Militia leader calls for Islamic rule in Somalia

[ECH1969]

NAIROBI, Kenya - An influential religious leader and alleged al-Qaida collaborator vowed in an interview Wednesday to establish an Islamic state in Somalia, a Horn of Africa nation the United States fears could grow into a major base for Islamic terrorists.

“The Western world should respect our own ideas in choosing the way we want to govern our country, the way we want to go about our own business. That is our right,” said Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, a key figure in a growing religious camp vying with secular factions for control of Somalia.

Despite peace talks and the formation last year of a transitional government, Somalia remains a patchwork of heavily armed clan fiefdoms — with no government to provide such basics as schools, hospitals, phone service, even traffic lights.

The United States linked Aweys to al-Qaida shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Last week, the United Nations reported that he was arming hundreds of men to keep the Western-backed transitional government from taking power after years of clan fighting.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9678535/