The Relationship Between Religion and Politics in Somalia Essay

Religion is a powerful factor that affects the political activity of the nation. The research focuses on the religious influences on the Somalian political activities. The study focuses on Islam as one of the religions that has triggered the country to unstableness.

The research includes discussion on Islam as a government benchmark in terms of political policies implemented within and outside the Somalian political environment (Armstrong 27). How religion influences politics in Somalia, especially since the country is unstable.

Other Influences on Somalia

Religion influences Politics in Somalia, especially since the country is unstable. First, the Islamic leaders espouse the Islamic political system. The system prioritises the Sharia law in all its political policies and procedures. In 2006, the Islamic Courts Union had taken control of the majority of the southern part of the country. Consequently, the sharia law was implemented.

However, the Transitional Federal Government fought back to regain its original political hold. With the economic investments from troops arriving from Ethiopia, the African Union peacekeepers and air support by the United States, the Islamic Courts Union were unceremoniously kicked out and the Transitional Federal Government was able to achieve its goal of regaining control of the political environment (Reilly 4).

Islamic References

After the Islamic Courts Union’s defeat at the hands of the Transitional Federal Government, the union disintegrated into several groups. One splinter group, Al-Shabaab, focused on continuing its Holy War or insurgency against the current government party. The group’s insurgency campaign caused havoc on the nation.

Specifically, the group attacked the current Transitional Federal Government’s grabbing of many parts of Somalia from 2007 to 2008 alone. Also, the same Islamic group was very instrumental in ensuring the successful taking control of the internal affairs of Baidoa from the robust Transitional Federal Government’s control in 1998.

Second, Jonathan Howe (Clarke 172) emphasized the United States and the United Nations incorporate the religious culture of the current political leaders of Somalia in trying to reduce the tension and bring peace and plenty to the land. The relationship among the countries includes: the United Nations Roster of countries with interest in Somalia’ current and future political and religious environment, the relationship between “the United States and the U.N. is perhaps the most unique, complex, and essential.

Both the United States and the UN will be critical actors in defining any future role the world organization may play in dealing with massive humanitarian catastrophes resulting from ethnic cleansing, genocide, or human-made starvation. Therefore, it is essential to examine U.S.-UN relations during these entities’ demanding and unprecedented joint effort to help the failed state of Somalia from 1992 to 1995” (Clarke 172).

In handling the Somalia political and religious turmoil, such actions clearly indicate that the U.N. and the Unites States approach problems from different perspectives, the United States perspective and the United Nations perspective. The interests, liabilities, and capacities of the United Nations are diverse compared to the interests, liabilities, and capacities of an individual member country.

The United States’ and the United Nations’ priorities, for example, are to its constituency. For a nation to act in a democratic manner, it should complete the necessary requirements of its citizens. If a nation experiences severe internal criticism, its government may not be able to sustain an institutional commitment even if the leadership is willing to do so.

The U.N. answers to member nations, especially the citizens of Somalia – not to the electorate. For, it would distributed among the 180 member nations of this institution, it is more easily diffused. Conversely, since the U.N. has no domestic constituency, it may become a convenient scapegoat for countries that do.

The Somalian government understands the current United Nations prioritizing the United Nations’ member states in terms or prioritizing its scare global resources to alleviate the individual political, economic, processes. Thus, there are other nations that also needed the financial and other attention of the United Nations in terms of brand.

Specifically, those who work for the U.N. understandably put priority on protecting the institution and meeting the wishes of a broad consensus of nations. They must respond to pressures from many different directions. For example, the United Nations may look at a particular crisis in the framework of a global balancing act in trying to meet worldwide demands.

A single success or failure among a dozen nation tests that include the Somalia nation test does not necessarily look the same to the United Nations as to the significant nations focusing on the stabilization of Somalia. The United Nations may be willing to trade the United Nations’ assistance in Somalian crisis situation over its help in filling a more significant gap somewhere else.

Third, Walter Clarke (118) the current religious culture allows the Somalian political process characterized as the foreign military intervention in Somalia. Under the current political environment, the root cause of the shift to the United Nations peacekeeping situation. John Drysdale reiterated “The idea of having a foreign military presence in Somalia was formulated by the U.N. secretariat at the turn of the year 1991-1992 in response to events in the city of Mogadishu.

