Islamists ban smoking in southern Somalia

Here is yet another example of how the Islamists are spreading their Teliban-like rule. It should be noted that the harshest rules by the Islamic Courts seem to be implemented on cities in the south. This may be a punishment on clans in the south who resisted ICU rule before it took control in those areas. Yet whatever the reason, as poor Somalis die from floods in the countryside, we see here what is really important to these Islamist leaders.

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MOGADISHU, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Somalis caught smoking or selling cigarettes risk punishment in the south-central town of Jilib, residents said on Friday of the latest strict application of sharia law by Islamists who control much of the region.

Speaking at a public rally in Jilib, 365 km (227 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu, senior Islamist official Sheikh Mohamed Hassan issued the decree, which also banned the sale and use of leafy stimulant khat chewed by Somali men.

"From today onwards if a person is seen smoking, selling cigarettes, chewing khat or selling it he or she will be punished," he told the crowd amid chants of God is great.

"You will either be fined or arrested. We will start implementing sharia law."

The rise of the Islamists, who seized the capital Mogadishu in June, directly threatens the shaky interim government -- the 14th attempt to restore central rule in Somalia since the 1991 ouster of a dictator plunged the country into anarchy.

Many Somalis credit the Islamists for bringing a semblance of order to anarchic Mogadishu and other areas in southern Somalia under their control. But some accuse them of imposing strict Islamic law, such as outlawing music in weddings or whipping men with long hair, on those who hold more moderate religious views.

Jilib resident Osman Mohamed said Islamist officials in the agriculture-rich settlement of about 5,000 people were already implementing the law even before the sheikh's order.

"I saw Islamic troops burning cigarettes in the streets this week," Mohamed told Reuters by telephone. "This announcement will affect so many families because they are so many women who feed their children from khat proceeds."

One man who said he has smoked heavily for 25 years said the Islamists were infringing on his rights and should not just slap the new rule into place without giving him time to quit.

"I have been smoking for last 25 years," the smoker told Reuters by telephone. "I am now hiding in the bush to smoke. We know it is for our own good to quit smoking but we need more time. I now have to quit smoking slowly."

A khat vendor in Jilib, who also declined to be named, said she was unhappy with the ban because she supports her five children on her sales proceeds.

"We did not choose to sell khat for fun. They should provide us with paying jobs and then punish us if we start selling it again." she said. "This means my family will go hungry."

By Guled Mohamed

President of Somalia on 3-day working visit to Singapore

I understand Ahmed's desire to put up the façade of a functional international government But maybe this isn't the ideal time to be jaunting off to a quait diplomatic visit to a small asian country. Everything I know about Ahmed makes me believe that he will not let the TFG go down without a fight, especially against the Islamists. This leads me to believe that Ahmed is in Singapore securing a considerable 'donation' for the TFG.

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SINGAPORE : The President of Somalia is on a three-day visit to Singapore till Nov 9.

Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed met with President SR Nathan on Wednesday afternoon at the Istana. He is here at the invitation of the Singapore President.

Mr Abdullahi Yusuf was accompanied by his wife and several ministers including the Finance Minister. President Nathan hosted Mr Abdullahi Yusuf and his delegation to lunch.

Speaker Offers Islamists in Somalia to Join Government

This is likely another dead end, and may be taken as a sign of division and weakness of the TFG by the Islamists. The PM has reportedly told the delegation to return to Baidoa immediately. It sounds like Aden may have been doing this on his own initiative. A noble effort by Aden indeed it was driven by a hope to avert war. But my guess is there are ulterior motives by Aden. Unfortunately, the air has been so polluted over the last 15 years that it is hard to trust any Somali politician.
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Speaker of the Somali Transitional Federal Parliament, Sharif Hasan Sheikh Aden, has invited the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) to join the government, the Somali daily Banadir reports.

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has accused Aden of breaking ranks and acting on his own. Aden had last week refused to lead a negotiation delegation on behalf of the TFG. The delegation went to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, but the third round of talks between the two warring sides failed. Aden then led a delegation of his own to the capital Mogadishu, for the first time since fighting began in February.

Aden held talks with top SCIC officials, including leader Sheikh Hasan Dahir 'Awies. The latter told reporters that any peace talks held outside Somalia would never bring stability to the country. The SCIC has not yet given its decision, but it has agreed to continue talks.

Written by The Media Line Staff

Former Somalia pres declares jihad on Ethiopia

Wow, this comes as absolutely no shock. As I've said before, the ex-pres is still bitter that his mock government didn't get off the ground. An irrelevant ex-politician is so sad to watch trying to squirm back into the seats of power...

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Abdiqassim Salat, former Somali president, wants to wage "jihad" to remove Ethiopian troops from Somali soil

MOGADISHU, Somalia Nov 7 (Garowe Online) - A former Somali president has announced that he is ready to wage jihad against Ethiopian troops who have invaded Somalia, joining Islamist calls and demonstrations for such fight.

Abdiqassim Salat Hassan, who was elected as Somali president in 2000, said that it is “compulsory” upon every Somali citizen to defend the nation against Ethiopian aggression.

“I am ready…to fight jihad against Tigre troops who have invaded Somalia,” said the former Somali leader in an interview with Mogadishu-based radio.

Witnesses and analysts have confirmed the presence of Ethiopian troops inside Somalia, even though Addis Ababa only admits that it sent a “few hundred” armed military trainers to back the Baidoa-based interim government.

