Islamists Declare War on Pirates

Regular readers will know that this journal has a particular dislike of fundamentalism of any variety, and of certain religious types in particular. Additionally, there is little affection here for thieves, swindlers and pirates. So,one has an odd feeling about a recent report from Somalia. The local franchise of Islamic fundamentalists has started a war against the pirates preying on ships off the Horn of Africa. If Churchill could stomach Stalin, then one will accept these allies.

Reutrers reported, “Dozens of Somali Islamist insurgents stormed a port on Friday hunting the pirates behind the seizure of a Saudi supertanker that was the world's biggest hijack, a local elder said.” The news wire also stated, “Sheikh Abdirahim Isse Adow, an Islamist spokesman [for the al Shabaab gang] said, 'Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country and hijacking its ship is a bigger crime than other ships. Haradheere is under our control and we shall do something about that ship'."

In the eyes of the fundamentalists, Muslims are more equal than everyone else. If the ship were Indian or British, they probably wouldn't lift a finger. Saving the property of infidels isn't high on their list. It's another “master race” ideology, and therefore, as allies, these guys are rather limited in what they are prepared to do.

That said, Reuters also stated, “The elder in Haradheere port told Reuters the Islamists arrived wanting to find out immediately about the Sirius Star, which was captured on Saturday about 450 nautical miles off Kenya in the pirates' furthest strike to date. 'The Islamists arrived searching for the pirates and the whereabouts of the Saudi ship,' said the elder, who declined to be named. 'I saw four cars full of Islamists driving in the town from corner to corner. The Islamists say they will attack the pirates for hijacking a Muslim ship'."

Meanwhile, negotiations to free the Sirius Star are underway. A pirate identifying himself as Jamii Adam told the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper they wanted a ransom that wasn't excessive but that did reflect their costs of doing business. He said it had cost the pirates $500,000 to seize the vessel. “We bore many costs to hijack it,” he said. The rumored demand of $235 million would be quite a rate of return.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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