That subjectivity and vagueness is bound to divide people further, I presume.

- We ended up in this situation because ONLF chose to fight

- No, we are here because we refused to be ‘colonized’ again : this time under a ‘sugar-coated’ pseudo-federalism label

- Business can be done with the regime in Addis Ababa

- No. no more tricks. We should fight for our rights. After all, freedom is earned, not given as alms.

- We should unite first, then fight

- No, we can’t wait to unite under occupation. The lack of unity is not an exogenous factor. It is an endogenous one. That factor has to disappear, first.

 

These are, by no means, the only answers. I will ask the readers to add theirs. Nor do the questions end there: Each answer will branch out a myriad of questions. The following ones might be some:

 

- If business can be done with Addis Ababa, What business? To what end?

- Ought the struggle to be for self-determination or for ensuring rights ‘within Ethiopia’? Can our rights be ensured in Ethiopia, anyway? What are the risks, expectations and fall back plans for shocks?

- Who do we define ourselves as? Somalis or Ethiopian?

- What vision do we have for our progeny and for posterity? What culture?

 

The intention here is neither to give answers or suggestions to these difficult questions nor to solicit opinions on this. It is simply to illustrate that the divisions are much more deep than the name.

 

Coming back to the name, proponents include those who are adamant that the region was called ‘OGDN’ and should be called so. This group is not necessarily a collection of tribalists. Most of these people argue from historical perspective and the ‘dual’ advantages that name will have for the struggle against Abyssinian occupation: we are not Ethiopian; nor followers of ‘Somali irredentism’. Another group is tribalists who cling to the name ‘to the letter’ and would not like to accommodate others’ concerns: now or in the future.

 

Opponents are equally diverse. Some are those who are the other side of the coin of the latter group of the proponents: OGDN-phobes who get goose pimples at the mention of that name. And, would rather live under ‘Christian’ occupation; than those they detest. Others are those who don’t understand why another Somali clan would use a name that is not inclusive at the expense of one that is just fit for everybody. These ones are suspicious of a hidden agenda; but not necessarily hostile to the other clan or less ‘nationalists’. A third group is beneficiaries of the current ‘TPLF’ regime and aspirants for the loot in the region: not from any particular clan; but a coterie of opportunists from Liben to Qabridahar. Their rainbow colours also mirror their arguments for and against the ONLF and the struggle.

 

Not surprisingly, arguments for subordination range from we should ‘develop’ ourselves first; we would have enjoyed more rights had there been no rebellion against the Tigres, and so on. That argument holds little water in the face of the evidence on the ground. The land annexed to Oromia, as an appeasement, is Babile, Chinac-sani, and Diredawa. Not the land of the ‘rebellious’ clans. And Danbal is not much developed than Danan. Yes, most of those killed are from the ‘rebellious’ clan; but also at least it is in this clan’s areas that almost 100% of the civil servants are from the locals-not highlanders; as opposed to Awbare and Shinile.

 

On the proponents side, yes the region was called OGDN (which areas were under this name is disputed), but the challenges today are different. A significant level of animosity has been created by a powerful enemy as part of its ‘divide and rule’ policy. Furthermore, the disintegration of Somalia and the death of Somali nationalism severely undermined trust among us; and most importantly we are in changing and dynamic environment and need to change with the times. Intellectual obsolescence is manifested by sticking to ideas or names clearly no more applicable to the facts on the ground. Change of strategy must be in the menu of true freedom fighters and prudent leaders. I call upon the ONLF to initiate wide ranging political discussions among the ‘nationalist’ Somali’s in the region with the prospect of changing the name. For now, I am of the view, changing the name will only have a symbolic importance as opposed to substantial result. Why? The SNM name didn’t helped to propel others to join in the fight in the North-Western Somalia. Many still associated the name with a particular clan. Yet, symbolic moves to accommodate the feelings of the wider public are a manifestation of political maturity and would allay fears of nationalist sections.

 

The ‘nationalist’ Somalis would do justice to themselves if they play a proactive role in initiating such discussions and most importantly denounce the massacres of their brothers as a good-will gesture. It is one thing to oppose a functioning and in many cases creditable organization like ONLF; it is quite another to sit and wait who will win the ongoing battle. “…they come for the communist, and then the Jews, and then…” It could be you next time around. Who knows what would have happened to the people of Somali-galbeed and the flicker of identity they hold onto until today, had it not been for the gallant struggle of the ONLF!!

