Sheikh Sharif: The Evolving Cleric

[Abtigiis]

In the corridors of Somali politics, real or arm-chair, his foes and friends know our President –Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, for his fast-paced evolution, in action and ideationally. And because he is one swept by the latest ideas he will have chanced by in a conversation, or by the advices of those who sit next to him before he walks to the podium, it is fair to assume that someone who got a telephone from Addis Ababa or who opposes Azania must have been the last person who saw him when he woke up for morning prayers today. Three days ago, the man who stood by his side as he agreed to the Kenyan incursion, saying that the two countries have agreed to cooperate in the fight against Alshabab due to the ‘unique danger’ the militants pose to the national security of the two nations, was Yusuf Haji, Kenya's defense Minister. In both occasion, he wore the garb of a national leader whose calls matter, with impudence. That he will evolve again is for sure, what we don’t yet know is what words he will use to make the idiosyncratic turns.

 

Four years ago, some spiritually suffused Imams were running away from the same martyrdom they pushed impressionable young men into, in the jungles of lower Jubba. Pursued by Ethiopian army on the ground and US bombers from the sky, they were dying of exhaustion and thrust. They sent the youngest of them, who was also physically the fittest, to go and get dear water for them. The man sent was Sheikh Sharif. They dispatched him with saving dua and yellow jerrycans. They heard him on the BBC few weeks later, not bemoaning his inability to honour his commitment, not regretting his absconding, but drawing up plans and deals with the same enemy the men who trusted him to lead them in war were running from. It wasn’t betrayal, according to the pragmatic religion of the man. It was merely part of a long career, personified by callous progression of principles and loyalties.

 

The Quran teacher from Mahaday, whose theological docility also enabled him to work as a judge in the land of the gangs (under Mohamed Dheere), stood before the Somali people as a Presidential candidate few years after he transformed from Madrsa-politics to mainstream politics. A politics that he thought cannot be survived if the no-hand-shake with women dogmas of the madrasa era is repeated. Soon the hands that waved his uncle’s wife Faadumo squeezed the bleached fingers of Hilary Clinton. And it told all that the man has finally arrived. Elected President, he soon started compensating for lost luxury time in young-hood by evolving to the skies. All the time hoping his fawned anti-enemies-of-Somalia tirade had secured him all-time insurance against legitimate retort founded on his personal culpability for the thousands of Somali youth needlessly sacrificed for a futile cause in Iidaale and Mogadishu.

 

For him, the matter of agreeing to a Kenyan aggression at the end of last week and disagreeing with it at the start of this week is no more than a normal routine in a leadership philosophy based on convenience and who sits next. For the rest of Somalis and the world, it is a confusing contradiction that gives a moral boost to the terrorists, and cements the long-held view that Somalis are a joke. A key question would be, has he consulted the rest of the government? Has he put the matter before the relevant institutions, if not the latest statement which is in sync with the constitution as it is merely a reaffirmation of Somalia’s sovereignty but the one he read before Yusuf Haji and Moses Wetangula? How does he work? And doesn’t he realize that there is a limit to this evolution of principles? Mind you, his name has even evolved as his political career changed. He is no longer Sheikh Sharif, he is Sharif Ahmed! President Sharif Ahmed!

 

If he hasn’t objected to the Kenyan incursion at the right time, what is the point of undermining the gains made so far on the ground at this late hour when Alshabab is in disarray? Is the motivation cheap populism or is it a manifestation of the Sheikh’s yet another footloose political principle? it looks the latter. Which means, we may not have heard his last words on the Kenyan Invasion. If this doesn't make him a complete write-off for leadership at any level, Xinnfanin will have to tell us what will!

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Lool@ the tittle but Abtigis you have to take in you're rhetorical analysis that sharif Ahmed in his previous meeting with the Kenyan Govt officials only Concluded that kenya and his government the TFG will work together to evict Alshabaab from the border towns and regions i think behind the scenes there was no signed agreement on a full scale invasion by Kenya hence the reaction of the president.