Ethiopia is currently led Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a staunch supporter of the Baidoa-based interim government and a member of the minority Tigre ethnicity of Ethiopia.

Abdiqassim Salat further stated during Tuesday’s interview that, as long as Ethiopian troops remained inside Somalia, he believed that the Islamic Courts should not open negotiation talks with the government.

Ex-President Abdiqassim said he welcomed the change the Islamist have brought to Mogadishu and to other areas under their control.

During the interview, Abdiqassim Salat did not mention the presence of pro-Islamist Eritrean soldiers inside Somalia who number some 2,000 troops, according to a leaked UN report that placed pro-government Ethiopian troop numbers inside Somalia as high as 8,000 soldiers.

Garowe Online News

Fighting erupts in northern Somalia

Reported fighting in Puntland. Could this be the beginning of the long-anticipated war? Also, protesters in the streets of Baidoa to protest last-minute attempts at negotiations with the Islamists.

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Islamic forces said their fighters clashed Monday with government militia backed by Ethiopian troops in northern Somalia, one of the few areas still outside their control.

Puntland officials denied any fighting took place, and Ethiopian officials repeated earlier denials that they have troops inside Somalia.

If confirmed, the clashes would mark the first fighting since peace talks collapsed amid fears that Somalia is on the brink of a war that could engulf the Horn of Africa region.

Meanwhile, demonstrators took to the streets in the southern Somali town of Baidoa — the base of the transitional government led by President Abdullahi Yusuf and virtually the only town it controls — to protest the decision by the country‘s most powerful lawmaker to negotiate with the courts.

Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden is considered sympathetic to the Islamic courts, which the United States accuses of having ties to al-Qaida. His decision to hold talks without the cooperation of the prime minister and president is a direct challenge to their authority. The trip comes days after the government‘s peace talks with the Islamists collapsed in Khartoum, Sudan.

By MOHAMED SHEIK NOR, Associated Press Writer

Islamists ban some weddings in Somalia

Yet another example of how Arab-trained Islamist theologians are destroying native Somali culture:
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MOGADISHU, Somalia - Islamic leaders Monday banned youthful Somalis from marrying without the consent of their parents, saying such unions violate Islam.

"It is against the teaching of our religion and parents do not approve of it," said Sheik Mahad Mohamed Sheik Hassan, chairman of the regional Islamic court in Wanlawien.

The edict was the latest step to impose strict religious rule as this chaotic nation emerges from more than a decade of anarchy.

Islamic leaders already have banned women from swimming at the main beach in Somalia's capital, live music, the viewing of films and sports, and the use of qat, the leafy semi-narcotic plant.

The marriage practice of "masaafo" - roughly equivalent to eloping - is common in Somalia because it allows young couples to wed without their parents scuttling the union because they deem the dowry too small.

Mohamedek Ali, a 21-year-old Somali, said the costs of a wedding were prohibitive for average Somalis and would prevent many marriages.

"They cannot ban what our forefathers practiced," he said. "All of us, including the mullahs were born from elopement marriage."

MOHAMED SHEIKH NOR, AP

Kenya Camps cannot cope with Somali refugee influx

Here is the reality of the new Somalia under the Islamists. These new refugees are Somali's that the Islamists have driven out of Somali. The Islamists claim they are unifying Somalia, but instead they are creating a false reality by driving away those not from their clan, and those that disagree with their fundamentalist form of Islam.
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NAIROBI, 26 October (IRIN) - The three refugee camps in Daadab in Kenya's Northeastern Province do not have the facilities to cater for the influx of refugees from Somalia, an official of the United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday."

Ideally, the Daadab camps should accommodate 60,000 people but at the moment there are 160,000," Eddie Gedalof, the UNHCR representative in Kenya, said in Nairobi."The camp is crowded, with a family of 10 sharing a single tarpaulin tent," Baarlin Abukar, a UNHCR field assistant based in Daadab added.

The UN launched a flash appeal on Thursday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, for Somali refugees in Kenya. "There is also a water shortage - among other challenges facing the refugees," Abukar said.According to the six-month flash appeal, at least US $32 million is urgently required to provide humanitarian aid for the refugee population, with food, healthcare, nutrition, water and security the top priorities.

New arrivals have overstretched the camps' capacity, contributing to the negative environmental impact on neighbouring communities, Gedalof said. "The majority of the people are also faced with malnutrition," he added.The latest influx follows the unpredictable political situation in Somalia after territorial gains made by the Union of Islamic Courts and the precarious position of the Transitional Federal Government in Baidoa.

The impact of drought and destitution in the country was also contributing to the influx, with refugees coming from the southern areas of Mogadishu, Baidoa and Kismayo, Gedalof said. The permanent secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons, Emmanuel Kisombe, said Kenya was willing to accommodate the refugees but falling support was a burden for host countries."

There is a need for a supportive and predictable international response to the refugee problem," Kisombe said.However, he said, resolving the root cause of conflict in the refugees' home countries was the only sustainable solution. At least 32,000 new arrivals have been registered in Daadab this year, with an average of 100 refugees being registered each day between January and August. The number surged to an average of 1,000 refugees each day on 4 and 5 October.

