The Union of Sharia Courts – Sharia is traditional Islamic law, and the Sharia courts are the enforcers of Sharia. This group of Islamic traditionalists and their supporters has united behind Sheik Sharif Ahmed, hoping to institute a strict and rigorous military based government as a solution to the long standing political unrest and chaos of Anarchic Somalia. Many outsiders compare the Union of Sharia Courts and the larger group of Islamic Courts they belong to, Union of Islamist Courts (UIC) (now known as the Islamic Courts Council, ICC) the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Africa is a war-torn continent whose violent history is known all over the world.

The Facts:

• Somalia hasn’t had an active and stable government since 1991.
• Currently Somalia has a government comprised of several warlords, and consists of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi, and a 275 member parliament. This government is known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), and doesn’t have very much control or brandish any power over the current state of Somalia.
• Somalia’s neighbors, Eritrea and Ethiopia are manipulating the current intra-state conflict to serve the interests of their country.
• If the ICC becomes the dominant power, there are concerns about the opportunity for terrorist Islamic Fundamentalist groups to spread their operations.
• Islam is a prevalent religion in Somalia, but Somalis tend to be more moderate adherents to the faith.
• Clans form the foundation of Somali society.
• There are several clans that exist, but the primary conflict lies between the Hawiya clan – one of Somalia’s largest – and Darod.
• The Hawiya clan supports the ICC and the Darod clan supports the TFI
• Ethiopia and Eritrea have been pitted against each other since Eritrea’s secession from Ethiopia in 1993.
• Ethiopia has a large population of Muslims and Somalis, despite the fact that it’s a Christian country.
• The successful establishment of an Islamist government in Somalia could cause additional unrest among the Muslim population in Ethiopia.
• Eritrea is a strong supporter of any occurrence that will disturb the happiness and peace of its former master.
 

The Beef:

It’s been said that Somalia is a country with many rules and no rulers. The country has had a hard time governing itself since 1991, but is set in the larger context of a country that appears to have had overall trouble in regrouping and reorganizing since the end of imperialism. The conflict and discord between the clans in Somali is old and thus runs deep: Unfortunately, the state of Somalia doesn’t appear to be headed for repair anytime soon.