Facacusub - horseedka ayaaha

Somalia’s contemporary history is clouded with cycles of political violence, and economic deterioration coupled with periods of political and economic upheaval, foreign occupation, dictatorship and continued environmental decay. The depiction of Somalis as victims only perpetuates the status quo. These challenges could be reversed with the right leadership who can engage with Somalis in a new strategic direction that includes peace, diplomacy, and education. This starts with your generation, the Somali Youth.

Peace is the word that constantly occupies my mind, and I assume that it is constant in the minds of many Somalis everywhere. In fact, I once went out of my way to help a young brother in need. A few days later, he came back to me, and told me that he wanted to do some blessings for me. As a Muslim, I believe in the power of blessings or dua in Arabic. So, he asked “What kind of blessings would you like me to ask God for you?

While the current Somali transitional government is by no means perfect, there are at least a couple of things it has been doing right- putting in place various apparatuses to pave the way for good governance, and laying the foundation to reestablish law and order. Granted, these two developments are only moving at a snail’s-pace.

Furthermore, these kinds of developments are not as appealing as the reports of lawlessness, corruption, violence and piracy, thus they seldom get reported. When it comes to reporting news, especially as it pertains to other non ally countries, there seems to be a prevalent norm that predictably gravitates toward the negative. Positive is boring!

So, if one’s impression about Somalia is based on reports by that same media who, by and large, rely on scoops gathered by amateur local reporters that they then cosmetically polish in the comforts of their offices thousands of miles away from the scene , one is likely to hold a blurred picture about the reality on the ground. And, it is no surprise that some policy advocates are so credulously misinformed, they declare Somalia a hopeless case; and that the United States and the international community should totally disengage from that country and to leave to its own diabolical vices.

One of the main factors that caused the failure of the so-called global war on terrorism was that fact that it ignored how the feeling of hopelessness inspires desperate and destructive acts. As the individual grows more dangerous when consumed by a sense of hopelessness so do groups and nations. There is enough psychological research available to confirm that the feeling of desperation triggers survival instincts that know only one rule: by any means necessary.

This is not to downplay the enormity of the task required to help the transitional government restore law and order… but to point out that abandoning Somalia at this critical juncture could simply worsen the situation. While it is true that the U.S. foreign policy of the previous administration and the role of AMISOM have further radicalized more Somalis, the abovementioned alternative could be a recipe for disaster- not only for Somalia , but for the region and perhaps beyond. AMISOM earned a bad reputation during the two year Ethiopian occupation of Somalia . To improve its image and regain credibility, certain Muslim countries must be persuaded to send their troops.

Given the right political and economic support, the transitional government would step up to the challenge and assert its mandate to govern and set the stage for broad-based reconciliation that includes those al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam members who denounce violence, “Somaliland

Having been raised as a “good boy” and changing over to become a sluggish copy boy in a newspaper office and later climbing up the ladder to become an editor and then editor-in-chief. But as I got older, I thought I liked to think that I have a strong sense of right and wrong. I joined anti-colonial demonstrations and with the help of hand operated press we printed inflammatory anti-colonial leaflets that naturally upset our colonial masters.

The Somali Youth League (SYL) formerly the Somali Youth Club (SYC) was formed by 13 devoted Somali youngsters who fought relentlessly for independence in their own way. Their slogan was ‘XORNNIMO AMA GERI” (independence or death). Thousands of like minded boys, girls and elders joined them in their wholehearted and noble struggle. They all had grand dreams for the future of Somalia. Hence, the nationalist song “Soomaaliyey toosa.” This Wake Up call paved the way for full independence in July 1960 despite various obstacles put up by you know who.

I also know that young students, like George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah, Du Bois and Jomo Kenyatta among others created the great Pan Africanist movement in Britain in the 1930s and 1940s. From that humble beginning Africa sprung up to a full independence in 1960 when dozens of African countries became independent which subsequently led to the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Unfortunately, old Haile Selassie hijacked the organization and used it to undermine Somalia’s fledging independence, convincing African heads of state that infant Somali government was an expansionist. Our delegates have been outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the emperor and his like minded cohorts within the OAU. As a result of these behind the scene machinations, a calamity was in the making in the form of border skirmishes intermingled with war of words. And eventually a full-scale war that claimed the lives of our youth in the spring of their lives. Historians now link those very machinations with the present conflict in Somalia as well as the volatile situation in the Horn of Africa. But that’s another story.