[Nur]

JB

 

Political and Militant movements have a definite purpose for their existence, the ONLF is not different, if I go by their charter, which is noble, as it aspires to free the Somali people in the 5th region from Ethiopian slavery. Reason I have a qualm with the clan name is that its divisive and not unifying as desired. As long as every clan seeks freedom on its own, its assured that they will be played by one on other.

 

And of course, without Islam, Muslims will never win their freedoms, Islam gives any Muslim individual or a community an identity and a purpose to live for and if needed spend wealth and life for its sake.

 

 

Ayatullah bro.

 

As long as we hide behind " Nationalist" slogans and causes, which is the language acceptable to the western mindset, we will always be forced to play the game on their terms, not ours, and as long we play the game on their terms, they will always win the game. Only Islam can unify the nation to liberate it, which is precisely why Islam is being fiercely opposed by western politicians and their clients.

 

 

Nur

[Abtigiis]

Nur

 

There is a group called The Union of Western Somali Liberation Front -an Islamic group with roots to Al-Itixaad Al Islaamiya. They are opertaing in the Somaligalbeed region, and the fighters are mainly coming from the same clan as that of the ONLF. Why is not others joining????? Surely Somaligalbeed is not divisive!!

 

I fully agree with your general conclusion, but I think people tend not to see that the name is the least divider when it comes to the issue of self-determination in Somaligalbeed. Maxaa reerihii kale haysta oo u diiday inay arkaan dulmiga iyo dhulka la qaadanayo????ONLF's secetraian policy is one problem. Haye. Whatelse? Why not join the UWSLF? Or form a new one?

 

Bal arintaa aad ha loo eego.

[S.O.S]

Brother Nur,

 

Since you've stated that your knowledge is quite limited, let me share with you the fundamental scales that I use as my guiding principles when it comes to the judgement of ONLF. To base the discussions simply on the prefix name to their movement or the ill-conceived marketing charter (both of which are secondary to our main considerations, but I'm more than willing to elaborate thoroughly FYI) are inward looking diversions that will lead to more catastrophic harm to Somalis everywhere than bring any benefits.

 

Consideration 1: Natural resources

Let us take the initiating topic of this thread as our first consideration. The impression given in the above statement posted by A&T is that the gas and oil exploration activities are still at the exploration stage. This is factually major understatement for two reasons; 1) no profit-seeking-risk-assessing company will be willing to invest in contracts at the exploration stage and 2) Ethiopia is too desperate to confine itself when there are far quicker and easier alternatives. The only project still at exploration stage is that in Oballe region. In Hargeelle, the exploration stage has been completed long time ago, whereas in Hillaale at least 20 well are at the pumps installation stage. However, it's Jeexdin where there are almost 30 pumps already installed and ready for use. The number of countries and companies that have worked on these projects are too numerous to mention, but I have their names so let me know if need any of these.

 

If you thought that world's 'superpowers' are aiding and armouring Ethiopia in their fight against Somalis, what do you think would have been the result if they had vested interest that included economic, material and energy security? More importantly, imagine the power of Ethiopia with a vast source of steady stream income and the impact it would have on those resisting them with moderate means? ONLF is the only obstacle to such a catastrophic outcome right now. We used to have an effective alternative in the region, especially in mid 1990s before American F-16s started fighting side by side with the Ethiopians and bombed them into practically non-existence, who where Islamic in their ideological movement despite many shortcomings. It's up to us to ignite anew similar revival that will liberate us this time for good, but until such time, there is no other strategically alternative front.

 

Consideration 2: Population

Head of the World Bank in Ethiopia, Ishac Diwan, said in 2003 the following:

 

"in 2050 there will be 150 million Ethiopians of which 50 or 60 million will be in the cities. You do not want to have the remaining population of a 100 million or so, in the highlands. The situation in the highlands is already unsustainable, and parts of the area are in a Malthusian trap with poor farmers eating up the land, with soil degradation and soil losses due to deforestation. So you have 30 or 40 million that have to be somewhere else. There is a lot of land in the country that is not used. There is a limit to how many livelihoods can be sustained on the highlands. Take advantage of the rivers in the fertile plains in the lowlands. There are three to four million hectares that could be irrigated."

