Archive for December, 2009|Monthly archive page
My God or Your Lord: Whom Should We Worship?
Comments (7)Understanding about God, from an Islamic Perspective
By Tamim Saidi, Engage Minnesota
Tamim Saidi
Immediately after the teacher introduced me and before I had finished my first sentence, I noticed a hand raised high from a young man who asked, “Why is your God better than my God?”
The Kool-Aid Syndrome and Somalia’s Fading Hope
Naari meel qabow ma leh.
–A Somali adage that says there are no cool corners in hell
By Sadia Ali Aden
Approximately nine months ago, the UN-sponsored peace conference in Djibouti produced the current president of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. President Ahmed’s internationally supported unity government continues to be mired down in internal conflict; a conflict rooted in the 4.5 clan system formula. It is a system that remains the most persistent impediment to peace, justice and equality, because it promotes, legitimizes and generously rewards the warlords (and their militias) who for nearly two decades perpetuated violence and chaos, and tarnished the credibility of the Somali people and the state.
Within this volatile mix are the President’s former colleagues who feel profound contempt and a sense of betrayal towards him and his current allies; allies accused of running with the glory of having defeated Ethiopia’s brutal forces, which occupied Somalia from December 2006 to January 2009 and humiliated the Somali public. They accuse the President’s camp signing agreements without consultation and the consent of all of the Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) stakeholders.
The Asmara-based alliance, composed of exiled parliamentarians, Islamic Courts Union (ICU), and members of the Diaspora is an alliance that, while it lasted, was a beacon of hope.
The agreement, while applauded by the international community, has left other groups within the Alliance feeling alienated – especially the ICU’s military wing (Al-Shabab) who played a crucial role in liberating Somalia—and through their resilience afforded the ARS the credibility to negotiate with the world.
Sadly, the ARS has now broken up into multiple groups; Hisbul Islam, Al-Shabaab, and a third group led by Sheikh Ahmed, president of the current “unity government.” The breakup has dashed the hope for a peaceful and truly stable Somalia, for it has multiplied the chaos.
