A gathering of clerics in Dubai feels like a poor substitute for concerted action by the international community
Riazat Butt
guardian.co.uk
Article history
Monday, March 15, 2010
On Saturday I asked if a fatwa could solve Somalia's problems. The consensus among those commenting seemed to be that it couldn't and, after hearing scholarly debate on the subject in Dubai, I must concur. But the devil is in the detail. A fatwa – especially one validated by the great and good of the clerical world – could go some way to shoring up political support and influence in nations hitherto uninterested in stopping the chaos and destruction raging through the Horn of Africa.
Shaykh Hashim Jihad Brown, director of research at the Tabah Foundation, thinks this is where the fatwa can make a difference. Speaking at a conference aimed at bringing peace to Somalia he said: "We don't have an army or a police force. We have talk. We have to make it the best talk we can."
"What the fatwa can do is receive the right type of buy-in and support from other scholars," he said. "It can defuse the ability of a rebel group to use the Islam to justify bloodshed, attacking other Muslims and rebelling against a legitimate government. It is a small part of a very big picture."
Success depends on who supports this fatwa. So who was at the event?
Well, the invitation went out to many – including al-Shabaab and other Islamist rebel groups. Al-Shabaab refused to countenance the offer while others, including the militia outfit Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, wanted to attend but were prevented from doing so by the logistics. In addition to the Somali line-up – featuring the president – there was Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah, from the Global Centre for Renewal and Guidance, Abdullah Omar Naseef, former vice-chair of the shura council in Saudi Arabia,Shaykh Habib Ali Jifri and OIC assistant secretary-general Abdullah Alim. The special representative of the UN secretary-general for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdullah, said Somalia needed many things including moral and spiritual direction. There is no question that the country had political direction, he said, it has a legitimate government recognised by the electorate and the international community (the transitional federal government or TFG). The Dubai meeting gave an added "moral and spiritual authority" to the TFG. "The ulema who are here come from different regions and spiritual backgrounds. This is what we need. More than that, or equally important, we need the continued support of the international community."
A quick look at the sums tells you that the largest source of (financial) support comes from western governments – $213m from Brussels in 2009, $185m from the US over the last 18 months and $12m to the TFG in the last financial year. Last week Gordon Brown pledged £5m for a Somali fighting fund, in addition to the £15m given to aid agencies between 2009-10. "The ulemas have political influence in their own country. They come from the Khaleej (Gulf)." He says governments in theMiddle East and the Gulf have given aid that reaches Somalia faster than that which originates in the west. But public support from such leaders is thin on the ground. Granted, Somalia poses a great security to threat to its immediate neighbours as well as North America and the UK, so these regions have a vested interest in ensuring stability. Elsewhere in Africa,Nigeria and Sudan are too convulsed with hardship and violence to lend any significant material support.
Ould Abdullah noted that while there are already foreign troops in Somalia, from the African Union, "we don't want foreigner [sic] troops coming in." It is hoped that a fatwa endorsed by eminent scholars will stir oil-rich states into paying greater attention to what is happening across the water. Perhaps this is what Bin Bayyah meant when he said those on the "Red Sea" should care more their neighbours. "If one part of the body bleeds then the whole body feels pain. I can't understand why these countries, they don't move to help the government and Somali people."
Behind the scenes, over lunch, it was revealed – to nobody's great surprise – that some of the delegates thought the fatwa as "too little, too late". How to explain to a Somali teenager, who has seen his family murdered and his home burned down, that killing is wrong? A fatwa will do little to appease his anger or desire for revenge. Between a fatwa and inaction maybe a fatwa is the lesser of two evils.
Source: Guardian