Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides)- “It is difficult to say whether interests connected with international fundamentalism are behind the Islamic Courts which have taken power in a greater part of Somalia” say local Church sources in the Horn of Africa where there is growing concern that radical elements connected with international Islamic extremism may come to power in Somalia.
“What is certain, and has surprised many observers is that the troops of the Islamic Courts managed to defeat, the militia of the “warlords” who had ruled Mogadishu for over 15 years ” our sources say. “This was because the troops of the Islamic Courts were well commanded and well armed. By whom it is still unclear, and not to be excluded therefore is an intervention of external elements which supplied at least funding and logistic support”.
“To understand how the Islamic Courts took power we must consider the situation in Somalia, where the State ceased to exist in 1991” the source continue. “Somali society fell back on itself and on its clan system. Western state structure is an element foreign to Somalia. The real form of social and political organisation is the clan, which in turn is divided in sub-clans. Complex mechanisms rule life inside the clan and relations between the various clan groups.”
Islamic Courts are part of this structure. Their task is to regulate questions concerning Islamic legislation, especially family law (marriage divorce, inheritance questions etc…). “In Somalia, until 1991, there existed at least 3 types of court: state courts, Islamic courts and traditional courts. The latter settled disputes over land, pastures etc.. among members of the same clan. In fact Islamic Courts belong to the clan, each clan has one” the source explains. “The interesting thing is that there are at least 15-17 Islamic Courts and they have managed to come to some sort of agreement and take power”.
“The emerging of Islamic Courts is therefore part of a typical process in Somalia where the traditional clan structure is the main reference point for every Somali. For a Westerner this situation it is not easy to understand, but we must realise that the modern State was born after centuries of bloody strife in Europe. It is not a structure which can be simply imported to a different culture” say our sources. “Certainly if the most extremist elements within the Islamic Courts were to prevail we would be faced with a turning point in the history of Somalia, and the outcome would be difficult to predict” the source concludes. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 20/6/2006 righe 37 parole 477)
