Somali Militias Decry Terrorists

A woman shouts slogans during a demonstration in Mogadishu against the possible deployment of African peacekeepers in Somalia. (Photos By Mohamed Sheikh Nor -- Associated Press)

The Islamic militias, which Thursday continued extending their control throughout southern Somalia, grew out of a decade-long effort to bring order to Mogadishu in the absence of a federal government. The courts relied on Islamic law, or sharia , and banned pornography, cut off the hands of thieves and ordered public execution of murderers.

But in the past week, the militias have mounted what amounts to a public relations campaign, portraying themselves as moderates interested in bringing peace and security to their country.

The letter, the Islamic militias' most detailed statement yet about their intentions, included promises that a civilian police force would soon be installed and that former militia members would be demobilized to work on such public works projects as street cleaning and tree planting. A letter sent last week to foreign governments said the militias wanted "a friendly relationship with the international community."

The mayor of Mogadishu, Mahamud Hassan Ali, warned in an interview Thursday that only a rapid, massive infusion of cash and other outside help could prevent the Islamic forces from tilting toward extremism and turning Somalia into a haven for terrorists.

Ali, who was born in Somalia but moved to Minneapolis in 2000, was appointed mayor of Mogadishu by Somalia's transitional government. He said last week's victory by the Islamic militias had delivered the best chance for peace and stability in 15 years.

Ali disputed suggestions by U.S. officials that Mogadishu harbors terrorists but said extremist forms of Islam could appeal to the city's disaffected, largely uneducated youth. Preventing that, he said, would require that significant rebuilding efforts, financed mainly by the West, begin in the next two months.

"Somalia could become the biggest place for al-Qaeda or anybody else," he said in an interview in Nairobi, a regional political and economic hub where he has spent the week seeking help from diplomats.

The courts that brought Islamic law to Mogadishu also could become more severe in their punishments, he said.

If Somalia is neglected and left as it is, he said, "sharia may get strong."

Staff writer Colum Lynch in New York contributed to this report.