 

It may be one of the few instances where such statements are made in public, but the policy objectives are not new. Mass expulsion of general populace has frequently occurred in the past through various means and tactics. My grandmother for example, narrowly escaped with my mother as a child in the 1960s when their village, cattle and all means of livelihood was burnt, men rounded up and executed. Tactics not too dissimilar to that carried out by the Jews against Palestinians, one that you organise your terrorisation in a way that predetermine even the direction to which the terrorised are able to flee. Much of its success also depends on the 'international' organisations such as the UN in creating refugee camps as pools of attraction to encourage and facilitate mass exodus at borders to whatever distance and direction necessary. Few camps in Somalia come immediately to mind.

 

There were other more direct social engineering projects funded by various countries and agencies. The flagship projects were that of the early 1980s by the Derg regime when they resettled thousands of farmers from the drought-affected areas of highlands Wollo and Tigray in Qoraxey, Jarar, Fafan, and Welmal (these settlers eventually fled back to where they came from). Other well-known endeavours from that period were the Godey cotton project and Godey State Farm – these have also been on the drawing board of current regime for the last 10 years and they have so far not succeeded to implement their designs completely. Western countries are concerned with long-term future of Ethiopia and have identified social engineering and resettlements as the magic bullet to maintain its existence; UN, World Bank, IMF and other 'international' agencies have shown that they are all too willing supporters who can't wait to start implementing the programs. There are also ample willing donors to guarantee the fees. Any sane person would concede that in fact it was Al-Ittixaad first (by Allah's leave), and now these young men who had no choice but to fight (that it was only ONLF that could offer them training and weapons is a circumstantial aspect) and who so far succeeded in bringing halt to these notorious schemes.

 

Elsewhere in Ethiopia, like the ethnic groups of Gambelle such as Anwak, Komo and Majangir would probably wish they had active resistance fighters, whatever name they may be using. A report written in 2000 by the MRG concludes: "Various projects including the forced resettlement of 50,000–60,000 people from elsewhere in Ethiopia on Anwak land, irrigation and mechanized agriculture have had a drastic impact upon their livelihood.38 The Derg's villagization programme and Christian missionaries have also deeply influenced Majangir society"

 

 

Consideration 3: Inter-clan fighting

One of the most eye-opening things that I've encountered when I travelled to the Somali region in Ethiopia was what I learned from a local elder in the Dhegaxbur area. He told me that the inter-clan fighting were of epidemic proportions (sidii daacuun dillaacay) in periods when armed resistance were weakest (i.e. conjuncture in the subsidence of Al-Ittixad and prior to the strengthening of ONLF). I suspected that fighting would make them redirect all sources available to them, especially propaganda, towards winning the war by any means. A survey conducted by OWS and funded by US Embassy Addis Ababa and TROCAIRE (2000) founded more than 3000 politically inspired inter-clan fighting after the Tigrey came to power.

 

For instance, the 280 people who died in Garbo between two sub-clans of the same clan after the military arrested the old Chief and appointed a new chief, or 84 who died in Mindicir when the government arbitrarily gave a well belonging to one clan to a different clan. At least 319 died in a clash in Qalafe area due to manipulations by federal government in their interference with existing divisions of resources ownership. Another 310 people died in Aba-Qorow after the appointment of two new chiefs for two rival clans and just as you thought this can't get any worse, they did in fact promise some clans from the same area more parliamentary seats if they subdued one and another – as a consequence 395 tribesmen died. The choice is simple: Either fight each other or fight the enemy.

 

All other things being equal, there are two ways to look at ONLF:

1) Superficial and short-sighted view by sentiment (i.e. unfortunate events, leadership decisions or clan names).

2) Maturity and prioritised rationale on grounds of morality (i.e. necessity whose being is more beneficial than its absence).

 

I'm not an ideological supporter of ONLF, but I'm a moral and material supporter of ONLF.

 

SOS

[Abdulladiif Al-Fiqih]

This is for Sheikh Nur.

 

 

Sheikh Cabdinur Fatwa ONLF war against Tigrey

[Nur]

SOS bro.

