By Rashid Yahya Ali
The introduction of religious radicalism into Somalia’s intractable civil conflict is an ominous development and a momentous setback to its pursuit of peace. It has serious domestic and international ramifications which could derail Somalia’s path to recovery and nation building.
The recent flare up of fighting in Mogadishu, aside from its staggering human toll, not to mention compounding the misery already enveloping the nation, has further jeopardized the peaceful coexistence among the war weary inhabitants of the city and once again exposes them to uncertainty and violence worse than anything experienced in the past 10 years. It is also slowing the turtle pace progress of the parliamentary session currently underway in Baidoa. The wind currents have brought the negative effects of the conflict to Baidoa as agitated members, preoccupied with their tribal loyalties are further divided making the task of burying the hatchet and promoting close cooperation almost impossible, leaving the important national dialogue to the backburner.
Mogadishu, before the breakout of the recent violence, was in relative peace and the communities there have succeeded, despite the circumstances to achieve a minimal semblance of harmony and a level of trust which enabled inter-commerce and businesses to flourish. It is now doubtful if that level of economic activity and positive social dynamic could be sustained under the threat of yet another new outbreak of hostilities.
Tragically, the root cause of this senseless carnage in Mogadishu is exclusively centered on the global war on terrorism which if Somalia, already hovering on the brink of precipice, becomes its battle front could only accelerate its dangerous descent to total cataclysm. This war is the wrong war in the wrong place and above all in the wrong time. Realistically, the nation is in no position to engross itself with suicidal religious fanaticism and misguided holy expeditions at the expense of the afflicted innocent women and children. Afghanistan traveled this path before us to its peril. Somalia needs not contemplate similar fate.
The clerics, allegedly providing safe havens to fugitives must refrain from acts which could further exacerbate the suffering of the masses and the faction leaders, who took upon themselves to be the law, must equally cease any attempt to forcefully remove suspects. It is prudent that good judgment prevail and leave this divisive and volatile issue be dealt with by the proper authority, if it ever takes a foothold in the country. The blood of the innocent is too valuable to be shed for a war in which we have no business in engaging.
Furthermore, in the absence of a functioning authority in Somalia to deal with the issue of terrorism, the Somali people are brought to the forefront of world attention. As Moslems and in particular Somalis, whose unenviable share of ill fortune and violence is unsurpassed, it is compelling and morally imperative that we undertake serious soul searching to separate facts from myth and to return to the fundamental teachings of our sacred religion. As people, we must re-examine our moral integrity and uprightness and decide if bombing a crowded metro subway full of women, children and innocent people is permissible under the teachings of Islam. We must clarify our position if hijacking a plane full of ordinary folk and flying it straight into the twin towers of NY City central business district, indiscriminately slaughtering close to 3,000 lives, is compatible with our faith.
In light of these and many more insane acts of wanton violence throughout the world, must we shelter and comfort suspects accused of involvement in similar heinous crimes in the midst of our women and children and in return expose them to unnecessary danger and further violence?
As enshrined in our holy Koran, extremists make no clear distinction between combatants and noncombatants or defenseless civilians. Anyone who could perpetrate such atrocities in New York or the subway bombings in Madrid or in London is equally capable of committing similar crimes against their fellow Moslem brethren. In their twisted rationale and rash judgment, the 9-11 victims are not any different than After-Jum’a prayer victims in Baghdad or the sinless fathers murdered in cold blood by suspicious death squads lurking in the dusty dark corners of Mogadishu alleyways.
When a Moslem can bomb a masjid in the midst of Friday prayers, spilling blood and scattering body parts of worshippers and yet claim to be fighting for Islam is the most depraved and hideous crime imaginable. Equally abominable is the crime against unarmed civilians in the midst of their daily routines in their own homelands. How else could the bombing of the 8th century Al-Askariya, the land mark golden dome mosque in Samarra, Iraq and other preposterous violence worldwide be explained? This is not Jihad but a pure, unmitigated insanity run amok.
There is a widely held perception among some, though small in number, Moslem communities, throughout the world, that given the US close strategic and diplomatic relationship with Israel, extremist actions are condonable to some extent. Ostensibly, there is a lot to disagree with America’s foreign policy and its perceived injustices in matters important to the Moslem world. There are also outrageous incidents which disturb Moslems as well as people of other faiths, such as the invasion of Iraq, the Abu-Ghuraib fiasco, the alleged treatment of inmates in Guantanamo and the lack of equitable solution to the issue of Palestine and many more others, but nothing justifies the barbaric event of 9-11, not on political, religious or on moral grounds. One must also remember that the majority of these acts are an aftermath of 9-11, a reaction to the shock and savagery of the terror attack and the continued threat posed by elements espousing the same ideology. Every nation has the Allah given right and duty of self defense and to shelter its citizens from harm.
The blanket accusation that America is on a crusade against Moslems is baseless. There are over 6 million Moslems in the US, freely practicing their faith, educating their children in schools of their choice including Moslem schools, working and earning a living, at liberty to travel, congregate and freely express their opinions unhampered. Moreover, America has never invaded in the span of its 200 year history, a Moslem country before the 911 tragedy, except in the 1991 Gulf War to expel Saddam from Kuwait.
Besides, in a more direct relevance of US generosity to the people of Somalia, no other nation has responded both in material and might to Somalia’s plight in its most needy hour when the country was loosing in excess of 1000 lives per day to hunger, thirst, disease and unabated violence in the early 90s. It was because of the US kindness which intervened and prevented what otherwise would have become a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions. Still more, the US continues to absorb thousands and thousands of Somali refugees fleeing the nightmare in Somalia. Despite these acts of goodwill and benevolence, some sectors of the religious community continue to preach venom and hatred towards the West and in particular to the United States of America.