What bugs me most is why our contemporary youth became docile and indifferent to the grim events in our country? I understand that not all people can get along due to the cancer of clan loyalties back home. But would it not make more sense for the youth in the Diaspora to join together and step out into the world as a unified force to bring about peace in their native country?

Now I may be an old fashioned man who has gone through the mills, but I am sure I am not the first person who has entertained this notion. Take for example the postings on the Banadir Public Forum by Libangedon who has been preaching a united Somali youth to fight the villains at home who ruined our country and reduced our people to paupers and corpses. The country became rapidly without government and people, a country where foreigners who wanted could come in and could go out at will without so much as by your leave. As a matter of fact a foreign diplomat described Somalia, unlike Afghanistan, as a fruit hanging from a tree (READY TO BE PICKED UP!).

This was not the way the founders of the SYL visualized that Somalia should be run, and that it needed to be put straight. That’s where you come in. You should not expect manna to fall from the sky. Only you could make a difference. It is not for me to say who is called to lead the United Somali Youth and who is not. It is not for me to say whether or not someone is qualified to start the new movement or not, it just seems to me to be unnecessary to have the Somali youth divided along clan lines forever. I had always believed that the youth in the Diaspora are free from that cancer called tribalism or clanism.

This leads me to wonder what is wrong with our youth today? I believe many would say I am a dinosaur and that boys wearing ear rings and spending hours glued to the BET channel, listening to rap music or wearing over sized pants are “the in thing”. But I ask myself: do those Pan Africanists and the founders of the Somali Youth League long time ago did not know what they were doing and as such it is necessary to be ashamed to be a Somali, and that boys wearing ear rings and watching the BET channel day in and day out is “Cool”. I am sure BET will never teach you how to rebuild the country from the ashes of vicious clan wars or resuscitate the economy. Today the old Wake up Call is as important as it was 50 or 60 years ago.

No doubt that after you have been uprooted from your native country by nasty people with guns, it has been challenging living in the Diaspora face-to-face with stone-faced immigration honchos, beefy security men and bullying landlords. But thanks to our Somali ingenuity and tenacity we are still standing and it is time to begin to look ahead to all the good things the old country has in store for us in the near future.

You may have faltered, you may have stumbled or you may even have considered yourself an outright failure, but dear future leaders of Somalia I want you to rise and prepare yourself for tomorrow. There is nothing you can do about what had happened to our country during the last ten years. Yes, the past may be a story written in blood but the future can be written in gold. Do not be discouraged about the sad stories emanating daily from Somalia. For almost every great country on earth had gone through similar turmoil, or even worse. Here are few examples, the American and Spanish civil wars, not to mention the devastation of the Two World Wars and the Bolshevik Revolution that claimed the lives of millions of people. Again, it was the youth and the womenfolk who rebuilt their countries from scratch under extreme difficult circumstances.

The ball is NOW in your court.

I VALUE YOUR COMMENTS AND ENCOURAGE YOU TO SEND YOUR EMAILS TO ME OR TO THE PUBLIC FORUM www.facacusub.com (IT IS GOING TO BE THE BEDROCK OF A FUTURE BOOK, HOPEFULLY).

Afrah95@hotmail.com

Source: M.M. Afrah

A little over a year ago, I was elected president of a country that many consider the most dangerous in the world. Over the last 20 years, Somalia has been synonymous with war and displacement. Now terrorism and piracy have been added to this list – and they threaten death and destruction far beyond our borders.

Let me begin by emphasising that however bad the situation looks, Somalia is not the “failed” state of popular imagination. Somalis are resilient and committed to peace, and sickened by the nihilistic violence of the extremists who last month announced an alliance with al-Qaida to wreak havoc across east Africa.

There is nothing Somali about the violence afflicting our country. The extremists are waging war against our Somali flag, our Somali values and our religion. Witness their values: they blew up a graduation ceremony on 3 December last year, killing young Somali doctors, graduates and four government ministers. They are preventing the UN World Food Programme providing humanitarian assistance to thousands of Somalis in desperate need. It seems these extremists will stop at nothing.

