Abstract
Somalia is the quintessential “collapsed state.” Since 1991 it has not seen even a minimally functional central government. An international military intervention set up in 1993 under the aegis of the United Nations, intended to get the state back on its feet, bogged down in Mogadishu soon after its inception. As the capital sank into a quagmire of competing clan militia, the UN troops were pulled out again. Somalia was largely forgotten as the eyes of the world and the attention of policymakers turned to the civil war in Yugoslavia, which had broken out in the same year. After the events of September 11, 2001, however, policymakers suddenly remembered Somalia. As the ultimate stage of state “disengagement,” Somalia’s disarray offered cause for worry, particularly because its population is nearly 100 percent Muslim.
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References
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Interviews
Amran Ali, Somali businesswoman, June 3, 2002, Hargeysa.
Businessman and religious scholar, former member of al-Wahda, June 9, 2002, Hargeysa.
Employee of an NGO operating in Sool, June 17, 2002, Las Aanood.
Former chairman of the Somali Development and Relief Agenry, a local Sanaag NGO, June 8, 2002, Hargeysa.
Former politician, June 18, 2002, Las Aanood.
Garaad Abshir, titled clan elder, June 16, 2002, Las Aanood.
Garaad Gani, titled clan elder, June 15, 2002, Las Aanood.
Garaad Suleiman, titled clan elder, June 20, 2002.
Health professional employed at Las Aanood Regional Hospital, June 22, 2002, Las Aanood.
Islamist intellectual, April 3, 2003, Hargeysa.
Mohamed Haashi, former mayor of Hargeysa and SNM veteran, April 19, 2003, Hargeysa.
Muslim activist, June 9, 2002, Hargeysa.
Osman Axmed Xassan, official Somaliland representative in the United Kingdom, June 27 and 29, 2004, London.
Saad Noor, official Somaliland representative in the U.S. and SNM veteran, April 14, 2003, Hargeysa.
Somali businessman, June 29, 2004, London.
Somali journalist and Sufi master, March 23, 2003, Hargeysa.
Women’s group member, June 22, 2002, Las Aanood.
Youth group member, June 20, 2002, Las Aanood.
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© 2007 Benjamin F. Soares and René Otayek
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Renders, M. (2007). Global Concerns, Local Realities: Islam and Islamism in a Somali State Under Construction. In: Soares, B.F., Otayek, R. (eds) Islam and Muslim Politics in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230607101_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230607101_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
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