Behold the dilemma:
Al-Shabab is a super-über-islamo-military-movement that believe that Somalia will not, cannot, be ruled by anything other than the Shari’ah.
The government, the transitional government (apparently transitional is a word that must be incorporated in all post-war governments. As to predestine the current government’s inevitable failure and raise expectations for the next transitional government) is currently led by a sheikhy-looking guy who shaved his beard to look symphatetic towards his Western sponsors.
Now, the super-über-islamo-military-movement want Shari’ah, although they refuse to explain what sort of Shari’ah they want, and will wage war until that mission is accomplished. The sheikhy-looking guy gained support because he was sheikhy-looking, and if he does an un-sheikhy thing, like say, claim that he will not enforce Shar’iah in Somalia, then he will appear spineless and lose his support amongst his kind, the sheikhy people. If he says he will enforce Shari’ah, his western sponsors will back out, and probably wage war against Somalia for harbouring terrorist thoughts and activities.
In conclusion, wake me up when September ends.
4 comments
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February 23, 2009 at 4:30 am
Aya
A shariah-based constitution from which the country’s legal framework is drawn is fine and certainly appropriate for a muslim country. What concerns me, though, is this insistence upon putting the cart before the horse. No group need panic so early about the implementation of shariah before the government has even set ground in the country it wishes to govern. We have certainly become addicted to in-between stages or as you have aptly pointed out, transitional governments. If only we could move beyond the transition.
February 28, 2009 at 5:47 pm
somalieren
Agreed, absolutely, we talk argue about how we should decorate the house before we’ve even laid the foundation. I am supportive of a Shari’ah based constitution, but I believe we need to lay all the cards on the table in order to do so. “Shari’ah” is too vague, there are so many ways to implement Shari’ah in a society, and I’m afraid that the Shabaab-way isn’t the 21st century way.
April 1, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Om
Seeming to me that the sheikhy-looking guy is screwed either way. Am I correct?
April 15, 2009 at 9:48 pm
rummage
somali politics either absolutely bores me something silly….or it enrages me in a way nothing else does. There are no intermediates, nothing. So my opinion on things related tend to be fragile and momentary….argh! the angst of Somali politics.