Baidao will fall soon and we don’t recognize the UN – Hassan Turki

The ICU leadership is throwing caution to the wind, making bold declarations and dangerous pronouncements. Their arrogance is blatant, and the world is standing by with their hands in their pockets. The following article underlies the ICU's grand plan to take over all of Somalia:
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Tue. October 24, 2006

(SomaliNet) Number-two leader of the Islamic Courts Mr. Hassan Turki announced his organization’s immediate intention to chase President Abdulahi Yusuf and his powerless government out of Baydhabo in the coming days. In a telephone interview with Horn Afrik radio in Mogadishu, he said the southern part of the country is in our hands and we are going to Burao (in Somaliland) and Galkaio (in Puntland).

Mr. Turki who is now in a small town near Kenyan border said we don’t recognize the United Nations as it has become American interest group. When asked if the Islamic Courts are worrying about possible external intervention such as African Union troops, he replied with “We have enough power to defeat anyone”.

Sheik Turki also talked about his view on the US and accused America of labeling Muslim people as terrorists. He was equally critical on the United Nations whose agencies he said are corrupt and lie about Somali refugees in Kenya. "They repatriate Somali refugees back to Somalia and return them back into Kenya only to open new accounts and misuse more money by claiming more influx of refugees. United Nations is a corrupt organization." He said.

In a confident tone, Mr. Turki promised to bring all Somalia under his organization’s rule and declared war on self declared Somaliland and semi-autonomous Puntland.

The Islamic Courts seem to be unstoppable and the neighboring countries are unease about Somalia’s current situation. Ethiopia and Eritrea are both accused of meddling with Somalia civil war although no concrete prove has been presented on the Eritrean side.

Somaliland and Puntland administrations have amble time prepare themselves for possible showdown with the Islamists as tehir hands are now full with the federal government and other foes in the south.

Both Sheik Hassan Turki and his boss, Sheik Aweys are on international terrorist list by the US State

Somalia: Why Islamic Courts Can't Win War Against Govt

Here is a very interesting piece about how the ICU's militias have spread themselves too far apart to survive a real fight.

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Unless the next round of talks between the Union of Islamist Courts (UIC) of Somalia and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) - scheduled for October 30 in Khartoum - builds on the uneasy calm that the feuding groups maintained during Ramadan, it will not achieve much.

Talks between the rivals on September 2 ended in a stalemate after the Transitional Government accused the Islamic Courts of having links with the Al Qaeda terrorist organisation; in turn, the Islamists accused the Transitional Government of being a stooge of the Ethiopian government.

For many Somalis, it was enough that the two sides deliberately avoided squabbling war in the holy month of Ramadan, which ends this week.

But if there is no breakthrough in the third round of talks, war seems inevitable.

The reality of Somalia's landscape, however, makes taking over the country a harder proposition than either party and their allies believe.

The Islamists opted to range far and wide in order to gain territorial control in most of the southern and central regions.

The militias flanks are thus located at Galinsor district, about 650 km north of Mogadishu, and around Afmadow district, about 680 km south of the capital. To defend such a huge front in a war would be a daunting task.

That the Transitional Government is relying on Ethiopian support and its base in Baidoa is well protected, is no secret. The town is in the middle of the Gedo and Bakol regions, both bordering Ethiopia. Strategists believe that Baidoa is thus in no danger.

The forces of the Islamic Courts in the central regions are in the most vulnerable position. They are over 600 km from Mogadishu - the Islamic Courts' stronghold - but only 100 km away from Ethiopia, where heavily armed battalions are eyeing them from across the border.

Any supplies or reinforcement from Mogadishu can be intercepted if the highway through Hiran region were seized, which Ethiopian forces could do in matter of hours.

If Ethiopian troops in Baidoa moved just 120 km towards Mogadishu, they would threaten the strategic Lower Shabelle, the region shielding the capital from the west and south. Should that happen, supplies to forces in Lower Juba - close to the Kenyan border - will be impossible.

Forces of the Islamic Courts in Lower Juba, especially those in Kismayo - the port town that lies 500 km south of Mogadishu - are facing yet another enemy. The former Juba Valley Alliance (JVA) leader, Barre Hirale, who was chased from the town by Islamists in late September, is said to be gathering militias from Gedo region, which is the power base of his Marehaan kinsmen. The reunited JVA militias are said to be inching towards Kismayo both from the northwest and southwest. If these forces reach Jilib town, on the main Mogadishu-Kismayo road, the so-called Shabab elite forces could be stranded.

According to newspapers in Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts is facing the biggest threat ever since it emerged as a national force in June. Having spread their wings too far, the Islamists' vulnerability was proven at Bandiradley village in July when the forces failed to take Galkayo town upon meeting resistance. Their dreams of capturing the semi-autonomous state of Puntland have also come to nought.

The main highway that traverses the Hiran region to the northwest of Mogadishu appears unprotected. Only a small, ineffective militia at Belet-Weyn town, the region's capital, stands in the way of a whole Ethiopian battalion vigilantly staring across the border.

When the Transitional Government forces recently reached Burhakaba, allegedly supported by Ethiopian troops, the Islamic Courts could not retaliate. Instead of assembling a formidable force, to reassert its authority on the splendid town at the base of Mt Hakaba next to the Mogadishu-Baidoa main road, the Islamists only managed to issue a threat of a jihad.

Many observers believe that the only committed and well-trained armed unit of the Islamic Courts is the Shabab (Arabic for youth), numbering about 2,000. The rest are either conventional militia who in the past served various warlords or new recruits with no experience or even commitment.