The former president of Somalia, Siad Barre, had been ousted twelve months earlier. Since that time, the leaders of opposing factions, Mohamed Farah Aideed and Ali Mahdi Mohamed, had conducted a sometimes peaceful, sometimes violent, power struggle. Currently, gunners from both sides were pounding each other’s civilian-occupied areas indiscriminately with heavy artillery and other forms of firepower.

The few nongovernment organizations in Mogadishu estimated tens of thousands of casualties sustained by the civilian population” (Clarke 118). The consequences of the United Nations’ response to events in Somalia in 1991 had precipitated to the entrenchment of the United Nations to implement the statements enshrined in the United Nations Charter in terms of helping beleaguered nations like Somalia.

The overthrow of the Aideed and Mahdi after Siad Barre’s overthrow and up to the time of the United Nations answer to the crisis in was an expected consequence. The relationship was maintained by the United Nations secretariat and therefore, was not included in its assessment and plan of action.

After the successful outcome of the overthrow of the Siad Barre government, the bitter dispute over political succession to the deposed president, Siad Barre, during the first month of the year 1991(Gebrewold 131). Fourth, Jamila A. Mubarak (Mubarak 9) proposed the religious culture of the Somalia government affected both the political and economic progress of the nation.

“Somalia is one of the least developed nations in the world. The Somali state incorporates the former Italian Trust Territory of Somalia and British Somali-land, which were united immediately after their independence in 1960. Somalia’s per capita gross national income was estimated at only $120 (1987 U.S. dollars) in 1989 and since then has eroded.

With a land area of 637,540 square kilometers and a population of about 8 million in 1990, 60% of whom are nomads, Somalia is endowed with few known natural resources, the most promising of which is the oil potential of North Somalia. Agriculture provides the livelihood for about 80% of the population, and accounts for more than 95 % of export earnings and 65 % of the GDP”.

With the current limited pastoral and arable land, insufficient and unpredictable amount of rainfall, as well as inadequate physical and social infrastructure, agricultural output erratically occurs, consequently influencing Somalia’s Gross Domestic Production output. Many of the newly created African nations during the 1960s, especially Somalia, had very high hopes about whether the effect of such independence could be fruitful or destructive to the economy and politics of each African nation (Froyen 47).

Somalia’s social, political, and economic development since independence in 1960 had been affected, more than by anything else, by Somalia’s political makeup and reflected the popular nationalist feelings among the ethnic Somali population in the African territory to come together as one community under the leadership of one person (Pan-Somalism).

The other objective had been economical and had no significant aspiration of the Somalian government to raise the depressive economic condition of its residents. Since independence, successive governments have found themselves frustrated by these two objectives. Both objectives competed for the narrow resource base of the Somali economy.

Governments have juggled them, trying simultaneously to achieve both in order to remain in power. In the first parliamentarian governments of the 1960s, the Pan-Somalism issue, in particular, dominated the political agenda. But successive governments failed to realize the popular expectations, and public dissatisfaction and frustration were widespread.

In addition, the religious colour of the political makeup of Somalia can be described as a display of the many significant participants in the warfare in Liberia and Somalia. The political actors held in strict compliance all the activities of the Somalian army with its many sympathizers and other loyal followers. The implementation of a politically viable mixture includes power, legitimacy, authority and rule.

Consequently, the political maneuvering focused on the concept of the Trinitarian war as a valid and useful instructional compliance to comprehend the very spirit as well as continuity in the country’s war efforts. The political nature of the significant Somalian players of power, legitimacy, authority and rule includes the description of power as being operational.

Operational means the capacity to affect the rational choices of others. Authority includes the use of legal power to achieve the nation’s goals and objectives. Further, Somalian rule incorporates the persistent maintenance of Somalia’s religion-inspired political situation. Somalian political will includes taking the form of the exercise of democratic rule by the affected individuals or autocratic rule over a huge number of responsibilities placed on the shoulders of the individual leaders.

The Somalian trinity of political leadership, army, and people entails that the leading players in the religion-inspired political climate actor will be shown to possess a military force and a group of supporters. In addition, religion-inspired political Somalian environment included the armed groups’ use of power.

Basically, power, in the two case studies, was used by the armed groups organised by and around, among others, Charles Taylor and Mohammed Aidid in Liberia and Somalia respectively. For the purposes of this study, these two individuals and their followers will be the main focus for analysis.

