Predominantly Christian Ethiopia gave its Muslim Somali neighbours perhaps the worst Christmas present of all. The reinstatement of full-blown war to replace the weeks of sporadic artillery fire and months of socially restrictive calm brought by the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC)sweeping to power in June.
Ethiopia entering the conflict proper by launching air-strikes on UIC towns and positions Dec. 24, brought report after report of Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces taking towns and of the Courts in retreat. Reports Dec. 27 put the advancing forces at 50km from Mogadishu having taken control of all major towns en route to the capital.
Upon Ethiopia's entry into the conflict the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting in which members met regarding a call to end the fighting in Somalia. No call was made however, because the U.S. and several of her allies objected to the text, saying that it singled out Ethiopia and that stability from a political agreement was needed before foreign troops could leave. Lebanon/Israel all over again, I wondered how many Somalis would be killed and displaced before the U.S let the UN pull its finger out. Literally, to point objectionably and tell them to "stop it", about all it is good for of late.
The U.S of course, supported Ethiopia in fighting the UIC, viewing the action as part of the broad War on Terror. Again similarly to the war in Lebanon earlier this year, the U.S urged restraint by Ethiopia, and the maximum protection of civilians. Clearly the U.S has learned nothing from Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Islamic fundamentalism is not like any ideology or threat the world has ever faced and cannot be dealt with by military force. The current wave of terrorism around the world is fuelled by the literal Quranic interpretations of Salafism and the Jihad it presents as central to Islam. Not only literal interpretations are the problem though, the translation of Islamic texts to suit an ideology of terrorism also contributes in the besiegement of the world.
Take the recent spate of suicide bombings… Suicide is forbidden in the Quran, but Salafism hails Jihad above all else, so suicide bombing as an act of Jihad therefore, is acceptable in their ideology. According to the same ideology those fighting Jihad are seen in a special light by Allah and those dying while doing so go straight to paradise, suicide bombers included.
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Article comments
1 - RJ Elliott
Better the Ethiopian military and the UN-approved secular government takes power by force, than a bunch of al-Qaeda fellow-travelers take power in Somalia...
2 - Khalid
It makes me angry as an Ethiopian to hear and read some of these so called expertes on the region. Make no mistake, Ethiopia is no more a Christian country than it is a Muslim one. The people of both faith have lived in peace, mutual respect and harmony for centuries. This is not a war of faith or religion. Ethiopia is merely defending it's security and interest. When this is all said and done, both Somalia and Ethiopia will benefit from it. Somalia has little to no natural resources and Ethiopia is land locked and can't keep depending on Djibouti for exports and imports. Ethiopia can't afford to just sit and watch extremists gain control of somalia and then look into their long aspired "Greater Somalia". Kenya, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia and the the rest of the world should be thankful that Ethiopia has taken action, for self interest or otherwise, to root-out religiouse fanatics from the region.
3 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Liam,
Looking at this as someone who has a dog in this race (we cannot afford yet another Wahhabi dictatorship in the neighborhood), I have to agree with RJ and Khalid...
4 - Liam Bailey
The simple fact is that however harshly the UIC ruled Somalia, the security under their control will be hard to regain under Ethiopia, the TFG or any of the tribes or clans in Somalia. People may not have liked to have their personal freedoms removed but the truth is that many Muslims believe strongly in Sharia law systems. OK the hardliners in the UIC were making a sham of it, but who knows how the moderates in the group may have influenced it in the future. Even if they failed to achieve any moderate influence Somalis could have lived in security and as long as they lived within Sharia rules, safety as well. Two words and two conditions of living that I predict Somalis will be praying for in the coming months and perhaps even decades.