Prospects For Islamic Democracy in Somalia By Sar Medoff

Feb 13, 2010

Successful Islamic democracies are the exception, not the rule.  Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, and maybe eventually Iraq and Afghanistan are the poster children paraded by the West as examples of relatively good democratic governance in an Islamic country.  Somaliland, a small quasi-state located in northwestern Somalia is never mentioned.  And yet this small country, not officially recognized by other nations or international bodies, has a popularly elected President, an elected bicameral legislature, and a strong, functioning courts system.  And it has done all of this within the boundaries of, get ready for this, Somalia.
Yes, this is the same Somalia that plays host to pirates, international jihadists, and the chaotic war-torn city of Mogadishu.  While the fundamentalist Islamic movements Al-Shabab and Hizbul essentially control Southern Somalia, Northern Somalia, consisting of the quasi-independent states of Somaliland and Puntland, has escaped the influence and barred the presence of such radical movements. 
They have established democratic institutions, held free and fair elections, and developed effective legal systems to maintain order.  And they have all of this under the aegis of traditional Somali moderate Islam.  Somalilander Ahmed Egal says his country’s “political institutions, or more importantly the people’s support for the political institutions is strong enough” that they can survive in congress with Islam.  When asked about Al-Shabab, Egal says “We’ve always been Muslims. Since when did we need [Al-Shabab’s] new form of Islam?” 
Somaliland occupies the northwestern third of Somalia, bordering Djibouti and Ethiopia.  Approximately the size of Washington state, Somaliland was a British protectorate and declared its independence following the fall of Siyad Barre’s dictatorship in 1991.  However, it remains a quasi-state since no other country has ever recognized its dominion. Puntland is the buffer state between the Southern region dominated clan-based warlords and secessionist Somaliland; but it has a weaker government than Somaliland and is also the epicenter of Somalia’s piracy industry. 
How is it possible that one country can simultaneously play host to a rare success story of Islamic democracy and to the most failed, lawless region on earth for the past 18 years?  Is the Islam of Somaliland the same as the Islam of Mogadishu?  Does Islam play a role in this dichotomy at all? 
According to Somali-born policy modeling specialist, Abdul Ahmed III, “There is no intrinsic difference between the religion of the Northern and Southern states.”  Here is where most would point to Al-Shabab and their rise to power in the South as a fundamentalist Islamic movement.  Exponentially more powerful than the US and UN-backed transitional government, Al-Shabab is a “fundamentalist Islamic Wahabbist terrorist group” says Dr. Sa’ad Sheik Osman Noor, Somaliland’s representative to the US. 
But every expert I spoke with attributed Al-Shabab’s rise not to its radical interpretation of Islam but rather to the social services and political stability it provides.  Professor Michael Weinstein of Purdue University says, “In the period of statelessness [in Southern Somalia] there was no institutional unification or institutional implementation.”  Mosques stepped in to fill this void and were eventually succeeded by Al-Shabab and similar militant movements that were able to provide basic services and create stability in the absence of a central government. 
Whether the Islamic movements of the South are genuinely religious or instead tribally based, Egal says “you have a hijacking of religion by people who have personal agendas.”  He claims the “dispute is not about faith, but entirely tribal.  It’s a tribal war masquerading under the banner of religion.”  The question that remains is whether this brand of jihadi Islam can be incorporated into a stable, democratic government?
Lacking concessions from Al-Shabab, the prospect of any democratic Islamic government in Southern Somalia is not good.  The system in Somaliland works because they have a “democratic constitution with secular tendencies. A liberal constitution, which acknowledges and cannot contradict the basics of Islam” says Dr. Noor.  Unlike in the South, religion is not politicized in the North but rather acts in a stabilizing, supporting role to the clan and democratic institutions.
So what does the success of Somaliland tell us about the chaos of Southern Somalia?  The rise of Al-Shabab is not due to a radical shift in Somali Islamic beliefs but rather due to the failure of Somali civil institutions to provide basic services.  Somalia’s Islamic tradition is not an impediment to progress; if anything, it is a boon to developing effective democratic governments with Islamic foundations, as the successes of Somaliland show.  It is now up to the Somali people, Somalia’s neighbors, and the greater international community to demand an effective, inclusive, democratic government that is supported, but not dominated, by Somalia’s Islamic heritage.
Sar Medoff
Email:smedoff@princeton.edu