US-wanted Cleric Named To Post

Islami Courts and interim government remain divided on Somali politics

Jun 26, 2006 Sean Sinclair-Day

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a hardliner in the Islamic Courts, is named as head of parliament

The Council of Islamic Courts has announced that Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys will be the head of their parliament. According to Reuters, Aweys is a leading Islamist on Washington's list of most wanted terrorists and belongs to a U.N. list of al Qaeda associates. During the 1990s, Aweys served as an army colonel who led militant Islamists in unsuccessful operations but he denies any connections to al Qaeda.

Last week, Somalia's relatively powerless interim government met with the Islamists in Khartoum for talks mediated by Sudan. Despite being suspicious of one another's intentions, both sides agreed to recognize each other and meet again in mid July to continue discussions about how to govern Somalia. Even amongst members of the Islamic Courts there are mixed opinions about how to lead the country. Moderate members, such as Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, have spoken about allowing Somalis to have a say in political affairs while hardliners, like Aweys, want to establish an Islamic state.

Since taking control of Mogadishu from U.S.-backed warlords on June 5, the Islamic Courts have imposed sharia law upon Somali citizens and have already begun meting out some of its more severe forms of justice. A militia leader who spoke with Reuters by phone told the news agency that five men who pleaded guilty to raping four women on June 22 would be stoned to death. Many fear that measures as harsh as these are early indications that the Islamic Courts will create a radical Islamic regime similar to Afghanistan's Taliban.

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