They could be defeated relatively easily, however, if the international community were to adjust its thinking in two critical ways. First, it must abandon the defeatist notion that Somalia’s problems are insuperable, because this becomes a self-fulfilling expectation. Second, it must rid itself of the dangerous delusion that Somalia has no relevance to the rest of the world.

The African Union Mission in Somalia is under-resourced. With the exception of Uganda and Burundi, countries have promised troops but haven’t delivered. The Transitional Federal Government has trained several thousand soldiers, brave men and women ready to take on and expel al-Qaida from Somalia. The British government has done much to assist us, and we are grateful, but more support from other members of the international community is needed. If we could establish a larger, well-trained army, we could make a real difference in the fight against the extremists.

Piracy off the Somali coast is a major challenge. I am appalled that the British sailors Paul and Rachel Chandler are being held hostage. I would like to add my voice to those of the British Somali community and the elders in Somalia calling for the Chandlers’ freedom. Their captivity is un-Islamic and un-Somali. We have already trained 1500 men as part of a professional Somali coastguard, but we do not have the boats and other equipment to protect Somali waters.

The TFG is committed to work with the international community to combat terrorism and promote regional security. As a result of a desire for national reconciliation, we have created a functioning coalition government made up of yesterday’s enemies. We are committed to transparency, which is why we’ve hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to ensure the accountability of donor funds. The Central Bank of Somalia and Radio Mogadishu are now up and running. The constitution is under review. We have built bridges with our diaspora communities, foreign embassies are now operating in Mogadishu and Somalia has close to 30 diplomatic missions worldwide.

This progress is evidence that Somalia is not a “failed” state, and it is proof that something can be done. However, the extremists threaten to undo this progress, and pose danger not only to Somalia but the wider world. The international community has a duty to match the resolve of the Somali people with robust support: doing that now will be a great deal less expensive. Somalia has suffered this tragedy for decades. Let us prevent it from becoming a wider one.

Source: Somali President Sheikh Sharif

An influential Muslim scholar has issued a global ruling against terrorism and suicide bombing.

Dr Tahir ul-Qadri, from Pakistan, says his 600-page judgement, known as a fatwa, completely dismantles al-Qaeda’s violent ideology.

The scholar describes al-Qaeda as an “old evil with a new name” that has not been sufficiently challenged.

The scholar’s movement is growing in the UK and has attracted the interest of policymakers and security chiefs.

In his religious ruling, delivered in London, Dr Qadri says that Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citizens and suicide bombings.

Although many scholars have made similar rulings in the past, Dr Qadri argued that his massive document goes much further by omitting “ifs and buts” added by other thinkers.

He said that it set out a point-by-point theological rebuttal of every argument used by al-Qaeda inspired recruiters.

The populist scholar developed his document last year as a response to the increase in bombings across Pakistan by militants.

‘Heroes of hellfire’

The basic text has been extended to 600 pages to cover global issues, in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by Muslims in Western nations. It will be promoted in the UK by Dr Qadri’s organisation, Minhaj ul-Quran International.

Dr Qadri spoke for more than hour to an audience of Muslims, clergy, MPs, police officers and other security officials.

“They [terrorists] can’t claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Muslim Umma [global brotherhood]. No, they become heroes of hellfire, and they are leading towards hellfire,” he said.

“There is no place for any martyrdom and their act is never, ever to be considered jihad.”

Acts of vengeance

The document is not the first to condemn terrorism and suicide bombing to be launched in the UK.

Scholars from across the UK came together in the wake of the 7 July London attacks to denounce the bombers and urge communities to root out extremists.
But some scholarly rulings in the Middle East have argued that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is an exceptional situation where “martyrdom” attacks can be justified.

Dr Qadri said he rejected that view saying there were no situations under which acts of vengeance, such as attacks on market places or commuter trains, could ever be considered a justifiable act of war.

Although Dr Qadri has many followers in Pakistan, Minhaj ul-Quran International remained largely unknown in the UK until relatively recently.

It now has 10 mosques in cities with significant Muslim communities and says it is targeting younger generations it believes have been let down by traditional leaders.
The organisation is attracting the attention of policymakers and security chiefs who are continuing to look for allies in the fight against extremists.

The Department for Communities, which runs most of the government’s Preventing Violent Extremism strategy, has tried building bridges with a variety of liberal-minded groups, but often found that they have limited actual influence at the grassroots.

