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Remember those days when Mogadishu residents were terrorised by indiscriminate shelling and were forcibly displaced from their homes by the warring factions? Remember the suicide bombing in Beletweyne that killed Omar Hashi, minister of security? Remember the frantic calls by the speaker of the parliament for an urgent regional military intervention in order to bolster the government? Well I am sure my readers don’t suffer from amnesia and are able to remember of the events that had happened in the second quarter of this year. But the point here is that how at the time the media seemed to lump together Islamists as a one formidable and undividable force that was united under one ideology, and had one common enemy, namely TFG/AMISOM. That description was a typical characterisation by the media of social movements in a tribal society as Somalia where these movements are so divided that one could hardly describe them as an organic force.
As we now know Islamists have failed their first mission, after the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces, which was to topple the government in order to derail the Djibouti peace and reconciliation process and also to expel the AMISOM contingent from capital. Although their combined forces, coming from remote places as Kismayo, were put together in order to defeat the enemy, they were proven wrong and the government stayed put and survived the coup. Also, other Islamist forces “Ahlusuna Wal Jama” have successfully defended central regions from Mudug to Galgaduud. Another important fact that came out of the conflict is that once they have failed their mission, it was not long before it became clear that these Islamist forces did not have or share a rock-solid ideological base that could unite them forever. Once they did not succeed in destroying their enemy, they turned their guns against each other. The question is; what has happened to their Islamist/Jihadist rhetoric that was their banner? It seems though that concept is now dead and irrelevant. Few months, not years, were enough to reveal the fragility of their unity under one ideology, if any. Is astonishing to see how friends who, just few months back, used to call each other fellow Muslims that were united under Jihad against invaders are not only now split up among themselves but now accuse each other of being heretic, infidel and anti-Islamic. One wonders if the Islamic doctrine could not unite these forces what else on earth can unite them!! The friction and hostility within the Islamist forces became public knowledge when Al-Shabab and Xisbul Islam militias fought over the control of the strategic town of Kismayo. One of the contended issues was who gets what and how much with regard to millions of dollars generated from the sea port. Also, the divisive clan politics seems to be simmering and boiling up and is out there to undermine Islamists efforts to represent Islam as a unifying and common denominator. Despite agreements to stop hostilities, as you read this article tensions remain high in some parts of that region. There was actually fighting in Xagar in the lower Jubba region few days ago. The leader of Xisbul Islam, Hassan Dahir Aweys was forced to request cessation of hostilities. He sounded like a man who was desperate and begging for mercy! An AU spokesman found that request ironic as he could not understand why a similar offer of truce and ceasefire could not have been offered to members of the current government, fellow Muslims. What an irony! Furthermore, it has been reported that some militias and officers deserted the Islamists and joined the government. In addition there is a rift within Xisbul Islam which is now wide open for exploitation. The government could use this window of opportunity to garner public support and defeat its opponents, but the question is what vision does the government – which is also divided - can offer to Somalis? Only time can tell! Muuse Yuusuf ______________________________________________________________ We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com |
