M. Cherif Bassiouni, distinguished emeritus yada yada, was there too. Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is part of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). In Fall 2007 I published an article in the Journal of International Security Affairs showing the ICU’s bloodthirsty Islamic supremacism. Here is an excerpt:
[…] For its troubles, the regime received an endorsement from none other than Osama bin Laden. In a message circulated on the Internet in late June, bin Laden exhorted Somalis: “You have no other means for salvation unless you commit to Islam, put your hands in the hands of the Islamic Courts to build an Islamic state in Somalia.” Meanwhile, foreign Islamists were hastening to aid the new regime in Somalia. The United Nations Security Council reported in November 2006 that the Islamic Republic of Iran was supplying weapons to the ICU in an attempt to obtain uranium in return.
Meanwhile, the ICU appeared to bear out Bashir Goth’s fears. The Courts forbade music (which is prohibited according to strict Islamic law), dancing and soccer within days of taking power. Women began to don Saudi dress, which covered their faces, rather than traditional Somali garb, which did not. And ICU militiamen proved ready to enforce Islamic law with an iron fist: after banning all movies and television viewing, jihadists shot and killed two people who were watching a World Cup soccer match in early July.
That September, Mogadishu youth gave a hint that the new Islamic regime was not popular with all Somalis. They responded to an ICU attempt to break up their viewing of another soccer match by burning tires and throwing stones at ICU militiamen. But the implementation of the strictest sharia provisions remained high on the ICU‘s list of priorities both before and after this show of resistance. Raids in Mogadishu led to 60 arrests for the crime of movie-watching. Women were forbidden to swim at Mogadishu’s Leedo beach.
The ICU also moved to muzzle the press, imposing “rules of conduct” on journalists. These included a prohibition on the publication or dissemination of “information contrary to the Muslim religion, the public interest or the interest of the nation,” as well as “information likely to create conflicts between the population and the Council of Islamic Courts.” Journalists were required to reveal their sources, “must not serve foreign interests,” and “must not publish or disseminate elements of a foreign culture contrary to Islamic culture or promoting bad behavior, such as nudity on film.” Finally, “the media must not employ the terms which infidels use to refer to Muslims such as ‘terrorists,’ ‘extremists,’ etc.”
That last bit sounds like something that would very much appeal to Brave Ahmed. But the larger question is — why would these putative moderates, Bassiouni and Rehab, go to a reception for the leader of a draconian Sharia regime that is waging bloody jihad?
Bassiouni and Brave Ahmed are welcome to contact me with explanations. But I won’t be waiting by the phone.
“Executive Director Ahmed Rehab Attends Reception for Somalian President,” from CAIR-Chicago, October 5:
CAIR-Chicago’s Executive Director, Ahmed Rehab, today attended a private reception for Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed at DePaul University. The event was hosted by the Univeristy in advance of the Somali President’s speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
The Dean of DePaul University’s Law School and Distinguished Professor of Law Cherif Bassiouni greeted the President’s entourage. About 20 academics and civic leaders were in attendance.
President Ahmed thanked the University and expressed hope that it would help Somalia charter a brighter future in terms of educational and humanitarian opportunities.