ABSTRACT
In 2004 a new umbrella organization, was established for Mogadishu's Sharia courts: the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts in Somalia. The elected chairman of the council was Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad. Under the leadership of Sheikh Ahmad, the Sharia court system in Mogadishu has expanded. Somalia's people's reactions to the Islamic Courts Union's (ICU) victory have been mixed, on one hand the ICU restored order and security after the lawlessness of about a decade under the rule of the warlords, some people were concerned by the imposition of radical interpretations of Sharia law. On October 9, 2006, Sheikh Sharif called a press conference and appeared in military uniform to announce a jihad against neighboring Ethiopia, accusing its government of interfering in Somali affairs and sending its troops across the border to support the Transitional Federal Government. Sheikh Sharif did not regret becoming the leader of the Islamic courts organization. Adan Hashi Ayro is a militia commander of the Islamic courts.