[Abtigiis]

No Xaaji, the Sharif knew Kenyans were in already and didn't register any displeasure over the matter. In fact, members of his government defended the move. All the evidence is that he was in agreement with the aggression. As I said, the man evolves on an hourly basis and we can only tell whose ideas he is reflecting if we get news of who was with him yesterday.

[xiinfaniin]

^^Prof Abtigiis you are forgetting Sharif spent four days in Turkiya, a sister country with imperial roots and keen interest in Somalia.

 

Politics is driven by interest so easy with your big-foot logic

[Abtigiis]

It is clear that the Horseman is not one given to arrive at any given point too. We have the stories of the caravans that take-off at different times but never seem to arrive at any destination. That much is excusable. Revelling on dilatory conjectures about Turkish ambitions in Somalia is not an answer to my question and critique of Sheikh Sharif's migratory political principles and moral monstority. Xinn is most annoying when he reverts into fadhi-ku-dirir mode of 'don't put sticks into my mouth, there is something you don't know that is coming', when the speaker of those words had no idea of what he is talking about.

 

Dear Xinn, are you telling us Erdogan was the last man who saw the Sharif, in which case, his latest rejection of Kenyan aggression is the rejection of Turkey? Put differently, are you confirming that the words we hear from the reddish lips of Sharif are coming from the white mouth of Erdogan? It fits his profile I gave above and it is plausible.

[xiinfaniin]

^Waryaa dont be reer miyi ninyahow, if you support Kenyan invasion/Azania for whatever reason say so. If you oppose it, however, I see no reason to protest Sharif's stance on this. Kenya is causing problem for her self and for Somalia. Analyst and expert are astounded by Kenya's decision.

 

It does not matter who saw Sharif last. What matters is where he stands on this development.

[Abtigiis]

I am saying he stands nowhere. That is my issue here, not supporting Azania or what not. Also unlike our tol in Puntland who are more urbane and sophesticated, our advantage doesn't like in camaflouging our beliefs. As such, don't doubt my revulsion of Azania, please. I can take others making that connection. I don't expect that from you. Waana kuu dhaaranayaa ee maqal:

 

Xiinoow Azania ma rabo, waana la hubaaye

Waa taan budhcad-badeed noqdaa, oon badaha jiidhaayee

Waa taan caruurtaan dhalo, caleemo saaraaye

Waa taan safir iyo ka dhigo, saraakiil waa weeyne

Waa taan saliid aan dhoweyn, saxeex ku jiidaayee

Waa taan anoo haye raba, maya idhaahdaayee

[xiinfaniin]

^^Well your credibility is in question. You come across conflicted at best on the issue of Kenya invasion. Whether that is due to your support of Azania or opposition to Alshabaab, it is not clear.

 

So I am left guessing on your motivation here. Faroole is rumored to have favored Kenya's invasion. Somaliland has been praying for it. Why you rabble rouse against Sharif the only man who thus far came out against it only fuels my doubt on your Azania stance.

[Abtigiis]

I have said my stance. initially I supported, when the evidence of the sea sheninigans came up, I changed my mind. My problem here is Sharif's opportunism and flipflopping. I also don't think the issue of sovernignity is a big issue in the current context of Somalia. Therefore, AlShabab's demise is much more important than this breach of sovernigty to the extent it achieves that goal. Anyway, this is more about Sharif the person than the matter of the Kenyan aggression.

 

Arintan Azania ee la igu shanbadayna waxaan u didi garanba maayo. Ok, I am Azania, and a strong supporter of Gandi. De si dad waa weyn in loo wada hadlo la diide, way na kaa.

[xiinfaniin]

Abtigiis;753540 wrote:

I have said my stance. initially I supported, when the evidence of the sea sheninigans came up, I changed my mind. My problem here is Sharif's opportunism and flipflopping. I also don't think the issue of sovernignity is a big issue in the current context of Somalia. Therefore, AlShabab's demise is much more important than this breach of sovernigty to the extent it achieves that goal. Anyway, this is more about Sharif the person than the matter of the Kenyan aggression.