If war breaks out, the Islamists will have to defend at least four fronts - Jubaland, the main road linking Mogadishu to Baidoa, the highway that runs through Hiran region in the middle, and the upper central regions, including Galgadud and Mudug.

Residents of Mogadishu will face a compounded problem should the Islamist forces decide to reverse their current expansion strategy and withdraw to the capital. Street fighting may become the order of the day.

Most people believe that Somalia's best interests would lie in a deal struck at the Khartoum talks, especially if the Transitional Government's legitimacy is accepted. An acceptable formula could then be worked out, especially a nationwide demobilisation programme.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamic Courts' leader, and the Ethiopian army's generals know each other well.

They fought several battles in the 1990s when Sheikh Aweys's turbaned Al-Ittihad men reportedly suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Somali National Front militia in Gedo region in southwestern Somalia.

Ethiopian support tilted the balance in favour of the Front and Al-Ittihad fighters fled Bulo-Hawa, Luq and Dollow districts.

Earlier, in the 1990s, Col Abdulahi Ahmed Yusuf, the current Transitional Government President, was Åhelped by Ethiopia to expel Sheikh Aweys Al-Ittihad fighters from Bossaso, the economic capital and main port town in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

The East African (Nairobi)
October 23, 2006
Abdulkadir Khalif

Islamic Court declared near Ethiopia border

ICU Continues its unrestrained and unconfronted expansion: ====================================================== Last Updated: Oct 23rd, 2006 - 00:59:23

BELETWEIN, Somalia Oct 21 (Garowe Online) - A new Islamic Court was declared Saturday in Jawil, a frontier village near the Ethio-Somali border, raising more concerns of a showdown between Somalia’s Islamist movement and the Ethiopian military. The ceremony to mark the opening of the new Islamic Court was attended by Islamist officials, including the chairman of Islamic courts of Hiran region, Sheikh Farah Moallim Mohamud. Ethiopian troops previously crossed into Jawil and other villages in Hiran region, but such frontier villages have recently come under the control of the Somali Islamist militia. Earlier this month, Sheikh Farah Moallim declared jihad on Ethiopian troops at a public rally in Beletwein, capital of Hiran region.

Canada: Biggest Supplier of Jihadists to Somalia

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA--(CCNMatthews - Oct. 19, 2006) - The Somali Justice Advocacy Center expresses concern about the increase of the Somali Canadians joining the Islamic extremists in Somalia. The Center has been following closely about this development, and thus now afraid that the releases of this information by some Canadian officials will change the trend of people from Canada to Somalia. Here is the statement:

Mr. Aden Hashi Ayrom, Somali Afghan trained leader of (Al-Shabab), the youth, in Somali, on regular basis, sends avowal to the all major cities in Canada to have it read to the Somali young men.

The Somali Justice Advocacy Center worries this new wave of young Somali business owners from Canada, coupled with the lack of effective outreach of Canadian government to combat against terrorism will lead to the empowerment of radical group in Somalia.

The Center urges Canadian government to be on guard.

"This is outrageous that Somali-Canadians are assisting radicals in Somalia, and therefore urge the Canadian government to do something." Mr. Omar Jamal, Executive Director of the Center said.

Canada is on the top of the list of countries, besides Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries, from which young men are going back their homeland to join the extremists.

Mogadishu radio station shut down

Here is another example of how the Somali Taliban (ICU) is trying to spin the their oppression over freedom of expression in Mogadishu:

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NAIROBI, 16 October (IRIN) - The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which controls the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and much of the country's south-central area, has shut down the East Africa radio station in Mogadishu, an official of the station told IRIN on Monday. "

At around 7:00 a.m. local time yesterday, Islamic court people came to the radio station and informed the morning shift staff to shut down," Muhammed Mahamud Mo'allim, the radio manager, said.

"They have taken all the keys to the compound and the radio is still off the air," he added.

According to Mo'allim, the UIC said the radio was shut down because it belonged to Bashir Raghe, one of the warlords defeated by the UIC in June.

Abdirahim Ali Mudey, the UIC's head of communication and information, confirmed that the radio station had been shut down "due to misinformation and for fanning hate-filled messages that could lead to violence and not because it belonged to Bashir Raghe".

He added: "We allowed it to operate hoping that the new owners would bring in professional, responsible journalists to run it. When that did not happen we had to act."

Mudey said the radio station would be allowed to operate again "once a new management is set up".In late September the UIC temporarily shut down the HornAfrik radio sub-station in the southern port city of Kismayo. However, Mudey denied reports that the UIC was trying to gag the media. Last week, the UIC circulated rules governing the media, which would have curtailed media freedom, according to the watchdog, Reporters Without Borders.

"What was published was meant as a proposal and we forwarded it to the media community for their input," Mudey said.

HornAfrik radio and television managing partner, Ali Iman Sharmarke, told IRIN that the Mogadishu media community on Sunday met the UIC leadership represented by Mudey to discuss the proposed rules and concurred that they "were meant as proposal only".

Sharmarke said: "As a media practitioner, I can tell you that a media code of conduct is essential and long overdue in this country. What we don't want is one that is imposed from outside that would undermine the freedom of the press."

He said the media groups were discussing different proposals and would present their views to the courts. Sharmarke said the media favoured "self-regulation and a self-enforced code of conduct".

Mudey said the courts respected the role of the media and "want to support an independent and responsible press; that is why we are consulting with them and we will wait to see what they come up with".

