Page 184 - The Winter of Islam and the Spring to Come
P. 184
The Winter of
ISLAM
and the Spring to Come
SOMALIA
A poor nation in the
midst of civil wars
W henever Somalia is mentioned,
most people think of a familiar
list of terrible calamities gleaned
from newspapers or television reports:
famines suffered by millions, epidemics
such as cholera, drought, civil conflict, tribal
wars, political instability – all these ills are
part of the daily lives of the Somali people.
Aid from humanitarian organizations is far
from resolving the terrible situation facing
the people of the country, and only offers
short-term relief. The political interventions
made on the pretext of re-establishing peace
and security actually only serve to increase
the and conflict.
The fundamental cause of the in
Somalia goes back to the days of colonial-
ism. Somalia first encountered Islam when
Muslims migrated to Abyssinia in order to