Before it can be proved that these groups exercised power (and authority and rule) after the collapse of the state, it needs to become clear whether they possessed power before the country broke down and where their power was derived from. Fourth, Isabelle Duyvesteyn (53), proposed Somalia’s political stature includes the implementation of programs that are prioritized in uplifting its economic conditions.

Somalia’ political makeup includes the “the concepts of power, authority and rule were applied to the social organisation or faction itself… politics again has been defined as concerned with power, authority and rule. Evidence will be presented in this chapter that supports the claim that political interests drove the interaction in the two wars”. In particular, the state was the focus of factional confrontations.

Political interests defined the essence of the two wars. Actors involved in armed conflict in which the state structures have collapsed do fight for political interests. First, arguments will be put forward why political interests are dominant (Mohamoud 73).

In terms of political interests of the defining feature of the war, Duyvesteyn (75) the non-trinitarian perspective, was that interests other than the political were dominant, such as control over resources or ethnicity. However, there is strong empirical evidence that points in the direction of a dominance of political interests.

Not only were the factions claiming to fight to remove the regime in power, as already touched on in the previous chapter, but they moved to the capitals to do so. After the breakdown of the state, the factions continued their struggle because of competing claims over the future of the country.

First, the invasions were claimed by the military factions to be political initiatives. As described earlier, opposition had not been possible in Liberia and Somalia. In terms of the politics of the strategy of the African wars, there is convincing proof indicating that, with the aid of empirical evidence, offering a Clausewitzian and Trinitarian foundation for the wars in Somalia, which hitherto have usually been described as non-trinitarian.

The Somalian wars were triggered by a war instrument through which the aim is to realise political aims, even in cases where the state has collapsed. Politics was defined as concerned with power, authority and rule. By using these concepts to analyse the main warring factions in the two armed conflicts, it can be demonstrated that they strove to increase their power so as to claim legitimacy in order to acquire authority and establish rule.

Initially, the factions exercised mainly coercive power, i.e., they commanded fighters and weaponry. The faction leaders aimed to transform this power into authority by claiming legitimacy. Legitimacy was found in existing conventions, such as ethnic and clan identity, patrimonialism, widely shared beliefs (such as the importance of social background), military skill of the faction leaders, religion and symbolism.

Legitimacy was further derived from the actions of those over whom power was exercised, illustrated by the support from followers, both in their numbers and in their compliant behaviour. Furthermore, the actions of foreign actors, as witnessed in negotiations and peace missions, for example, conferred legitimacy to the factions.

Also, religion was instrumental in turning some types of legitimacy into authority. When authority had been achieved, it transformed to be in the best interest of the factions to perpetuate it. Therefore, the authoritative power had been put into place with less cost than coercive power. The establishment of rule, i.e., the persistent exercise of authority, was possible.

The possession of authority by the factions allowed them to create more legitimacy, among other ways by using this authority. However, faction rule faced several challenges (Braathen 3). Likewise, Einar Braathen (15) reiterated religion and ethnicity combined to create a new political statement. In fact, “during the dramatic events in SubSaharan Africa issues of ethnicity and contested identities seem to be at the heart of the matter.

But the crisis in countries like Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Somalia are really be reduced to ethnic cleavages. Clear, ethnicity had an essential part in many of the most conflicts in SubSaharan Africa, in the sense that ethnic affiliations often structure the composition of groups in conflict.

As a consequence, religion is to blame for the increasing killings and other criminal acts. Moreover, there is little doubt that one of the main reasons why people are not having second thoughts in trying to kill each other. The religion-based ethic political system had metamorphosed to a certain extent to the identities around which ethnic and national conflicts are being rivaled.

The political power that connects the different members of the Somalian community binds them through a process that can be identified as an adjustment or subjectification. This is a process where two meanings of the word ‘subject’ become socially constructed truths: subject to someone else by control and dependence, and tied to his/her own identity by a conscience or self-knowledge.

In terms of religion, Einar Braathan (37) proposed the political problem includes controlling the emotions of the residents. Usually, the Somalian individual will eagerly implement an order to kill an innocent person. Specifically, “Somalia has a new global reputation — the world’s stereotype of abject, total and violent failure.

This image is the consequence of the implosions of early 1991, subsequent events of mutual predation and mass starvation, failed international intervention, and a continuing absence of even the rudiments of viable national institutions. Given up on as an unsalvageable people and place, popular as well as official interest in Somalia has all but evaporated”.