 

You write:

 

"I'm not an ideological supporter of ONLF, but I'm a moral and material supporter of ONLF."

 

 

Akhi, how can we differentiate our Ideology from our Morality and hence our Material (Actions) Support for any cause?

 

Please elaborate on this a bit more, its a very interesting philosophical issue that even surpasses in relevance to current issue in discussion. This is in fact in the realm of Islamic Aqeeda which I am very much interested to align it with the Quraan and Sunnah, our benchmarks.

 

 

Abdullatif bro.

 

JZK, well noted akhi.

 

 

Nur

[xiinfaniin]

Originally posted by Nur:

SOS bro.

 

You write:

 

"I'm not an ideological supporter of ONLF, but I'm a moral and material supporter of ONLF."

 

 

Akhi, how can we differentiate our

Ideology from our

Morality

and hence our Material (

Actions

) Support for any cause?

 

Please elaborate on this a bit more, its a very interesting philosophical issue that even surpasses in relevance to current issue in discussion. This is in fact in the realm of Islamic Aqeeda which I am very much interested to align it with the Quraan and Sunnah, our benchmarks.

 

 

Nur

Nur,

SOS was perhaps referring to the concept of Masaalix and Mafaasid. I know you are erudite man in these matters. The third Khalif had ordered the burning of all masaaxifs of quran except one. It’s haram to burn quran. But the maslaxa to consolidate the source of Islamic teaching outweighed the mafsadah burning quran masaaxif could incur. At least ONLF keeps the struggle active and alive. And to a significant degree, it prevents inter-clan fighting, as the clans that comprise the bulk of ONLF’s fighting force are busy fighting the Ethiopian enemy, instead of each other. More over, there is a clear religious rationale in supporting ONLF’s fight: a brutal, merciless enemy is occupying a Muslim land and that land must be liberated ya Nur.

[S.O.S]

Brother Nur,

 

My comment was specifically intended for a realistic situation that I've seen, and subjectively defined scales rather than philosophically defined rules. To be more precise, my differentiation of ideology from morality in this case follows the logic inference that the former is more Aqeeda based and universal whereas the latter knows absolute as well as relative forms.

 

From what I know, ONLF fighters are Muslims and their decision to sacrifice their lives was a moral rather than ideological choice. Their moral choice is understandable when you take into account the suffering, the killing, the raping, the hangings, the humiliation and denial of any rights. At least that is what they told me and I have no reason to suspect otherwise. The logic train makes you choose a side between the opposing parties for indifference is a moral impossibility in the realities on the ground. As a Muslim, I have a moral obligation to support them (the material support would be a natural outcome) as wouldn't want them to fight with no ammunition: Who would want that?

 

Memorandums, articles or charters of the ONLF movement don't come into play there, but when they do, morality becomes absolute and it has to conform to our ideological standing. I believe that there is no conflict or perceived conflict in my statement.

 

Brother Xiinfaniin,

 

Your view is the correct one regarding what I was attempting to say above. I was in addition trying to expand the discussion to more rational and factual grounds, which I believe should be weighed more heavily, instead of only focusing on traditional and theoretical considerations.

[Nur]

Xiin Bro.

 

I am well aware of the prioritization schemes of Masalix and Mafaasid, the alighnment of Cagl with al Naql, laa darar walaa diraar, etc. We all know that the most important Maslaxa is the establishment of the Deen ( Code of Allah) on our lands, followed by the preservation of lives of our people, preservation of our kids ( through Family Values), preservation of our intellect (From intoxicants and Qaat), preservation of properties ( Sharia of Mucaamalaat), in that order, in this particular question, which i posed for the purpose of scholarly analysis to demarcate aqeedah borders that may touch on this issue, instead of drumming up popular notions, it requires a clear distinction between the terms our brother SOS has differentiated , namely, Ideology, Morality and Material Support.

 

 

SOS Brother.

 

Let me take you back to the advent of Islam ( Dhuhuurul Islam), Arabia was a divided nation, to the fertile South, in Yemen, the Persians ruled the Arabs, to the fertile crescent of Bilaad al Sham, (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq) was in the influence of the Romans. When Muhammad SAWS appeared, inter-clan wars was the norms, and the Arabs were morally, politically and socially in a divided mess, very similar to the Mess we Somalis find ourselves in today.