He added, "We are determined to uphold the freedom of the press."

In Somalia, Islamic Law Is Far From Uniform

Here is a great article from the LA Times about just how disjointed the ICU movement is even in Mogadishu.
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'They don't all have the same vision,' an official says of the courts that control the south.

By Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writer
October 15, 2006

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The public execution was set for 9 a.m., and thousands of men, women and children raced toward a sandy dune where the previous regime killed its political enemies.

A man accused of fatally shooting a Mogadishu businessman in a dispute over a cellphone two weeks earlier knelt and prayed in front of an eight-man firing squad, as impatient spectators whistled, hooted, stood on cars and scrambled up trees for a better view. The death sentence had been imposed swiftly by a local Islamic court. No attorney. No appeal.

The first blast of gunfire didn't do the job, so an officer stepped forward and shot the accused in the head. Then the crowd broke through security lines and rushed toward the body, many yelling, "Allahu akbar!" or "God is great!"

Four months after they seized control of Somalia's capital, Islamists have won widespread praise for reestablishing order and stability in Mogadishu and surrounding areas after 15 years of anarchy.

But the Islamists are by no means uniform in their application of justice. In Islamist-run southern Somalia, how you live, and sometimes whether you live, depends largely on where you live.

In one Mogadishu neighborhood, court officials banned cinemas and satellite television as immoral, and have punished criminals with public lashings and executions, such as the one last month.

Under a different court less than a mile away, residents can view pornographic films at night and are free to watch CNN and Hollywood movies. Islamic leaders there have no stomach for public punishment, instead sentencing criminals to prison.

"They don't all have the same vision," said Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Hassan Ali, who was appointed by Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government but has struggled for authority under the Islamists. "They don't even know each other that well. Now they're trying to set an agenda, and it's creating some culture shock."

After their surprising victory over U.S.-backed warlords in June, the Islamic Courts Union reopened the airport and seaport, dispatched uniformed security officers who won't take bribes, and reintroduced consumer protection laws, such as halting the import of spoiled food, which unscrupulous businessmen had been dumping in Somalia for years.

But a clash of ideologies has emerged between leaders of the Islamist union and nearly three dozen smaller, semiautonomous courts that function as local governments throughout southern Somalia. These clan-based courts, some of which have their own militias, sometimes pursue distinct and competing interpretations of Islamic law.

On big issues, such as opposition to bringing foreign peacekeepers to Somalia and strategies to reach a power-sharing agreement with the transitional government based in Baidoa, the Islamists show few signs of discord. Most also support, in theory, the installation of an Islamic-based government.

But as Somalis begin debating how to implement such a system, cracks are beginning to show.

In Jawhar, north of Mogadishu, the local court last month banned love songs and Western music on the radio, though such fare still plays in the capital.

After an Italian nun and her bodyguard were shot to death in Mogadishu on Sept. 17, moderate court leaders accused a group of young fundamentalist fighters, known as Shabbab, of shielding one of the killers. The court leaders threatened to break from the union if the suspect was not handed over, two court sources said.

In an interview at his modest home in Mogadishu, with laundry hanging across the courtyard and children playing, Islamic Courts Union leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys insisted that differences within the movement were minor.

"There may be some division," he said. "But there is no challenge to the authority and administration of the court. Our ideology is one." He denied any internal friction over the case of the nun's slaying.

Aweys heads the 91-person shura, a de facto parliament that includes representatives of various factions and clans. He shares power with Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a former teacher who serves in a presidential role for the union. Ahmed is thought to represent the moderate side of the courts, though he has rarely differed from the more hard-line Aweys in public.

Both men said the disputes were being magnified by outsiders, including the Bush administration and Ethiopian government, who Aweys said were plotting to "divide and conquer" the fledgling alliance.

"The U.S. government accuses anyone who disagrees with it of being a terrorist, especially when they see a Muslim who wants to form an Islamic government," Aweys said.

Ibrahim Hassan Addou, who serves as foreign minister for the union, expressed disappointment that the more extreme actions by lower courts seemed to get the most attention in the news media.

"It seems that the extremists here are getting the focus and overshadowing us," said Addou, who worked as an administrator at American University in Washington before returning to Somalia in 1999. "We're wasting our time and resources closing movies and things like this. Minor things like this have to wait."

Islamic leaders said they planned to disband the local courts and replace them with one body that would provide consistency throughout Islamist-controlled regions.

"There are mistakes being made by individuals who lack experience," Addou said. "These decisions should be made by scholars and the shura council."

In recent weeks the shura has attempted to reverse or rein in lower court actions, issuing edicts such as a ban on attacks against foreigners or civil society groups. The council chastised one lower court for seizing control of a former police station, and it apologized to the families of some World Cup fans who were killed by local militiamen.

But to avoid alienating either side, Islamist leaders have skirted thorny issues, such as cinema and radio closures, leaving lower courts free to continue issuing and enforcing religious rulings as long as they don't conflict with the council.

"As a court we are free to make our own decisions," said Sheik Hussein Omar Hussein, a former tea seller who is chairman of one of Mogadishu's new lower courts in Hamarweyne district.

His recent rulings included a ban on cinemas and satellite television in public places. For a young woman accused of selling marijuana, he ordered 40 lashes in a public square.

North of the city is a court leader with a far different view of justice. Mahad Mohammed, chairman of Wanlaweyn court, studied economics in Pakistan and returned several months ago to pursue a career in politics.