Somalia has always been a tolerant, traditional and a liberal Moslem nation. Re-Islamizing its people under its current turmoil, as sought by some clerics, is not only alien to the core beliefs and traditional values of the nation but is also futile and counter productive to the painful endeavor of nation building. A Taliban style regime will not only obfuscate national aspirations, openness, freedom and consensus building but through oppressive measures will dominate all aspects of social life by demanding strict and unquestioning obedience. According to the doctrine of theocratic authority, the legitimacy of the clerics to exercise absolute power is derived straight from Allah and is beyond questioning or critique. The most casual expressions of dissatisfaction are interpreted as blasphemy with severe repercussions. This form of government will not be capable in tackling the enormous challenges facing Somalia under its present day condition.
Furthermore, suspicions and persistent speculation of world media that Somalia is becoming haven for extremist elements is already scaring off potential donors and the hard currency desperately needed to re-build the country. If this trend continues Somalia will be left alone to deal with its predicament in the face of insurmountable difficulties of which it has neither the resources nor the know how to deal with.
More than any other time, Somalia needs the world far more than the world needs it. Islam is a religion of peace and compassion. It needs not set us against the world, especially when we need it most direly. Faith is a spiritual connection to the Mighty Creator to be virtuous and pure both in deed and in word. There is no compulsion in religion. No amount of policing or subjugation can nurture devoutness. It has to come deep within our soul. Moslems, as the Koran dictates, must assist each other on the path of virtue and innocence as well as in the fear of Allah (taqua) and not in sin or in enmity and in defiance of the Prophet (saws).
Most certainly, accommodating criminals who shed or seek to spill the blood of innocent people doesn’t qualify as an ethical or noble act of extending a helping hand to a fellow needy Moslem, but is amoral and contrary to the teachings of Islam. Still worse if harboring fugitives causes undue hardship and more suffering to destitute victims. There are over 2.1 billion Moslems in this world who are in far better position to address the grievances of the Islamic ummah. We have far more urgent needs to attend to rather than getting involved in a fight that is not ours to fight.
To ponder some of the calamities which our people are forced to live with on daily basis and to assess the absurdity of the mindless ventures of inviting more trouble, heed and underline the following statistics: An estimated two million people have been displaced or killed since the civil war started in 1990, Infant and maternal mortality rates are the tenth and third highest in the world respectively, Somali children are 26 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than children in the developed world | More than one in ten infants die before the age of one | Nearly a quarter of all under-fives (22.4%) die before their fifth birthday | 78% of the population has no access to health services | There are less than 15 qualified doctors per million people | 45 women die every day during pregnancy or delivery. According to a briefing document of MSF, these are the bare bone facts about our country. Must we, fellow citizen, become the battleground of a war we have nothing to gain from except more suffering and more bloodshed?
From ancestry to present day, the Ulema and the religious community have always been the last refuge in times of uncertainty and warfare. They were the source of direction and guidance and the bearers of our social integrity and moral codes as well as the pillars of our faith, commanding respect and adoration. Nowadays, in the midst of our turmoil when their services are critically needed, some segments of the religious community are feared and loathed because of their harsh and often abusive tendencies in dealing with minor incidences. The irreproachable qualities of the Wadad have dissipated and are replaced by contempt as rumors spread that the recent spate of killings in Mogadishu carried out by masked gunmen or paramilitary death squads have the tacit or express support of some clerics.
To reclaim the eroding credence of some sections of our religious community, to spare the lives of our people and alleviate the unnecessary hardship imposed on our helpless citizenry and to purposefully search for ways of preserving this dying nation, we implore the Ulema to re-evaluate and weigh judiciously, on religious, legal and moral basis, the appropriateness of harboring fugitives professedly involved in terrorism, cognizant of the potential adverse consequence to the nation and the public in particular.
We also call on the faction leaders to refrain from assigning themselves to be the arm of the law, abducting, detaining and forcefully removing suspects, unless they are a direct threat to their constituents, endanger public well being or the safety of areas under their control. We believe that it is best to leave this ephemeral issue to the proper authority. It is a national issue which is best dealt with by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
We also call the President, the Parliament and the Prime Minister to take an unambiguous stand and declare their position as clearly as possible that anyone suspected of involvement in international terrorism is not welcome in Somalia. We ask that they make it plain to those who abet; shelter or harbor suspects are breaking the law and will be brought to justice.
Moreover, to the international community, particularly the US and Western nations monitoring the shores of Somalia, that in our opinion, it is far more cost effective and humanely more beneficial in assisting Somalia build a functioning government capable of restoring peace which best serves the objectives of denying terrorists a foothold in Somalia. Timid and the remote-control-approach policies from neighboring nations are not as effective as boots-on-the- ground direct involvement. Moreover, the use of faction leaders as proxies in the fight against terrorism is laden with risks in not only serving as catalyst to more bloodshed and rekindling of tribal wars, and in creating worse humanitarian situations in a land already reeling from the effects of the worst famine in decades, but will further radicalize the masses and drive the much needed public opinion, essential in winning this fight, against the US and the West.
Rashid Yahya Ali
Baltimore, MD (USA)
E-mail: Rashid_ali_66@hotmail.com
| The opinions contained in this article are solely those of the writer, and in no way, form or shape represent the editorial opinions of “Hiiraan Online” |
