Islamic Courts Union (ICU)
The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was a coalition of Sharia courts in Somalia, formed in the 1990s amidst the country's prolonged state of anarchy following the collapse of its central government in 1991. The ICU aimed to establish an Islamist regime and restore order by implementing Islamic law across the war-torn nation. Its power significantly increased in mid-2006 when it expelled secular warlords from Mogadishu, gaining control over large parts of southern Somalia and emerging as a de facto governing body. However, the ICU's authority was short-lived; by the end of 2006, it was ousted by Ethiopian military forces and allied secular warlords, leading to a retreat and a vow to continue resistance. The ICU consisted of various courts with differing ideologies, with some leaders perceived as moderate while others were considered more radical. Following its defeat, remnants of the ICU contributed to the formation of the militant group Al-Shabaab, which became a prominent force in Somalia's ongoing conflict. The ICU's rise and fall reflect the complex interplay of local governance, international interests, and religious dynamics in Somalia's turbulent history.
Islamic Courts Union (ICU)
Summary: The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was dedicated to establishing an Islamist regime in war-torn Somalia. Despite persistent suspicions, the ICU insisted it was not an extension of al Qaeda. In mid-2006, forces of the ICU took control of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, defeating an alliance of warlords backed by the United States. Six months later, however, the ICU was forced out of Mogadishu by a combined force of secular warlords and the Ethiopian military. The ICU pledged to continue its struggle to establish an Islamist state.
Territory: Somalia.
Religious affiliation or political orientation: Islamist.
Founded: The 1990s.
Background of ICU
The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) emerged in the mid-1990s, largely based on clans in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu. These organizations held a common belief in Sharia, or Islamic law, as the basis for restoring order in a country long-wracked by anarchy.
The ICU emerged as an important national force in early 2006 when Somalia’s autonomous courts banded together and, with associated militias, confronted warlords who controlled Mogadishu, in some cases with American financing.
The courts operated on a purely local basis within the northern part of Mogadishu. They initially dealt with such issues as petty crimes, property transfers, and matrimony, as well as clamping down on pornographic films in theaters. The courts established a sense of law and order in the areas where they were active. Their presence was believed to have been initially welcomed by many ordinary city residents as an alternative to the constant fighting and chaos by competing secular warlords.
The ICU was not a single institution but a council, or union, of fourteen semi-independent courts that emerged during anarchy since Somalia's last national government was deposed in 1991. Eleven of these courts were regarded by external observers as moderate Islamists; three were considered as more radical, hard-line Islamic fundamentalists. Somalia's business community had funded the courts to restore a degree of basic order in a country without an effective government.
The ICU took on a different aspect after June 5, 2006, when militias linked to the courts expelled secular warlords from Mogadishu and rapidly moved to consolidate power over much of southern Somalia. Militias then moved northward toward the Ethiopian border with little resistance and challenged the country's semi-official, but largely ineffective, Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
Stated goals:
- Establishment of stable rule over Somalia, a country marked by anarchy since 1991.
- Establishment of Islamic law, or Sharia, as the basis for the Somali government.
Key leaders: Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, chairman; Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
Alliances: Unknown; the group denied ties with al Qaeda or the Taliban.
Timeline:
- June 2006: Backed by militias, the council of independent Islamic courts evicted secular warlords from the capital, Mogadishu, and assumed power over much of southern Somalia. The ICU was widely regarded, although not officially recognized, as the effective governing body over Somalia. This country had been without a functioning central government since 1991.
- June 2006: The rapid takeover of much of Somalia by militias controlled by the ICU immediately raised concerns in Ethiopia, whose population was about 40 percent Muslim. Many Ethiopians feared Somalis might instigate an uprising within their borders. Ethiopian troops massed along the Somali border, with media reports indicating some Ethiopian troops had made incursions across the border.
Short-lived Control
On June 24, 2006, about three weeks after effectively taking control of Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia, the ICU named a controversial hard-line Islamist, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, as its chairman, taking over the top leadership position from the more moderate Sharif Ahmed who had made peace overtures to the United States after the US had long supported secular warlords as a bulwark against a takeover of Somalia by Islamists.
The United States government quickly issued a statement saying it would not deal with Aweys, a former colonel in the Somali army and long-time foe of the head of the transitional government, Abdullah Yusef Ahmed. The two men once headed competing militias after the downfall of the last effective central government in 1991. Additionally, Aweys headed the Ifka Halanka Islamic court, operating in north Mogadishu.
According to The New York Times, Aweys was appointed leader of a new council comprising eighty-eight members at a meeting of several hundred Islamic leaders in Mogadishu. Aweys, a former Somali army colonel, was formerly vice chairman of a group named Al Itihaad, believed by the administration of President George W. Bush to have ties to al Qaeda. For this reason, he was placed on Washington's list of terrorists in the wake of 9/11. His ascendancy within the ICU was regarded as yet another blow to Washington's policy toward Somalia.
Almost immediately following news of his rise, a US State Department spokesperson said, "Certainly, of course, we're not going to work with somebody like that. And of course, we would be troubled if this is an indicator of the direction that this group would go in."
The previously acknowledged leader of the ICU, Sharif Ahmed, was widely regarded as more moderate than Aweys. Ahmed was said to remain in charge of an executive committee in charge of daily affairs, thus leaving open the question of the future direction of Somalia. News reports quoted Italy's special envoy for Somalia, Mario Raffaelli, saying: "It's too early to have a complete assessment. We have to see if they are dropping dialogue or just adding more voices to the discussion. To say a so-called bad guy is in charge will only serve to reinforce the extremists. This movement continues to have moderate voices."
Invasion by Ethiopia
Following a series of incursions that began earlier in 2006, Ethiopia launched a full-scale ground invasion of Somalia in December. Ethiopian ground troops and air force helped drive ICU forces out of Mogadishu by the end of the month. ICU forces retreated south of Mogadishu, vowing to continue a guerrilla war against the government. The rapid success of the Ethiopian campaign took many observers by surprise, similarly to when the ICU had consolidated its power over much of Somalia in June. The United States supported the Ethiopian government, having long funded secular warlords in Somalia to prevent the rise of an Islamist regime.
In early January 2007, after the main force of the ICU was forced out of Mogadishu, the Associated Press quoted ICU loyalists in hiding as vowing to launch guerrilla and terrorist attacks against Ethiopian troops. Somalia's interior minister asserted that 3,500 ICU fighters were hidden in Mogadishu, raising the prospect of an Iraqi-style guerrilla war.
As an organization, the ICU effectively ceased following the occupation of Somalia by Ethiopia. Its remnants, nonetheless, reconstituted and joined other organizations. This included a new group, Al-Shabaab, originally the armed wing of the ICU. During the Ethiopian occupation, Al-Shabaab transformed into a movement of popular resistance. Over the next several years, Islamic groups contested the presence of the Ethiopian military. In January 2009, Ethiopian military forces withdrew from Mogadishu and Somalia.
Bibliography
Cocodia, Cocodia. “Rejecting African Solutions to African Problems: The African Union and the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia.” African Security, 2021, pp. 110–131. doi.org/10.1080/19392206.2021.1922026. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.
Bartholet, Jeffrey. "Fighting in the Shadows." Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2010, www.newsweek.com/fighting-shadows-110831. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.
Gettleman, Jeffrey. "Ethiopia Hits Somali Targets, Declaring War." The New York Times, 25 Dec. 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/12/25/world/africa/25somalia.html. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.
Nordland, Rod. "Tough Talk from Somalia's Islamic Hard-Liner." Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2010, www.newsweek.com/exclusive-tough-talk-somalias-islamic-hard-liner-112261. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.