 

Arintan Azania ee la igu shanbadayna waxaan u didi garanba maayo. Ok, I am Azania, and a strong supporter of Gandi. De si dad waa weyn in loo wada hadlo la diide, way na kaa.

 

^^You said a lot in the first paragraph. It suffices. You are supporter of Kenyan invasion. How so? You might ask. Answer: I read between the lines.

 

The second paragraph is not important. Waa kaftan dhable

 

way na kaa hadaba

[Qandalawi]

Abtigiis;753493 wrote:

In the corridors of Somali politics, real or arm-chair, his foes and friends know our President –Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, for his fast-paced evolution, in action and ideationally. And because he is one swept by the latest ideas he will have chanced by in a conversation, or by the advices of those who sit next to him before he walks to the podium, it is fair to assume that someone who got a telephone from Addis Ababa or who opposes Azania must have been the last person who saw him when he woke up for morning prayers today. Three days ago, the man who stood by his side as he agreed to the Kenyan incursion, saying that the two countries have agreed to cooperate in the fight against Alshabab due to the ‘unique danger’ the militants pose to the national security of the two nations, was Yusuf Haji, Kenya's defense Minister. In both occasion, he wore the garb of a national leader whose calls matter, with impudence. That he will evolve again is for sure, what we don’t yet know is what words he will use to make the idiosyncratic turns.

 

Four years ago, some spiritually suffused Imams were running away from the same martyrdom they pushed impressionable young men into, in the jungles of lower Jubba. Pursued by Ethiopian army on the ground and US bombers from the sky, they were dying of exhaustion and thrust. They sent the youngest of them, who was also physically the fittest, to go and get dear water for them. The man sent was Sheikh Sharif. They dispatched him with saving dua and yellow jerrycans. They heard him on the BBC few weeks later, not bemoaning his inability to honour his commitment, not regretting his absconding, but drawing up plans and deals with the same enemy the men who trusted him to lead them in war were running from. It wasn’t betrayal, according to the pragmatic religion of the man. It was merely part of a long career, personified by callous progression of principles and loyalties.

 

The Quran teacher from Mahaday, whose theological docility also enabled him to work as a judge in the land of the gangs (under Mohamed Dheere), stood before the Somali people as a Presidential candidate few years after he transformed from Madrsa-politics to mainstream politics. A politics that he thought cannot be survived if the no-hand-shake with women dogmas of the madrasa era is repeated. Soon the hands that waved his uncle’s wife Faadumo squeezed the bleached fingers of Hilary Clinton. And it told all that the man has finally arrived. Elected President, he soon started compensating for lost luxury time in young-hood by evolving to the skies. All the time hoping his fawned anti-enemies-of-Somalia tirade had secured him all-time insurance against legitimate retort founded on his personal culpability for the thousands of Somali youth needlessly sacrificed for a futile cause in Iidaale and Mogadishu.

 

For him, the matter of agreeing to a Kenyan aggression at the end of last week and disagreeing with it at the start of this week is no more than a normal routine in a leadership philosophy based on convenience and who sits next. For the rest of Somalis and the world, it is a confusing contradiction that gives a moral boost to the terrorists, and cements the long-held view that Somalis are a joke. A key question would be, has he consulted the rest of the government? Has he put the matter before the relevant institutions, if not the latest statement which is in sync with the constitution as it is merely a reaffirmation of Somalia’s sovereignty but the one he read before Yusuf Haji and Moses Wetangula? How does he work? And doesn’t he realize that there is a limit to this evolution of principles? Mind you, his name has even evolved as his political career changed. He is no longer Sheikh Sharif, he is Sharif Ahmed! President Sharif Ahmed!

 

If he hasn’t objected to the Kenyan incursion at the right time, what is the point of undermining the gains made so far on the ground at this late hour when Alshabab is in disarray? Is the motivation cheap populism or is it a manifestation of the Sheikh’s yet another footloose political principle? it looks the latter. Which means, we may not have heard his last words on the Kenyan Invasion. If this doesn't make him a complete write-off for leadership at any level, Xinnfanin will have to tell us what will!

