by Andrew L. Jaffee

It seems that the “last stronghold” of Somalia’s Islamist Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) has fallen, only months after the group almost took complete control of the county. Claims that the UIC was a grass-roots movement bringing law and order back to Somalia have disintegrated into falsehoods. Thanks go to Ethiopia for being the only country to put a stop Islamist desires to create another Taliban-like Afghanistan on the shores of Africa.

While some decry Ethiopian interference in the internal affairs of a neighboring state, the AP today revealed that the UIC was not exactly an “indigenous” movement:

Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and fighter jets captured the last major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement Monday, while hundreds of Islamic fighters — many of them Arabs and South Asians — were seen fleeing the town.

Add to that:

…deputy al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri called on Somalia’s Muslims and other Muslims worldwide to continue the fight against “infidels and crusaders.”

The UIC, if left to itself, would have established nothing less than another stronghold for the world Islamist movement, led by al-Qaeda, to spread its virulent dogma to Somalia’s African neighbors. And what of the UIC’s “militiamen?:”

Hundreds of gunmen, who apparently deserted from the Islamic movement, began looting the warehouses where the Council of Islamic Courts had stored supplies, including weapons and ammunition.

The BBC especially had promoted the idea that the UIC was welcomed en masse by Somalia’s people:

After years of lawlessness, many Somalis are happy to have some kind of law and order.

Some analysts say the UIC’s popularity stemmed from its ability to transcend the clan enmities that have bedevilled Somalia since the overthrow of former President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

But even the Beeb admitted certain minor details about the UIC’s style of government:

Hardliners also want to curb foreign influences, which they say are immoral. They have closed down cinemas showing foreign films and football matches.

Some radio stations have also been told not to play foreign music or local love songs but other radio stations and cinemas have been left alone.

The UIC have also staged public executions and floggings of people they have found guilty of crimes such as murder and selling drugs.

Ethiopia is certainly not a perfect model of democracy. On the other hand, its government is certainly much more open than those in the rest of the Third World. It has successfully staged a number of relatively open parliamentary elections since ratifying a constitution in December 1994. But who am I to complain? Ethiopia has helped put a stop to the spread of Islamism in northeastern Africa.

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Related: War Against Islamo-fascism, Africa

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