Missing the point on our priorities

While reading a purportedly Kenyan Muslim blog, I was quite shocked to see the blog carrying some inflammatory messages and even praising terrorism. They were even praying for Allah (sw) to "keep Osama bin Laden" for the Ummah.

They also tore into Somalia's interim President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad accusing him of being a hypocrite and not waging 'holy war' against the Americans and the Jews. Jamaican scholar Faisal al-Abdullah too was praised despite making some outrageous comments.

Whoever is behind that blog needs to understand Osama bin Laden is not a favour upons Muslims. No one has dragged Muslims through mud in modern history than Osama did and like Sheikh Salman bin Fahd al-Oadah said; 'how many Muslims were killed due to Osama's actions?' And as Kenyans, we need to know our priorities rather than getting entangled in regional politics.

Lack of employment, failing marriages, low standards of educations, drugs, low Muslim participation in national affairs, lack of advocacy groups, grinding poverty, illiteracy, disunity and many other ills are the challenges that await Kenyan Muslims and in particular the youth. This Osama nonsense has nothing to do with Islam and Muslims and we are the least that should feel attached to this un-Islamic bigot.

I'm a Somali by ethnicity though a Kenyan and I know why Somalia has failed. It failed because the Somalis themselves wanted their nation to fail. They are the least patriotic people on earth, inherently corrupt (Sayid Mohammed Abdulle Hassan who fought the British and Somalia's unrivalled hero famously said this one) and everyone of them wants to be satisfied otherwise nothing will proceed.

Such a society doesn't need conspiracies to know as to why they have failed. They are the only homogeneous society in Africa, all Muslim, all belong to one School: the Shaf'i School and all are quite moderate, yet they slaughter each other and rape their daughters simply because of tribalism. Then you come and blame America and Jews. Stupid. First of all, they should shun what Islam taught them to shun and that's tribalism.

The vazi la Sharif (kiswahili-the clothes of Sharif) banner (below) is extremist and utterly outrageous and it is disturbing that we have people who are so concerned about Somalia that they believe fighting America and the Jews is all what's needed to salvage Somalia, yet as a non-Somalis, their own understanding of Somalia is very minimal. Quit Antisemitism for it only serves the Zionists.

Of course, we have foreign countries contributing to the destabilization of Somalia, but that's what would happen to any country that avails such opportunity to outsiders. And as the Kiswahili proverb says: Usimwamshe alalaye, ukiwamsha utalala (don't wake up your enemy otherwise he will destroy you). If Somalia slept, don't expect it to awoken by any other nation. Only the Somalis will have to do that and Allah (sw) doesn't change the condition of a people unless they first change themselves.