Recovering Somali State: The Islamic Factor

As one of the great religions of the world, and the fastest growing in the West, Islam has been taking center stage worldwide since the 1980s. In Muslim societies, advocates for the realization of Islam's divine moral values and legal imperatives have been at work in every sphere. This unprecedented world interest in Islam and its new revival intensified to the highest degree after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the subsequent explosion of the global war on terrorism, which has so far resulted in forceful US military intervention and regime changes in two Muslim states, namely Afghanistan and Iraq. Somalia has been spared inclusion in the list of countries targeted for US military intervention, but the United States does include Al-Barakat Group Co. (a Somali company), the Al-Haramain charity operating in Somalia, and the Al-Itihaad Movement on its list of suspected terrorist organizations. Somalia therefore remains a hotspot under constant surveillance as a possible terrorist hideout.