Some of the references to the Somalian nation may be stated with a sense of combined sadness. Consequently, a once-proud community clearly accepted their dignity and self-respect. They are currently lessened reduced to occurring in the foul debris of their socio-economic and cultural ruin. Likewise, the residents who can escape, are relegated to the status of unwanted messy persons in exile in almost part of the global environment.

No one refuses the possible occurrence of the Somalian population. Likewise, there is a popular sentiment to try to eliminate the post-colonial environment initially. In terms of the religious of the political management of the Somalian Economy, the 1980s time period, as well as the early 1990s centered on the regimes of Samuel Doe in Liberia and Siad Barre in Somalia, crashed under the continuing pressure of the local guerrilla attacks.

The end of such kingdoms had not been followed by the implementation of the new laws. The regimes had been defeated, but the Somalian country had fallen. One big reason for the end of the regimes had personalized and privatised the state. The fall of the regimes had resulted to the demise of the nation.

In addition, Einar Braathan (109) states religion was also instrumental in the political disintegration of the state. The Somalian disintegration will be pinpointed as a downfall of territory-wide authority with a concomitant breakdown of state institutions, covering everything from civil service, army and police to schools and electricity supply, and including internationally recognized structures of governance (Hall 61).

This does not mean there is no governance or that a state of anarchy follows state collapse. Various political and military structures imposed themselves on the territories of Somalia and Liberia. Guerrilla groups like the Somali National Movement (SNM), as well as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), had seemed evidently organized (or disorganized) as the Somali and Liberian states.

These two guerrilla groups established political units on parts of the territory after the breakdown of the Liberian and Somali states. Further, Einar Braathan (109) proposes religion aids in the transcending of the discourse on the politics of engaging in war. The two main ideas behind this volume have been a) to shed critical light on the reduction of African civil wars to ethnic conflicts, and b) to argue for the emergence of civil wars as the result of political struggles over power, resources and identities.

The religion-inspired political Somalian environment implements its rehabilitation of Africa by instituting some variables that are generally used to understand the war in another locality had not been preferred of in terms of the African civil wars (Akou,27).

In addition, Anna Simons (97) emphasized the pastoral ideology as well as urban occurrences “Although the previous chapters set forth the parameters of the collapse of the Somali state, we have not yet considered the effect these expatriate and chronological impacts had on traditional Somali institutions, or how they shaped daily life in Mogadishu for the very Somalis on whom expatriates based their knowledge of Somalia.

In the following chapters, I examine a variety of institutions that have continued to persist in the urban setting, having been carried over from pastoral sources. Although these institutions have surely altered in meaning and purpose with the distances traveled (through space and time), the pastoral setting itself has also evolved so that pastoralism, as it is practiced today, is not the same pastoralism early explorers viewed or I. M. Lewis studied”.

In addition, the theories that had originated from the pastoralism style of religious practice had retained an integral part of the Somalian urban environment. In addition, on the ideological level, we again see confluences: of a rhetorically national Somalia being constructed at the same era national politics requires the dismemberment into some interest parts depicted as both prior to and had ever since independence.

In addition, the combining features of all Somalis include the sharing the same language and practicing the same Islamic religious policies that are implemented to help produce a sense of coherent Somalian nationalism (Morrison 13). Clearly, the two areas themselves had been used as pawns of war.

In terms, historical religion-inspired political Somalian environment, (Simmons 39) reiterated the “present decadence of neighboring Berberah is caused by petty internal feuds. Girhajis the eldest son of Ishak al-Hazrami, seized the mountain ranges of Gulays and Wagar lying about forty miles behind the coast, while Awal, the cadet, established himself and his descendants upon the lowlands from Berberah to Zayla.

Both these powerful tribes assert a claim to the customs and profits of the port on the grounds that they jointly conquered it from the Gallas. The Habr Awal, however, being in possession, would monopolize the right: a blood feud rages and the commerce of the place suffers from the dissensions of the owners”. Besides, the Habr Awal tribe is commonly having internal quarrels.

The two septs, the Ayyal Yunis Nuh and the Ayyal Ahmad Nuh, established themselves as coming from the community known as Berberah. The former can be identified as plentiful and numerous. Jeffrey M. Herbst (229) insists the religion-inspired political Somalian environment looks to the United States to protect its patrimony as well as economic partnership (Hirschey 289).

