•Thursday, September 14, 2006
Adored by the Somali people as the ultimate peace provider, but resented by the West as the embodiment of Islamic extremists out to introduce the dreaded Sharia law, the head of the Islamic Courts does not present a picture of an extremist. He comes across as a conciliator.
SHEIKH SHARIF AHMED presents an easy demeanour despite the daunting challenges facing him as the head of the newly formed Somalia Union of Islamic Courts.
With the warlords out of Mogadishu for the first time since Somali plunged into crisis in 1991, the burning question is whether the soft-spoken Sheikh Sharif is the man to save Somalia from itself.
Adored by his people as the ultimate peace provider, but resented by the West as the embodiment of Islamic extremists out to introduce the dreaded Sharia law, Shiekh Sharif does not present a picture of an extremist. He comes across as a reconciliator.
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The worst could be over for Mogadishu
MOGADISHU IS WAKING up to economic activity but tension is evidently still very high.
MOGADISHU IS WAKING up to economic activity but tension is evidently still very high.
Some of the residents who did not freely venture out of their houses for 16 years still take caution despite assurance by the Islamic Courts, that insecurity has been contained.
Patrol jeeps manned by militias in civilian clothes mostly teenagers who skipped going to school during the war still common.
Entry procedures at the Mogadishu International Airport, are quite simple. It just takes the jotting down of a passenger's name, entry date and period of stay, and you are on your way to the city.
But one cannot help noticing the sorry state of the airport. Departures and Arrivals are in the same place only separated by a rope, while waiting passengers sit on plastic seats normally used for garden parties.
For full coverage visit The East African Standard
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