What an eloquence! This is classic thread, we must keep it for the record.

 

Xiinow, Shariif-ka short himself in the foot, look things in a grand scale. Don't fall for everything simply to enforce your stance. Shariifka is gullible, manipulative and Jirjiroole, and this magnificent post from A&T depicts him right.

[Abtigiis]

I said I don't support, and I don't support. But I also have explained I don't see it as a matter of life or death for now. And I am objecting to the Kenyan invasion only because of pride. If this tells you that means I am pro-Azania (when I have said I am not, and there is no one I care about or fear in saying what I believe in), I am also perplexed by the basis of your conclusions. By your logic, clan is everything (as Ngonge says) and your opposition to the Kenyan invasion is coming from fear of Azania and hegemony of a rival clan, and not from principle or nationalism. Weird logic. Intaa inaad dhaantaan ku moodayey Dr. I support ONLF and I don't hide it, why should I hide if I want Azania. Dambi ha iga galin, oo waxaana jeclayn waad jeceshahay ha dhihin. I don't have to invoke Freudian projection and say qofku wuxuu yahay buu ku moodaa, oo sidaadaad nin laba af-leyn kala imooday ma inaan ku idhaa. I am not angered by the accussation that I am tribalist (that is pretty much nothing in somali forums, it is a given) but I am more upset with you implying I am hiding my position.

 

I just don't like Sharif's useless posturing. if he doesn't like Kenyas aggression, what is he doing about it? is he condemning? Is he asking for them to leave Somalia? Clearly saying I don't agree is not enough for a president on such grave matters.

[xiinfaniin]

^^ :D

 

You are being dramatic ninyahow. I said you are supporter of Kenyan invasion. Whether that is so because of your opposition against Alshabaab or support for Azania was not clear I said. In your last post however, you seem to be motivated by a conviction that anything that harms Alshabaab is good for Somalia. There is nothing I can do about your dislike of Sharif. You seem to be angry with him hence your write up lacks objectivity. But when the man comes out and makes what I think is very difficult statement given Kenya's far reaching influence on Somali politics today, and says he opposes the on-going military activity in Jubbooyinka, I think he deserves credit. Lets hope the other Sharif and Abdiweli make the same pronouncement.

 

What can they (or he, Sharif) do, you asked? Not much it seems. But lack of capacity to do something effectively does not necessarily preclude or disqualify him to make that stance. What are you suggesting, Profesoore ? Are you saying if he cant stop the Kenyans he shouldn't talk about it. That would be disingenuous of you.

[Mintid Farayar]

AT(Abtigiis) makes some interesting points regarding Sharif and his perpetual weakness throughout his political career.

 

However, Sharif has always opposed the Azania project from the beginning when Gandhi first concocted it with the 'tol' in Kenya.

This was confirmed within the Wikileaks cables much earlier. He had continuously asked for Gandhi and the Kenyans to bring the trained Somali militias to Mogadishu and partake in the fighting there(in Mogadishu as part of the official TFG forces) rather than the Jubba corridor/Kismayo. This was the main point of contention that existed between Sharif and Gandhi according the Embassy cables.

 

Sharif's reasons for opposing Gandhi's troops attacking from the Southern Kenyan border?? I will let others more conversant with it pontificate on that. We know the Ethiopian reasons for opposing it, though... It's well-spelled out in those cables.

 

Just setting the record straight

[GoldCoast]

I've also heard rumours that a major reason for the stance is that Kenya is heavily arming and abetting the likes of the Ras Kamboni group, a militia he will likely have trouble bringing under his command if Kenya has its wishes of an Azania state. Considering this as well as the fact that many analysts see this incursion as likely being counterproductive, I have no issues with his opposition. I'm not the biggest fan of his leadership or his "flipflopping" but I will give credit where credit is due, and today I think he deserves it. Best move he's made in a long time.

 

Now is there any truth to the argument that this has caused a rift with the new PM?