The lessons of Somalia used for the future United States Foreign Policy includes the United States focusing on the act to “flex its undeniable muscle for the betterment of less fortunate peoples across the globe depends on defining the national self-interest in a manner that would support the existing imperatives of liberal internationalism against the powerful, quickly allied forces of entropy, disdain, isolationism, and national narcissism.

That is the new challenge for U.S. foreign policy and the makers of U.S. foreign policy, wounded as it and they have been by the mistakes made during and as a result of the U.S. intervention in Somalia”. The above quote clearly shows that the United States continues one of its primary functions of focusing on its national legal priorities by centering on using force in dealing with Somalia’s affairs with other nations around the world to ensure its political affairs trickle down to economic gains (Foresman 20).

The processes of intrusion have differed from the classical gunboat diplomacy to the implementation of proxy wars as well as occupation of relevant areas. It is very clear that isolationism can be defined as the fear of being entangled in the messy imbroglios of foreigners–has always been second nature to Americans.

In addition, religion-inspired political Somalian environment political implements persuasive adventures in foreign lands that include the strive for clarification as well as the gesture to override the Somalian population’s national interests, not just to focus on the necessities of Somalia’s foreign policy requirements. In addition, many of the intervention activities include controversy resolutions with external as well as internal disputes, with criticism generated from some generations from some disgruntled quarters.

In terms of the religion-inspired political Somalian environment, Clarke (20) emphasized “Operation Restore Hope covered 40 percent of Somalia. It was limited to the central and southern regions, and neither UNITAF nor UNOSOM, with some almost irrelevant exceptions, established a presence in the northwestern or northeastern areas of the country.

However, the operation had an impact on all of Somalia, and its effects countrywide are the focus of this chapter”. The religion-inspired political Somalian environment includes the use of international efforts to bring back the original Somali justice system that includes fundamental flaws in operational planning and implementation.

Hopefully, reflecting the country’s significant concentration on Mogadishu, UNITAF did not generate a successful activity to capitalize on the successful Australian program to restructure the Somali police and judiciary in Baidoa and the Bay region. The Somalian political strategy includes accepting the United States’ plan to proceed with its Operation Restore Hope did not follow successful lessons from the Gulf War, after which civil affairs units in Kuwait aided in restricting the police and judiciary.

The Somalian police and judiciary, after the overthrow of Siad Barre After January 1991, was helpless when Somalia descended into anarchy and disintegrated into clan dominated areas. The process of tribal fiefdoms disputes, many areas did perform politically and economically better than other regions of Somalia.

Specifically, before January 1991, the Somali National Police Force numbered had reached an estimated 15,000 persons around the country. It had been segregated into eighteen regional divisions with approximately ninety police stations located in the districts and over 100 police personnel.

Islam religion on Somalia’s Political Environment

Further, Carl Brown (9) emphasized the Islam religion was very instrumental in the political process of government the nations. Carl Brown reiterated “others, even if aware that the Middle East contains many inhabitants other than Arabs, are inclined to think that the Muslim world and the Middle East are roughly coterminous.

It is true that the Middle Eastern population is about 90 percent Muslim, but all the Muslims of the Middle East still add up to a minority of the world’s Muslim population. Even when defining the Middle East broadly to embrace the entire Arab world from Morocco to the Arabian Peninsula plus Iran, Israel, and Turkey the Muslims thus included are only slightly more than one-third of the world’s Muslim population” (Brown 9).

In terms of comparison, the most significant Muslim state, Indonesia, is found in SouthEast Asia. Likewise, the first four Muslim states in terms of population are all outside the Middle East. Those nations are: Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and (surprising to many) India with more than over 100 million Muslims. In terms of comparison, the Muslim population represents 60 percent of the total Christian community around the world.

Comparing Islam to Christianity (Schmidt 119), the Muslim “Church Government” differs from the Christian religious teachings. In Islam, there is no separation of church and state, of religious organization as contrasted with a political organization. Likewise, the difference in religious teachings proceeds to different political priorities (Nasr10). There are several chances to offer adjustments to the assertions.

Specifically, Carl Brown (29) one significant difference between Islam and Christianity is that Islam knows no church in the sense of a corporate body whose leadership is clearly defined, hierarchical, and distinct from the state. The organizational arrangement of Muslim religious specialists, or ulama, generates an institutional disagreement between Muslim church and Muslim state virtually impossible.