 

Muhammad SAWS, was sent as a mercy for the entire humanity, not only for Arabia, but He had somewhere to start this great job, it happened to be the town of Makkah, which was ruled by Quresih, who controlled the Holy Kaaba as well as trade routes, hence the economy, while slavery and social injustice wa their way of life as well as racial supremacy over other Arab tribes.

 

If you were in Prophet Muhammad's SAWS shoes ( nicaal) where would you start?

 

We could suggest that he starts by liberating Arabia from the scourge of Slavery.

 

We could suggest that he starts with the unification of Arab tribes and the liberation of Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, thus securing an economic leverage for his mission.

 

We could suggest that he eradicates social illnesses, such as prostitution, gambling and social vices.

 

 

But, because his mission was destined to reach much farther than all of those short objectives, he started with a non attractive objective: The Declaration that mankind should serve a single Master, Allah, in every sense. The word was the Tawheed.

 

Tawheed. Say Laa Ilaaha Illa Allahu.

 

Amazingly, although at first it was a rough start with such a dry message, all of the above suggestions were met with success within short 23 years.

 

Why ?

 

Because Tawheed is like a stem cell of all good values that Allah SWT wants to instill in humans. Like the stem cells, the kalimah of Tawheed is not specialized at first, but, at every step after its wholesale acceptance, a specialized functionality is born, that governs the new body of an Islamic entity, just like organs in our body.

 

Qureish, knowing all too well that accepting the Kalimah in its totality, and its far reaching effects, rejected this word.

 

Today, the rebirth of Islam is taking many manifestations, and many types of struggles are going on as of this writing, many of these struggles are just causes like the one we are discussing, however, what should be questioned is the expected fruits that will emerge from this struggle, are they going to add to the cause of Islam at the end? , I mean like that one of our Prophet Muhammad SAWS, or are Muslims going to shed blood for a struggle in which secularists will steal its show once victory is declared? Once a charter for a movement is publicly communicated it takes a life of its own, that is why its important to make sure that the charter is Tawheed, otherwise, owners of such movement can be in conflict of interests.

 

 

I am not questioning the faith of the freedom fighters as they are all Muslims by default, I am just asking if that faith which is empowering them to stand for a just cause is well qualified in terms of its scope, and directed toward the right objectives to add value to the greater Maslaxa which we all want, namely ( Li takuuna Kalimutllahi Hiyal Culyaa) . Because if its not, the desired outcome may be to our detriment as the verse says ( Caamilatun Naasibah, meaning Working Hard In Vain)).

 

Looking from the motivation context, liberation movements differ on their mission and charters, some movements are politically driven, some are grievances driven, yet some are Ideological driven.

 

Occupiers know how to deal with the first two, usually they are rehabilitated and reinstated, juts like the IRA of Ireland, the Basque Separatists of Spain and the PLO Fatah movement. As long as a movement is grievance driven, the occupier can always maneuver to position his interest in advantage against the liberation movement, the resistance can also be divided for the benefit of occupiers since they are Grievances driven and hence can disagree on Maslaxa and Mafsada for the resistance movement at any given intersection during the struggle and negotiations phased with the occupiers.

 

However, Ideologically driven movements represent a big headache for occupiers, they can not be rehabilitated, extermination is the only viable course to get rid of them, just like what Israel is attempting to do to Hamas. Prophet Muhamaad's movement was such a Ideologically driven movement whose core value was the total liberation of man from the oppression of fellow man. Quresih, offered Muhammad SAWS to be their joint leader ( Zaciim, TFG plus Isbaheysiga), if power is what he wanted, they offered him beautiful women of Qureish, if he had a soft spot for women, he was offered anything that can keep Qureish's Ideology superior to Muhaammad's SAWS, or even a compromise between the two Ideologies, to that effect, Allah SWT revealed Surah Qul Yaa Ayuhal Kafiruun.

