SUNDAY EDITORIAL | While extremist groups of all forms must be shunned, sensible groups with strong Islamic foundations and values must be welcomed.

Much of today's world is transfixed on the ideology of political Islam, as if this is a new phenomenon and not a feat with a centuries-old track record of just governance, tolerance, human and economic development. The one-sided news and views spewed across Western media, and incorporated into the media outlets of cultures subservient to Western interests and hegemony, wrongly portray Islam and the Muslims as a people intent on overthrowing every government on earth and forcefully installing militant regimes. Somalia is a classic example; in December 2006, the U.S. government backed Ethiopia's ill-thought military invasion that aimed to topple Mogadishu's rulers: the Islamic Courts Union.

No diplomat in Washington, D.C., or London, Paris or Addis Ababa, seemed to care that Somalia's first-ever Islamist rulers succeeded in a few months where tens of thousands of Ethiopian troops and their Somali government allies continue to fail to date: secure Mogadishu! While the Islamists' methodology remains a topic of heated debate, they were nonetheless credited for bringing stability to one of the world's most unstable regions. Mogadishu has a history of gangsterdom, where the weak are cheaper than soap and the strong use bullets as pillows. To put it in perspective: the Islamic Courts' ragtag militia showed a new generation of Somalis that peace is a possibility, and reminded older Somalis that Somalia is not a lost cause.

Of course, the Islamist leaders' mistakes were many. After securing Mogadishu, they ran around southern and central Somalia atop armored jeeps, ordering everyone including the country's UN-endorsed Transitional Federal Government to surrender or risk being overrun. To put it mildly, the Islamic Courts leadership lacked the universal vision of viewing the globe's geopolitical landscape outside the Somali context. Instead of focusing on restoring the dignity of Mogadishu, the Islamist leadership was hijacked by hardliners intent on overthrowing warlord-turned-President Abdullahi Yusuf and decapitating his transitional government before it ever set foot in the Somali capital. Well, Mr. Yusuf invited his Ethiopian army friends and the rest is history.

Could the situation have taken a different route? Could the Islamist leadership show the governments of Ethiopia and the West that they were not, in fact, a part of an international agenda with questionable means and motives? Further, could the Islamic Courts have done a better job convincing the Somali public that they were not a bunch of power-hungry clerics? It was always an open secret that the Islamists kept among their top elite some of the most ruthless warlords ever known in Somalia.

Despite their shortcomings, the Islamic Courts made their mark as contemporary Africa's most successful Islamist movement. However, even more successful, albeit less-known, Islamist movements have operated in Somalia for decades, with their activities burgeoning in the post-1991 era. Islamists play pivotal roles in the country's economic and educational sectors, help resolve societal issues and promote good morals. Last week, for example, Islamic clerics in the country's northern enclave of Puntland succeeded where the regional authority failed miserably: stopping the minting of false Somali Shillings, an illegal practice that has adversely affected the local economy and sparked riots in Puntland towns.

Almost overnight, the exchange rate for $100 U.S. dollars in Puntland went from 3,200,000 Shillings to 2,500,000 Shillings! Locals welcomed the Islamic clerics and their selfless efforts in convincing the profiteers of the illegal operation to stop their venture, because it was an immoral practice that led to peoples' misery.

Although the group of clerics did not have any "official" political role, their effort nonetheless was successful beyond measure. Further, the clerics' unofficial effort underscored Somalia's Muslim society and its reliance on Islam as the only savior from tyranny and failure.

While extremist groups of all forms must be shunned, sensible groups with strong Islamic foundations and values must be welcomed into Somalia's political arena, as both a matter of practicality and a venue to marginalize extremists hiding behind a cloak of Islam. It is neither right nor reasonable to limit a Muslim country's politics to a few warlords who have sold their souls long ago and who have shown Somalia that their true intention is to hold on to the reigns of power until the last Somali dies of thirst.

Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com