A week-long Islamic conference currently underway at Al-Huda
Masjid in Garowe, the administrative capital of Somalia's stable norther state of Puntland, has featured a number of respected scholars and a deeply felt message.
 |
| A panel of Somali Muslim scholars |
The conference brings together famous Somali Islamic scholars, led by Sheikh Ali Warsame and Sheikh Abdulkadir Nur Farah, from different regions of Somalia including breakaway Somaliland.
The Muslim scholars have gathered to discuss the history of Islam in Somalia and the methods of
Da'wah, or the preaching of Islam and the invitation of non-Muslims to the Muslim faith through Islamic knowledge and sharing the message Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought to mankind and Jinn from Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.
"
The aim of this conference is to benefit, bless and bring the people together so that they can better understand the religion [of Islam]," said Sheikh Abdulkadir Nur Farah, who is often referred to as the Grand Mufti of Puntland.
 |
| A panel of Somali Muslim scholars |
"
This will have a huge impact on the people's life because they will interact and ask Sheikhs questions," Sheikh Abdulkadir added, while elaborating the theme of the conference.
While understanding Islam and the methods of
Da'wah is the conference's underlying theme,
the scholars said Islam's rich and Divine history
would be highlighted in a bid to clarify many perceptions.
For centuries, Islam has been the most widely practiced religion in the Horn of Africa sub-region, including Somalia. Islam entered the war-torn country within first ten centuries of the Gregorian calendar by Arab traders and preachers.
 |
| A panel of Somali Muslim scholars |
Somalia stands out clear as the only country in the world that is 100% Muslim, the scholars said.
Up until the 1960s, the majority of Somalis practiced the Sufi sect of Sunni Islam that had garnered much wider respect amongst Somalia's nomadic clans.
However, this began to gradually change since the 1970s, after the introduction of Salafi sect of Sunni Islam in Somalia by Somali students, who graduated from Islamic universities in Saudi Arabia.
This gradual transformation of Somalis from a level of limited Islamic knowledge in the past to a sophisticated comprehension of Islam today, through learned knowledge and practice from Islamic universities in the Middle East and Africa, laid the foundation for today, where Somalia is torn apart by forces pulling either secular law or
Shari'ah law.
 |
| The audience at Al Huda Masjid, in Garowe, Puntland (Somalia) |
This struggle, which remains at the epicenter of today's global politics, plays out in the violent sense in Somalia on a daily basis, as the opposing forces, composed of Somalis with foreign backers on each side, fight to the death to impose its own law.
Historically, i
n the late 1980s, political Islam gained its early footholds in Somalia with the injection of Salafi ideology and agenda, which the scholars argued
has led to the creation of Islamist political factions, such as the Al-Itihad Al-Islamiya ("Islamic Union") faction.
In the late 1980s, political Islam gained its early footholds in Somalia with the injection of Salafi ideology and agenda, which the scholars argued
has led to the creation of Islamist political factions, such as the Al-Itihad Al-Islamiya ("Islamic Union") faction.
In mid-2006, the
Islamic Courts Union (ICU) dramatically changed the balance of power in Somalia when they seized the national capital Mogadishu from CIA-backed warlords.
Today, Al Shabaab, the military wing of the then-ICU, is waging an insurgency to overthrow the Western-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and to install an Islamic state governed by
Shari'ah law.
The scholars suggested that the Islamist insurgent groups, namely Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, are propelled by Salafi ideology to promote literal translation of Islamic literature and to create an Islamic state by overthrowing any government that does not apply
Shari'ah law in a Muslim country.
Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad, the chairman of the Mogadishu-based Somali clerics umbrella, said the conference comes at an appropriate time for the people to understand the religion better and to avoid mistakes that continue to disintegrate the society and fuel conflicts.
He said clerics still play a crucial role in disseminating comprehensive religious teachings that would allow the current society to cope with changing situations at home and around the world.
The Islamic conference in Garowe is part of a series of events that took the Somali Muslims scholars to different parts of Somalia.
While in Puntland, the scholars will hold discussions with different people, including students, women's groups and the business community to enlighten society about Islam and related religious issues.
The conference is being aired by all major radio stations across Somalia. Somali websites are also linking the conference to the large Somali Diaspora living around the world.
This unique Islamic conference comes at an important moment in Somalia's turbulent history, as armed factions waging war in the name of Islam have created divisions among Muslims, both in Somalia and around the world, as the Muslim world faces military occupations, cultural imperialism and self-destruction.
Many Somalis hope that the Islamic conference underway in Puntland, Somalia, can contribute positively to the debate over Islam and its role in politics and society.
GAROWE ONLINE