 

 

What is very crucial to note is that Ideology ( aka Aqeeda) in Islam is the cornerstone of all Islamic Morality ( aka Al Akhlaaq Al Islamiya), in other words, morality is born out of Ideology, and in turn our actions are naturally based on our morality ( akhlaaq), if our actions are noble, its shows that our Morality ( akhlaaq) to be noble, and hence our Ideology ( aqeeda)

 

In Islam, Ideology is our Charter and Mission for which we exist, live for and are asked to spend our wealth and lives. Our Morality, represents the spirit of our Ideology ( Not The Letter of The Ideology )when we deal with others in action, (i.e. Material Support) we don't rape, kill innocent people, destroy properties, burn villages, carpet bomb entire cities, maim, torture or terrorize the public etc. Simply, all these heinous actions are the Morality of the non Believers of a judgment day and life after death in which Allah SWT will judge all mankind for their actions on earth.

 

Now, The Ethiopian occupiers of Western Somalia ( 5th Kilil), have committed all of the above crimes against humanity as I have posted many times on these pages. We need to ask:

 

 

1. Why are the Ethiopians committing these crimes against our brethren?

 

2. Why are their Western allies quietly approving these crimes?

 

 

Conclusion

 

The correct answer to those two questions draws the line of the right Ideology, Morality and action plan that can withstand and test of time to realize the aspirations and long term happiness of the our people.

 

 

 

Nur

[S.O.S]

Shaykhunaa Nur,

 

I couldn't possibly agree with you more on most of what you said, but the premise you're basing on your (otherwise well founded) discourse is where our argument lies. The sole reason I decided to address you in the language of considerations was precisely for you to consider them as such (masaalix and mafaasid), and in all fairness, thus far it's not reflected in the contentious comments.

 

To go back to your central premise, there are several assumptions central to that position that you need to clarify in the continuation of above treatise.

 

1) What is the basis for your conclusion that the struggle of ONLF is not in the interest of Muslims relative to the current Ethiopian oppression? Bluntly put, how can the Ethiopian occupation be more favourable for the spiritual condition of these Somalis, hence Islam?

2) How can we ascertain that the adopted charter of ONLF is not an opportunistic act rather than an ideological one, if in doing so, they can maintain their struggle which they believe is in the interest of their religion as well?

3) If their current actions can be reconciled with the 'greater maslaxa' as you put it, as well as the sum of all other masaalix, what is wrong with supporting them?

 

Your faith in them of achieving victory is certainly bigger than mine, as your objections are based on what comes after the Ethiopian defeat. I personally believe that the struggle will ultimately move on and the torch will be carried by other movements like it has always been in the past. The struggle must be kept alive, a task being fulfilled by the ONLF of today and in maintaining, at least this status quo, is the very reason they are extremely beneficial per my argument. Morality can make you choose between two evils without compromising your Caqiidah, ONLF may have made theirs in formulating their charter (Allahu aclam) and I have made mine.

 

Please do continue ..

[Nur]

SOS brother

 

 

you ask:

 

 

1) What is the basis for your conclusion that the struggle of ONLF is not in the interest of Muslims relative to the current Ethiopian oppression?

 

 

Answer:

 

 

Akhi, the original question I was addressing was the differentiation of Ideology, Morality and Action ( material Support).

 

In my unfinished piece above, I did not yet reach a conclusion, so its natural that the basis of my conclusion is not yet clear to you and I hope you don't assume my conclusion as of yet. I would be very appreciative if you can wait for one.

 

 

But, let me state a quick note on your question: I am in no way advocating for the ONLF to lay down their resistance, they have a right to resist occupation to the last man, and rightfully so, its more honorable to die on your feet than to live crawling on your knees.

 

 

Muxibbukum filllaah

 

Nur

[S.O.S]

Originally posted by Nur:

But, let me state a quick note on your question: I am in no way advocating for the ONLF to lay down their resistance, they have a right to resist occupation to the last man, and rightfully so, its more honorable to die on your feet than to live crawling on your knees.

Sh. Nur,

 

In that case we're not in a disagreement at all. It was because you didn't make that clear and instead began the discourse with the other side of the coin on ideology, morality and material consequences, that my impatience induced me to question where you stand on the more fundamental question of the topic.

 

Now that your position is clearer to me, we can continue discussing ideology, morality and action. In my opinion differentiation is possible in certain circumstances and obviously you disagree with that. If I'm wrong I'll not be surprised since I get many things wrong all the time and I'll learn few things from you to correct my thinking. If you're right on the other hand, as the sheikh with the superior knowledge, we don't expect anything less from you and Allah will reward your efforts.