Garowe Online (Garowe)
28 November 2008
A group of Muslim scholars in Somalia have issued a declaration rejecting a new power-sharing agreement signed between the country's transitional federal government (TFG) and an opposition faction, led by Islamist chief Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad, the scholars' chairman, said the new deal is "against the Islamic religion."
"It is unacceptable that a small group decides the destiny of the Somali people," Sheikh Bashir said, adding: "It is also unacceptable to sign an agreement with the group [TFG] that brought enemy forces [Ethiopian army]."
The Islamic scholars' declaration warned that the power-sharing deal could "lead to open war" among Somalia's Islamist guerrilla groups.
Sheikh Bashir and a group of scholars have been spearheading efforts to reconcile Islamic Courts Union (ICU) factions.
In October, the Islamic clerics issued a fatwa calling for the continuation of the anti-Ethiopia insurgency and demanded that agreements cannot be signed until the intra- ICU dispute is resolved.
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