He said he supported an Islamic government for Somalia, but believed there was room for interpretation.

He said he enjoyed music and movies. When faced recently with a man accused of theft, he said, he couldn't bring himself to order the man's hand amputated, as prescribed by some Islamic law. Instead he tossed the thief in jail.

"We can be flexible," Mohammed said.

But Aweys believes there is no room for compromise under Islam.

When asked what sort of model he would use to govern Somalia, Aweys said he would turn back to the 7th century. "Our model is to go back to the government during the life of the prophet Muhammad," he said.

To him, that includes amputating limbs of robbers, executing killers in public and stoning adulterers to death — a far more conservative vision of Islam than has ever been practiced in Somalia.

Nevertheless, support for the courts union remains high on the streets of Mogadishu. Many residents say they are willing to tolerate some limits on their freedom of expression in exchange for peace and normality.

But there is growing anxiety over how far it will go.

"They've done so much for Mogadishu, no question," said businessman Said Abdi Elye, who returned three years ago from Fairfax, Va. "The real question now is: Where are they taking us?"

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edmund.sanders@latimes.com

We will take port from Islamists, says Somali militia

Hundreds of militias loyal to Somalia's defense minister have encamped at Sakow, a district in Middle Jubba region, and face off Islamist militias in the region.

Defense Minister Col. Barre "Hirale" Adan Shire and his militia set up a large base of operations in Bardhere, a town in neighboring Gedo region, and his militia commander, Col. Fartaag, promised to retake Kismayo from the Islamist militia by force.

On September 24, Col. Hirale fled Kismayo peacefully before Islamist militias completely surrounded him.

There is fear of war in the region and Sheikh Abdirahman Jinikow, a top Islamist official, warned against threats to Islamist militia in the region during a press conference in Mogadishu on Saturday.

Garowe Online News

Somalia: Islamists ban women from swimming

Islamist officials in Mogadishu have disclosed for the first time that they will not "allow" women to swim in the sea, and specifically at Lido Beach in Mogadishu. Mohamed Dirie Osman, an Islamist militia commander, said it is a "sin" for a woman to swim alongside men at popular beaches. He said that women are allowed to take sea water in containers and shower at home. Garowe Online News

Are Somali's Arab or African?

If you ask a Somali this question, you will get many answers. Many will say that they are descended from Arabs. Some will claim Arab to distance themselves from the historically dysfunctional Africa. Other will claim African to try to distance themselves from the ugly history of Arabs in the Horn of Africa, and the more recent activities of Arab fundamentalists. Others will say both. These that claim both have long had influence in Somali society, given the fact that Somali is one of the few African countries belonging to both the African Union and the Arab League. The struggle between an African and Arab heritage is still a central issue as a new government tries to rise from the ashes of civil war. Below is a very good article that sums up the issues involved about the politics of this issue:

Arabs Vs Africans in Somalia, Sudan Crises
By MICHELLE FAUL , AP

The crises in Somalia and Sudan are pitting Arabs and African governments against each other, sharpening a centuries-old continental divide.

That's clear from the way two regional groups - the Arab League and the African Union - have treated Sudan, a member of both.

Sudan currently chairs the Arab League, and was supposed to hold the rotating chairmanship of the African Union as well when it hosted the summit of the group's 53 states and territories in February. The Africans withheld the privilege, however, because of Sudan's alleged complicity in atrocities in its Darfur region.

U.N. peacekeeping has further highlighted the division. The African Union wants the U.N. in Darfur, Sudan doesn't, and the Arab states support Sudan's stance.

Africa experts say tensions between Arab and ethnic African states over Darfur have been growing for months.

Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper, which reflects the government's view, charged in a recent editorial that peacekeeping missions are a cover for foreign powers "to find a toehold in a region rich with strategic minerals."

"Once a region is destabilized, international powers step in and rearrange it according to their needs," Al-Ahram said.

Helmoed Romer Heitman, a South African defense analyst for Jane's Defense Weekly, agrees that when it comes to oil, outsiders don't necessarily have Africa's best interests at heart. "I'm not sure they really want good functioning states because they're more expensive to buy and work with than weak, fractious ones," he said.

But he said Arab states harbor a deep-seated racism toward black Africa, and Gamal Eid, executive director of the Cairo-based Arab Network for Human Rights Information, accused them of having a "generally condescending view" toward their southern neighbors. He believes the rift is widening.

Compounding the friction is Somalia, where Islamic fighters - reportedly backed by Arab Muslim extremists - are vying for authority with a weak government. The Arab states oppose foreign peacekeepers for Somalia, a member of both the African Union and the Arab League, though that country's own government wants them.

Somalia and Sudan are at the eastern end of a continentwide line where Islam and Christianity first collided 150 years ago, as Arabs moved south bringing Islam and bumped up against European colonizers with their Christian missionaries. Both Arabs and Europeans were involved in the slave trade, leaving a legacy of resentment among Africans.

Nowadays, the conflicts in the two countries are exposing the fault lines between the 53-member African Union and the Arab League, some of whose 22 members belong to both.

Iqbal Jhazbhay, a political analyst at the University of South Africa, noted that when the African Union was founded six years ago, it pledged not to ignore members' human rights violations. The Arab League, however, though, rarely criticizes one of its own.

The result, Jhazbay said, is that Arab League countries "have found themselves marginalized" in African forums.

