- Title: SOMALIA: Somalia's clerics push for Islamic law, ask AU troops to leave
- Date: 24th February 2009
- Summary: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (FEBRUARY 19, 2009) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR VIEW OF VENUE FOR ISLAMIST LEADERS MEETING ISLAMIST LEADERS ENTERING CONFERENCE HALL VARIOUS OF ISLAMIST LEADERS SEATED IN CONFERENCE ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) ABDIRIZAK MA'ALIN, RELIGIOUS LEADER, SAYING: "We have considered the presence of foreign troops in Somalia and we are calling on AMISOM forces to leave within 120 days starting from March They didn't come according to Sharia law and their presence is against the will of our people, our religion, our principles and sense of security, freedom and independence. VARIOUS OF DELEGATES JOURNALISTS/DELEGATES
- Embargoed: 11th March 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Somalia
- Country: Somalia
- Topics: Defence / Military,Religion
- Reuters ID: LVA3RR4LSN3U975GAWVF16GWK6I8
- Story Text: Somali religious leaders have given the new government 120 days to convene and declare that the Horn of Africa country will be ruled according to Islamic law.
Somali religious leaders have given the new government 120 days to convene and declare that their Horn of Africa country will be ruled according to Islamic law, a cleric said on Thursday (February 19).
A meeting of over 100 mainly moderate clerics in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, also said that African Union (AU) troops participating in the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISCOM) should be withdrawn in 120 days time and no other foreign troops brought in.
"We have considered the presence of foreign troops in Somalia and we are calling on AMISOM forces to leave within 120 days starting from March
They didn't come according to Sharia law and their presence is against the will of our people, our religion, our principles and sense of security, freedom and independence. We are calling on Somalis not to attack AMISOM peacekeepers within this period," said Abdirizak Ma'alin, one of the leaders who attended the meeting.
It was not clear what actions they would take if the deadlines were not met.
Islamist al Shabaab rebels and allied groups, who control large swathes of southern and central Somalia, have declared war on a new government led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a moderate Islamist leader and his Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.
The leaders say that it should be the more moderate Islamic law, not the strict version al shabaab hardliners want to impose throughout the country.
The council is made up of former clerics of the Islamic courts, once led by the president. The Islamic courts were routed by government forces with help from Ethiopian military allies in early 2007.
"This meeting is very important for us because unity is an obligation for all Muslim communities in the world and its one of the fundamentals. You can see how the rest of the world gives importance to their peace and unity, but we Somalis, behave in the opposite way," said Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Ummal, another one of the religious leaders.
Ahmed's Western-backed government faces the herculean task of bringing peace to Somalia for the first time in 18 years. The main threat to stability comes from al Shabaab, which is on Washington's list of foreign terrorist groups.
Al shabaab did not attend the meeting by the clerics, but a witness told Reuters that pro-al Shabaab clerics were there but sat quietly till the end.
Two years of Islamist insurgency have created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises with one million internal refugees, and others fleeing across borders to Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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