Meaning, an ‘alim may state the many negative comments and other aspects of the ruler. However, the same person cannot canonical call a Muslim “church council.” In addition, the Nor has opportunities to pass his charges up the Muslim religious hierarchy until a Muslim equivalent of pope or council or synod renders a judgment binding on all members of the “church.” This, at least, upholds as a massive generalization for Sunni Islam.

As for Twelver Shi’ism, the pronouncements of Iran’s Ayatullah Khomeini and the mullahs in Iran points to the recommendation that the clergy there are more nearly a recognizable “church” hierarchy. This Sunni-Shi’i distinction calls for separate treatment.

In terms of the historical bases of traditional Muslim and Christian political theory most Muslims and most Christians have for centuries lived just like most of the people living in Somalia and other countries where there are possible groups of Muslim residents, Even the religio-political struggles within Christendom and Islamdom have usually been intrafaith, such as Protestant versus Catholic or Sunni versus Shi’ I Muslim groups.

In addition, Carl Brown (68) reiterated “a perceptive British diplomat whose long service in the Middle East began early in this century captured the cultural counterpart to the Muslim theological tradition of political quietism in writing: The Egyptian man in the street is very quick to recognize the facts of power; he does not have to be blown out of cannons, or even harshly treated to conform.

He will support long years of humiliation and, indeed, of ill-treatment, buoyed by the golden certainty that somewhere along the road includes a banana-skin on which the object of his dislike is bound one day to put his heel”. Another evocative illustration comes from the great Egyptian nationalist leader, Sa’d Zaghlul, who in an often made public speeches before a huge crowd to express here hope that the day will arrive come when the Egyptian ceased regarding government the way the bird views the hunter.

The sense of impotence before Somalian leadership is also well displayed in the story of village notables who had focused on sending a group of representatives to the Ottoman capital asking for the removal of an oppressive governor. When the governor was able to know their strike plan, he called the group to his house, escorted them to a secret room, pointed out a chest and told them to open it.

It was almost filled with lots of gold coins and other large quantities of precious metals. Stated that he was responsible for increase the locality’s gold reserves. Consequently, the strikers called off their strike plans. Also, Carl Brown (52) reiterated “From this internal perspective it is not so much that Muslim societies failed to link Islamic thought with political practice but that the Muslim self-image gave preeminent importance to the ideals of unity and community.

To clarify this interpretation of Islamic political thought, let us recall two fundamental points already adumbrated in a somewhat different context. First, the clear relationship of the traditional Muslim political theory for all later thinking about the role of the state and the political community plus the natural tendency of any scriptural religion to emphasize the historical period when the scriptures were revealed combined to give the political model of the idealized early umma an unquestionable part in later Muslim philosophies about Somalian politics.

In addition, a hierarchically that includes a structured clergy charged with establishing doctrine never developed in the Islamic residents’ area, the religion-inspired political Somalian environment shows there is no effective institutional way to reconcile differences between religious dogma and political practice.

In terms of the roots of political pessimism, “Islamic political thought or, more precisely, Muslim attitudes toward politics and the state produced a paradox that can be expressed as follows:

1. Islam emphasizes the religious importance of man’s deeds in this world. Islam decidedly does not turn its back on mundane matters. Islam, moreover, grew up in early political success. After that, the overwhelming majority of the world’s Muslims usually lived free of political threat from non-Muslims—until modern times. Muslims generally hold on the religious philosophy that the early umma, which, unlike the early Christian Church, was a this-worldly religious, political community par excellence.
2. Yet, this very Islam with such character focused one created a political culture that nurtured a pessimistic attitude toward politics and, out of this political pessimism, a submissive attitude toward government. While never developing anything like the Christian separation of church and state, Islamic culture did foster a de facto separation of state and society.

This separation of state and society was never explicitly recognized as legitimate. The idealized early umma as led by the Prophet and after that the four rightly guided caliphs (and the equivalent imamate of Shi’ism) was the only legitimate model of Islamic government.

Based on the above discussion, religion affects politics in Somalia, especially since the country is unstable. The religious influences affect the Somalian political activities. The research shows that Islam as one of the religions that has precipitated to the Somalian country into the political abyss known as unstableness.

The research discussion indicates Islam is a government benchmark guide in terms of political policies implemented within and outside the Somalian political environment. Indeed, religion is a powerful factor that affects the political activity of the nation.

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