Around the Horn of Africa

Fellow blogger True Liberal and his blog Whatliberalbias, brought to the forefront an often neglected region about the plight in the Horn of Africa. True Liberal hits the nail on the head when he describes the over 20 million threatened by famine and the lack of international response to the region. Moreover, the threat of famine is only one problem amongst numerous problems that have stemmed from the region.

The Horn of Africa is mainly composed of the nations of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. Eritrea splintered from Ethiopia, carving itself out of the coastline Ethiopia once had with the Red Sea. War has decimated Eritrea and Ethopia in which 70,000 have died, and are currently negotiating disputed boundaries lines. According Reuters, Eritrea is one of the most militarized governments in the world. Somalia as we know, is overrun by warlords and almost completely lawless.

What does this all mean? In a report by the United States Institute of Peace, the Horn of Africa maybe becoming a hotbed for terrorism. Including the small nation of Djibouti:

Whether or which terrorist groups operate in Djibouti is difficult to assess. However, the groundwork to support such groups has expanded: in the last five years a new Islamic Center has been opened, supported by Saudi Arabia; reportedly, the number of mosques has grown from approximately 35 to over 100, financed and often staffed from outside Djibouti. The young cleric in the most important mosque in Djibouti City reportedly was trained at the Cairo theological center known for its radical Islamist doctrine. Economic links to individuals in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and Somalia are close as are communal links to families in Yemen.

This war-torn, famine-threatened area only seems to be getting worse as time progresses. But how much is being done? From The World Factbook, each of these nations list Islam as the main faith that each of the societies adhere to. Under Islam, the basic conditions required for its followers:

The 'Five Pillars' of Islam are the foundation of Muslim life:

	Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad;
	Establishment of the daily prayers;
	Concern for and almsgiving to the needy;
	Self-purification through fasting; and
	The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able.

#3 strikes the most in terms of how much are other Islamic nations doing for the Horn of Africa or even for other fellow Muslims? The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) tallies the amounts of money contributed by donor nations for supplying food aid around the world. Amongst the nations, the United States has contributed the most. In terms of Islamic nations, no Middle Eastern nation even breaks the top 20, and in fact, only two Islamic nations do: Pakistan (still dealing with its earthquake aftermath) and Mauritania (a relatively poor West African nation). With countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (#29) accounting for some of the richest countries in the world... how is it that they do not contribute more to the plight in the Horn of Africa? For nations that are non-secular and based upon Sharia and Islamic law, the pillars become a foundation of their society...

Money for the most part is wasted, take for example the Palm Islands being built in UAE. For nations that are built upon a "humble" religion of Islam, they retain so much of an identity as capitalistic nations... It just becomes another question of "practice what you preach"