Source: BBC

Nairobi, Feb 23 – The unceasing violence in Somalia and the relatively new culture of suicide bombings by extremist elements have forced a rare psychological war-of-words against them via music and poetry targeting the same youths they seek to recruit.

The renowned youthful Wayaaha cusub musical band www.waayahacusub.com and a budding poet-cum-singer known as Abdirashid “Ina Cowsgurow” or the son of the grass-reaper www.hornview.com are in the forefront of this important battle against the spread of extremism in Somalia and beyond through rich poetic songs that warn youths against joining such groups.

In Somalia, extremist groups like Al-Shabab, who are busy waging an unholy war against the internationally recognized Somali government recruit youngsters as foot soldiers and also brainwash many others to carry out suicide bombings that mainly kill innocent civilians.

A classic example is the 3rd December attack which left a trail of blood and the killing of four government Ministers and a dozen medical graduates blown up by a suicide bomber disguised as a woman in Mogadishu’s Hotel Shamow.

“Such gruesome attacks have become a norm in Mogadishu. Young militants are often used as collateral damage. This is what we seek to change. We will use wisdom and words to bring about change and not mortars and bombs like them,” said Shine, Wayaaha cusub’s leader and singer, referring to the Shamow hotel bombing.

BATTLE OF WITS.

Using rich rhythmic songs, the youthful band and poet/singer Abdirashid “Ina Cowsgurow” passes simple messages to the youth: Beware of Al-Shabab and other militant groups who are out to exploit you.

Both groups are slowly wining the hearts and minds of the youth in this important battle of wits.

The Waayacusub band is comprised of a dozen teenagers from Somalia, including two former child soldiers turned musicians. It enjoys a massive following back home in Somalia — where they recently went to perform — as well as in Kenya and the Diaspora.

The band has become a household name and has attracted joint collaborations with a Kenyan hip-hop group called “Ukoo Fulani” in Swahili meaning “A certain clan” to release a new song dubbed: NO TO AL-SHABAB, which includes lyrics in Swahili, English and Somali.

Shine explains why the song comes in three languages.

“We chose to collaborate with Ukoo Fulani due to their massive following. The song comes in three languages so that youths in Somalia, Kenya and the region as well as the diaspora can listen to it since Al-Shabab recruits youths from all over the world,”

Born and educated in Kenya’s Somali inhabited Northeastern region, the 29 year-old Abdirashid Omar, a budding poet and singer uses his knowledge of religion and customs / traditions to compose poems and songs with a tinge of hip-hop style-dancing and street fashion to appeal to the youth.

He has authored over a dozen poems since leaving his Islamic religion teaching career in 2002.

THE VERDICT

In his newly released album dubbed DELMATO, a song called FATWA. Abdirashid loathes the inhuman suffering of the Somalis in the hands of Shabab and warns the youth against associating with the “blood-letting militant group,”

Seen wearing a black and white turban associated with Shabab in the just-released DVD, Abdirashid artistically paints the gruesome picture of the 3rd December suicide attack in his arty “saar” poetic-folk song composed mainly with a solo beat of a drum and the a soft soprano voice of a beautiful female backup vocalist.

“Poetry has a special place among Somalis. It’s the only medium through which sanity can be brought back among our people. We will never tire of educating our people and especially the youth against extremism. Somalia is greater than us all and we have to use our historic poetic culture to preach peace,” Abdirashid said.

In the fatwa poem, Abdirashid explains the attack in black and white:

In Somali:

“Fajacii Xamar ka dhacay,
Fir yar jamacad bogto,
Funuuntii caafimaad
Ku faasto qalinjabsheen
Fagaarihi loo qabtay iyo
Halkii fayl iyo warqado
Larabay inii loogu furo
Ayuu maan law firjaan
Faatag iyo qarax furo
Dad badan feeraha ku jaray.

Firjan Soomaliyay
Fajacii Xamar ka dhacay
Maxaa fool xumo ka wayn?”

In its conceptual English translation, the poetic song goes likes this:

“The calamity that befell Mogadishu in which educated youths at the tender age of their life, who were expecting to be congratulated for graduating but instead the heartless/misfits/crazy gangs marred the occasion with a suicide bombing that left many in tears and missing limbs. Ooh wrecked Somalis, what other incidence is uglier than the calamity that befell Mogadishu!!!..”

Source: Guled Mohammed