He added that when the Arab League recently launched peace talks for Somali factions, some Africans saw it as interference. "That certainly has not gone down well with key member states of the African Union," he said.

Race and religion were evident in the 21-year conflict that divided Sudan between northern Arab Muslims and southern black Christians and others.

That war ended in 2005 but meanwhile Darfur was becoming the vast country's next battleground.

In Darfur, the fight pits Muslims against Muslims, though some identify themselves as African and others as Arab.

Somalia is mainly black and Muslim. There the fear expressed by many is of a Taliban-style government taking root, or of foreign intervention sparking a regional war and drawing in faraway powers.

Plans are afoot to send in Ugandan and Sudanese troops, as requested by the weak Somali government. The Islamic fighters vehemently oppose such a move.

In Darfur, some 200,000 people have died in a three-year rebellion by ethnic African tribes following years of government neglect. Some of the worst atrocities are blamed on the janjaweed, Arab tribal militias unleashed by the government - a charge officials deny. The U.N. Security Council wants to send in peacekeepers, but only if Sudan consents.

But Sudanese officials have declared U.N. troops could spark a holy war. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden - who was based in Sudan in the 1990s until the government ousted him - has called on Islamic militants to battle any U.N. troops that deploy in Darfur. Bin Laden also has identified Somalia as a battleground in his war with the West.

News Week in Review

After years of being forgotten and neglected by the world press and the international community, Somalia has lately been given a place of prominence in the news community because of the current political situation.

Here is a summary of "news-worthy" events in Somalia being reported today:

Mogadishu port re-opens under the UIC's control. This is a very visible effort by the UIC leaders to show that they are restoring stability to Somalia. They seem to be adopting the Hamas and Hezbollah model of providing social services to win over the public, while simultaneously adopting a Taliban-like law enforcement stance. The former has proven effective in other countries; the latter has proven disastrous when implemented in other countries. Time will tell how effective they will be.

Puntland leaders admit to having Ethiopia soldiers on their land. This seems to be the tactic to fight the UIC. Puntland, as a self-declared autonomous state, can invite in Ethiopian troops without the same complications that the TFG in Baidoa can. This may be leading to a two-front attack on the UIC militias. One coming from the Puntland/Ethiopia forces in the north and another front from TFG forces in the west.

Second Anniversary of the TFG celebrated with military parade in Baidoa. TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf is trying his best to show a strong, united front in Baidoa. Is it a facade?

An ex-president of Somalia's most recently failed attempt at a government is looking to become relevant again in the political picture. This press conference news conference has him aligning himself with the UIC. He is a known sympathizer with Islamist groups. His strong ties to these and Arab groups are what seemed to help speed the collapse of his TNG government.

One of the forgotten humanitarian crises in Somalia. This is just another sad tale of what is happening to common rural Somali's as the politicians on all sides bicker for power.

A Land of City-States

In the Middle Ages, before the dawn of the concept of the nation-state, there were city-states. These autonomous, self-governing cities were what controlled most of civilizaton. With the current state of Somalia, the world is provided a glimpse back into the world of the city-state.

Practically speaking, there are 4 cities-states within the boundries formerly known as Somalia. They are Hargeisa, Bossaso, Mogadisho, and Baidoa. In each, there are local governments now that (although claiming regional or national entitlement) only control their particular city. In between are huge stretches of desert and mountains and plains with intersparced villages and towns.

These vast swaths of undeloped land and these small villages and towns are what make up an overwhelming majority of the geographic territory of Somalia. The nomads and the small towns and villiages generally don't see the Hargeisa, Bossaso, Mogadisho, and Baidoa leaders as their government. They're government is local and they listen to the local elders of their clan.

When a few soldiers from the UIC storms into a remote villiage and 'takes control' of a area, it just means there are soldiers in the village. A group 'takes control' of an area when a majority of the people are either forced to accept the authority of their invaders, or are bribed into believing their invaders will make life better for them. There is some of both cases happening in areas controlled by each these city-states.

Hargeisa and Bossaso have sustained themselves relatively well over the last few years, with Hargeisa having more stability and recognized success. Yet, both of these cities are dominated by one paricular clan. The UIC in Mogadisho is also tilted toward one major clan. Only the TFG in Baidoa is a 'successful' effort to create a multi-clan government. The TFG has done this through a long and democratic reconcilliation process. The UIC, on the other hand hopes to become a united multi-clan government through an appeal to pious Islam.

Are these city-states sustainable? Hargeisa and Bossaso can only be sustained long-term if there is no strong central government, or if they break away and form independent countries. The TFG can only be sustained if they take control of Mogadisho. The UIC can only be sustained if they force the TFG to collapse, or they give up their ideas of becoming a government body.

Rights Group in Somalia Criticizes Islamic Courts

By Pearse Lynch www.voanews.com/english/2006-08-18-voa46.cfm

Islamic militiamen in Mogadishu

On August, 18th a meeting at a Mogadishu hotel to commemorate the anniversary of a Somali Islamic movement 28 years ago was forcibly broken up by heavily armed Islamic militiamen, who said the gathering was illegal because it had not been approved by Islamic leaders.

In a press statement released immediately after the incident, the chairman of the Somali Human Rights Defenders Network, Ahmed Mohamed Ali, said the actions of the Islamists were a direct violation of the basic human right of free assembly.

The statement also rejected claims that the Islamists have restored law and order in areas under their control. The group says that Islamic militias are carrying out murders and prominent figures in Mogadishu have been arbitrarily detained and imprisoned.

