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By Samaale Omar (Somali Patriot)
Monday, July 06, 2009
Somalism is the bold support for and love of the Somali way of life. It is an appreciation of the Somali culture, history, people and land. It is the celebration of Somali poetry and admiration of Somali dance. Somalism is the unyielding pride in who Somalis are and what they believe. It articules the hopes of Somalis wherever they may be. Somalism is the force that bonds a common people of a common race with a common faith and identity. The plight of Somalis has always had a direct relationship with their practice of Somalism. When Somalism was embraced and promoted, Somalis fared better. When Somalism was abandoned, conflict and great suffering were always sure to follow. Despite the efforts of many forces to eliminate it, Somalism has never been totally eliminated from the psyche of the Somali people. This has been a testament to the resiliency of Somalism.
Today, in much of Southern Somalia, the forces of Al-Shabab & Co. rule. These dark forces recognize that their biggest challenge is not Democracy as a concept or even the will of the majority of the people. They are not worried about there unacceptability to the international community or the hatred towards them which is steadily increasing by all those they oppress. They are not even concerned with the murders, rapes, beatings and other crimes they commit against the very faith they claim to defend. They don't lose a night of sleep over the fact that Western naval ships off the coast of Somalia may rain fire on them should they continue to threaten the region and the world. Infact, these forces of hate do not concern themselves with all variables any normal person doing what they are doing would concern themselves with. All the analysis by all the experts on Somalia have failed to identify the one thing that Al-Shabab & Co. fear the most and that is Somalism.
What the world has failed to recognize is that Somalism is the number one target of Al-Shabab & Co. Somalism is the only ideological package easily embraced and practiced by all Somalis regardless of their social or economic class. It represents hope and a concentration of positive energy. It makes the Somali people distinct and unique and it is precisely that seductive sweet power of Somalism, that glowing self image of the Somali collective, that threatens Al-Shabab & Co. so much that they are determined to destroy it by any means necessary.
Al-Shabab and Co. are an enemy to any truly patriotic Somali because they represent an assault on Somalism. They are directed by foreign powers and seek to shed the blood of Somali compatriots in service of foreign masters who care nothing for the Somali people. They are armed with strict orders to eliminate all forms of Somali culture and to completely transform the Somali way of life in order to establish a suitable staging ground for a destructive global agenda. Al-Shabab & Co. represent a force worse than any form of colonialsm or occupation Somalis have endured. They represent a direct assault on the Somali identity with the aim of eliminating it completely from the face of the earth. This is why they remove the Somali flag from all areas they occupy. It is why they quickly shut down any expression of Somali artistic culture. It is why they systematically target legitimate Somali customs and practices replacing them with alien beliefs. It is also why they target the knowledgeable and educated, the professional class and the articulate among the Somali populace. Al-Shabab & Co. are a more brutal modern day colonial force in Somalia and the colonial master they serve is Al-Qaeda.
Somalis from all walks of life both in and outside the Somali republic must recognize this assault on Somalism by Al-Shabab & Co. as the single largest threat to the Somali identity since colonial rule. Since this assault is physical and ideological in nature, the response must also take a physical and ideological form. The guns of Al-Shabab must be confronted with the guns of the legitimate government of Somalia backed by the Somali people and the international community. The ideology of Al-Qaeda delivered through Al-Shabab & Co. in Somalia must be confronted by Somalism as an organized school of thought. This response must manifest itself in all territories of the Horn of Africa inhabited by ethnic Somalis. In all these territories, Somalia, Djibouti, NFD and Ogaden, nationalist sentiments should be encouraged and Somalism should be allowed to flourish. A whole generation of Somalis should be re-educated in the history, culture and traditions of their race. Somalism should find it's way into the texts of school children and spread accross the airwaves. Somalism as a movement should be rekindled anew throughout the Horn of Africa as a sharp contrast to the foreign poison promoted by Al-Shabab & Co.
In some corners of the world, policy makers have looked at Somalism with disdain. It was described as irredentism, ultra nationalism, secessionism or even fascism by the short sighted. The truth is that it was this characterization of Somalism which was shortsighted. These policy makers were wrong. In the absence of Somalism, what has emerged is a destructive force threatening the region and the world with the forceful imposition of a brutal and violent ideology. The doubters of Somalism as a force should recognize that even Al-Shabab & Co. utilized the rhetoric of Somalism to seek new recruits during the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. However, those same recruits, stirred to action because of their nationalism were manipulated and redirected towards an assault on the very principles they sought to defend against the Ethiopian invaders. The observant will note that at every critical juncture, Al-Shabab & Co. will use nationalist rhetoric as a deceptive tool to achieve their aims. In so doing, they mobilize people to support their tactical objective while soiling the principles of Somalism at the same time, thereby moving closer to their ultimate goal of total control and the eradication of Somalism.
It is time to reclaim the use of Somalism from those who seek to destroy it. It is time to be boldly Somali, embracing everything that means ideologically without shame but with pride. Al-Shabab & Co. should be clearly identified by all Somalis as the number one threat to the Somali way of life and thus a clear enemy to all Somalis in all Somali territories. It is time for the people of Somalia, Djibouti, Ogaden and NFD to attack all manifestations of the ideology promoted by Al-Shabab & Co. and their masters hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan
To Al-Qaeda, it is time to say clearly that we Somalis are an indomitable people. We have never bowed to colonial rule and no alien force has ever been able to subjugate us. It is time to say that we Somalis will defend our Somalism from you who seek to destroy it.
One nation, one people, one race, free and slaves to no one !!
E-mail: [email protected]