Somalia in the International limelight for all the wrong reasons

The Somali people are sick of fighting and all they yearn for is a chance at peace and a normal existence free from violence. To achieve this, however, they need strong leadership with a long term strategy to rebuild the nation.

During their meeting in London, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and Gordon Brown discussed issues related to the current Somali crisis and how Britain could further offer support to assist President Sharif’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to tackle the key issues that are proving to be an obstacle to the achievement of long term peace in Somalia such as Al-Shabaab and the fear of Al-Qaeda making Somalia its new international Headquarters. Mr. Brown also personally requested that Sheikh Sharif and his government work hard on the release of the British couple that are still held hostage by Somali Pirates somewhere in Somalia.

The key obstacles to Somalia’s peace and stability are far too complex for any individual Somali leader to address, let alone an unelected leader who most of his citizens despise. Sheikh Sharif’s poor leadership should not be encouraged by any welcome or invitation by any government anywhere in the world. He and his TFG are far too insignificant to make any real changes in Somalia.

The Somali community needs to learn to deal with the reality of Mental illness

Mental health issues are more prevalent in some groups than others and members of these groups tend to be the most vulnerable in society. These include the homeless, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, the disabled and those subject to immigration control or who are seeking asylum in the UK.

Many Somalis in the UK suffer from mental illness and need support, advice and guidance in order to recover from it.

UN sanctions Eritrea over Somali militia ties

Eritrea was hit by United Nations sanctions on Wednesday as the international community stepped up its efforts to stop the country’s alleged support for Islamists fighting a bloody insurgency in Somalia.

The US and other western countries accuse Eritrea of supplying weapons and money to the al-Shabaab militia that is seeking to topple Somalia’s weak interim government, which has international support but little authority on the ground.

Supporting the Education of the less fortunate in Somalia

The importance of education is that only through the attainment of education, man is enabled to receive information from the external world; to acquaint himself with past history and receive all necessary information regarding the present. Without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards outside world.

This is why Islam attaches such great importance to knowledge and education. When the Qur’an began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was ‘Iqra’ that is, read. Education is thus the starting point of every human activity.
Education will be Somalia’s route out of poverty and self destruction. It is the light at the end of the tunnel which has the possibility of ending 20 years of civil war and contributing to the development of the other more peaceful regions of Somalia such as Somaliland and Puntland.

Ignorance in America

Ignorance is pervasive in America; it affects the rich as well as the poor, the powerful and the powerless, the famous as well as the obscure.

Christiane Amanpour, one of CNN’s stellar correspondents, presented a special in August 2008 titled God’s Muslim Warriors. It mentioned Syyid Qutb’s 1964 book, Milestones, which, she claims, “advocated violent jihad, even against Muslim governments” and inspired generations of Muslim radicals and the creation of the Muslim Brotherhood. She describes Milestones as “a moral indictment of America.”

In a remote corner of China lies a tiny patch of Muslim freedom

The first Muslims to reach Hong Kong reportedly from Malaya arrived well over a century and a half ago.

About 100,000 of Hong Kong’s Muslims have the right to work and hold residence papers; the same number are domestic helpers and there are a few hundred asylum-seekers from Somalia, Pakistan and other Muslim countries.

Chaos feared as Somaliland cancels elections

Somaliland is facing the ugly prospect of election -related violence akin to that which occurred in Kenya after the 2007 general election.

A group of researchers from Oxford University who recently carried out a comparative analysis between Somaliland and Kenya, also warn that Somaliland could explode into violence should the standoff between the government and the opposition continue.