Islamic Courts Militia patrol a street of Mogadishu

A spokesman for the Islamic leadership, Abdukraim Ali Mudday, has dismissed the group's accusations. He says that unauthorized public gatherings are a direct threat to the security the Islamists have restored to many parts of the country after seizing the capital in early June. He also insists that public gatherings held without the supervision of Islamic authorities violate Islamic laws, known as sharia.

Nairobi-based Somali analyst, Najum Mushtaq, says whenever a system based on sharia law is enforced, it often comes in conflict with Western views of human rights as defined by the United Nations charter and the Geneva Convention.

Mushtaq says despite the Islamists' success in restoring order in towns and cities seized from factional warlords, the recent arrival of refugees from Somalia into neighboring Kenya and Sudan may be a sign that many Somalis are unwilling to live under a strict, Islamic regime.

"The more their laws are seen in action, people will resent them," he said. "Cinemas closing down, restrictions on women's movements in public space, this kind of a Taliban-like culture trying to impose [itself] on a society that is so diverse, this is what I call 'inter-Islam fissure' - people on many sides calling themselves Muslims but with a different culture and a different world view."

Mushtaq predicts the rise of hard line Islamic doctrine could cause lasting divisions within Somalia.

"The point I want to emphasize here is that of sectarianism, which is unheard of in Somalia," he said. "It happened in Afghanistan. It happened in Pakistan - the Sunni, Shi'ite thing all over the Muslim world. But in Somalia, they are Sufis. They follow the same school of thought. So this movement is a departure from the traditional religious structures of Somalia."

Somalia Islamists say they will attack Puntland

The spokesperson for the Islamic Courts Council said on Wednesday that
the presence of Ethiopian and Puntland troops in central Somalia regions to aid warlord Abdi Qeibdid must not be tolerated.

Sheikh Abdirahim Ali Mudey, the ICC's information secretary, said the Islamists spared Colonel Abdi Qeibdid's life after Islamist militiamen defeated him in Mogadishu.

This is the first time the Islamists have shed light on exactly how Qeibdid left Mogadishu after his defenses were overran by the Islamists.

Sheikh Mudey said the ICC leadership talked with Puntland president Mohamud "Adde" Muse and the two sides agreed that Puntland would not cross into south Mudug region and the ICC promised to not enter Puntland-controlled areas.

"We will send our forces into Puntland regions if Puntland forces do not rereat from south Mudug," the ICC's information secretary warned.

Puntland sent hundreds of militias Wednesday to Bandiiradley village, which is located some 60 KM south of Galkayo, the capital of Mudug region.

Bandiiradley was previously under the control of the Islamists but they were forced to retreat with the arrival of Qeibdid's militias supported by Ethiopian troops and Puntland militias.

Residents in Mudug region are reportedly fearful of the outbreak of new wars in the region.

Aug 23, 2006, 19:05
Garowe Online News

Somali woman is flogged for drugs

Men have been whipped for selling drugs

A Somali woman has been flogged in public for selling cannabis by Islamist militias who now control the capital.

This is the first time a woman has received this kind of punishment since the Union of Islamic Courts seized Mogadishu in June. She got 11 lashes.

Arrested for a small bundle of the drug worth $1, she pleaded innocence while being beaten, AP news agency reports.

Most sellers of the mild narcotic khat, widely used in Somalia, are women but the UIC has not opposed this trade.

The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says women often sell khat because during the long civil war, they aroused less suspicion than men when crossing between areas controlled by rival factions.

The UIC was set up two years ago by businessmen who wanted some law and order. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991.

Five men were also whipped in Thursday's ceremony, in which the seized drugs were burnt.

This is only the second time that the UIC has carried out a public flogging in Mogadishu.

The UIC is divided between radicals, who want to impose a Taleban-style state in Somalia, and moderates, who say they have no such plans.

It controls much of southern Somalia, while the internationally recognised government remains confined to Baidoa, some 200km to the north of Mogadishu.

East African diplomats have been trying to bring the Islamists and the government together for talks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5283192.stm

The State of Somalia

I hope to spend much of my time on this blog giving you my understanding, opinions and feedback on current situations in Somalia. I don't have an agenda, aside from the deep hope that peace is possible again in Somalia and the hope that Somalia will become a safe, peaceful and democratic country that I and my family may be able to visit one day.

Somali Islamists ban animal trade.

Birds of prey are among the wildlife exported

The Islamic courts that control large parts of Somalia have banned the export of charcoal and wild animals.

The courts warned businessmen involved in the trade that they will be dealt with firmly if arrested.

Charcoal exports have stripped areas of woodland, causing drought and soil erosion, while many wild animal species are becoming rarer.

Somali companies and individuals run the trade, with exports going mostly to the United Arab Emirates.

Birds of prey, trapped and exported live, form a significant part of the trade.

The exports have been going on since the collapse in 1991 of Somalia's last effective national government.

For the past 15 years, the country has been divided between warring militias.

Some of these factions have tried to control the export of wildlife and charcoal, but with little success.

The Islamic courts and their militia who have controlled the capital, Mogadishu, since earlier this year are taking the issue more seriously, the BBC's Hassan Barise reports from the city.

Their decision to halt the trade is more likely to have an impact, particularly in Mogadishu, our correspondent says.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5274620.stm

Welcome..

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