STORY: PUBLIC FORUM ON

RECONCILIATION THROUGH ISLAMIC

TRADITION
TRT: 4:10
SOURCE: UNSOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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CREDIT REQUIRED: UNSOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
LANGUAGE: SOMALI/ENGLISH/NATS
DATELINE: 24
th
/ JUNE /2014, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST

1. Wide shot, Somali Deputy Prime Minister Ridwan Hirsi Mohamed
addressing the Opinion Leaders Forum
2. Med shot, Participants at the forum discussing reconciliation
through Islamic tradition
3. Close up, Somali Deputy Prime Minister Ridwan Hirsi Mohamed at
the forum
4. Wide shot, Participants at the reconciliation forum on Islamic
tradition
5. Med shot, Tariq Chaudry UNSOM Senior Political Affairs Officer
and Annie Demirjian, Head of UNSOM Political Affairs listening
6. Wide shot, Tariq Chaudry, UNSOM Senior Political Affairs, officer at
the forum
7. Med shot, Somali Deputy Prime Minister Ridwan Hirsi Mohamed
listening to Tariq Chaudrys contribution at the forum
8. Close up, Annie Demirjian, Head of UNSOM Political Affairs
speaking at the forum
9. Close up, a participant taking notes at the forum
10. Close up, a participant taking notes at the forum
11. SOUNDBITE: ANNIE DEMIRJIAN, Head of UNSOM Political
Affairs
The outcome for the United Nations, for the United Nations in
Somalia, is really to take the recommendations from the participants
of this conference on reconciliation through Islamic traditions and to
compile the recommendations, make sure that we translate them
into a programmatic approach so that the government, civil society of
Somalia can take the recommendations and the outcome of this
conference forward.
12. Close up shot, a participant listening in at the forum
13. Med shot, Participants listening in at the forum on reconciliation
through Islamic tradition
14. Wide shot, Deputy Prime Minister Ridwan Hirsi Mohamed
addressing the forum
15. Med shot, UN special representative of the Secretary- General for
Somalia (SRSG) Nicholas Kay addressing the participants at the
forum
17. Close up, Deputy Prime Minister Ridwan Hirsi Mohamed listening
to the SRSG
18. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) NICHOLAS KAY, SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR
SOMALIA:
Members of al-Shabaab are Somalis mostly, they are sons, brothers,
cousins, nephews of Somalis and there must be between Somalis,
some way in which you can begin to reach out to these misguided
people, assure them that there is another way and that there is an
opportunity for them to play a positive role in society, a positive role
in Somalia, there are ways they can come and join programmes for
education ,for training and they can give up the gun and give up the
bomb and give up killing people and start as good Somalis to build
Somalia.
19. Close up, a participant listening in at the forum
20. Close up, a participant at the forum
21. Wide shot, Tariq Chaudrys speaking at the forum
22. Close up, Sheik Bashir Axmed Salad, chairman of Association of
Somalia Scholars giving his contribution at the forum
23. Med shot, Participants listening in at the forum
24. Close up shot, Dr. Hassan Sheik Ali addressing the forum
25. SOUNDBITE: ENGLISH: DR.HASSAN SHEIKH ALI, ISLAMIC
SCHOLAR:
The importance of this meeting is very good because it is open up to
the Somali Intellectuals, politicians and religious men to discuss,
debate and to see if there is a possibility to use it or not and thirdly, it
is to the international community and also the entire world, because
maybe they want to help the Somali people but they do not know
how to how to help them. So let us come back and look into the
internal problem and see if the Somali people can solve this through
the clan, politically sharing power. This can be used in religion, in
other things just to see if there an alternative in the country.
26. SOUNDBITE: ENGLISH: SAMIRAH HUSSEIN DWALE,
PARTICIPANT:
Attending this consultative forum was highly educative and uplifting
and most of all for the Somali Woman. Its time for our rights to be
heard and our time to know when to ask questions from the
necessary authorities such as the Islamic leaders, scholars, the
government officials and moreover the people who are in charge of
Somalia, the UN all of them collectively.

27. Med shot, Participants listening in at the forum
28. Wide shot, Participants listening in at the forum


STORY

UNSOM hosts opinion leaders forum in Mogadishu

25 June 2014- Religious scholars and key Somali opinion leaders
met in Mogadishu on 24 June to discuss reconciliation in the context
of Islamic teachings and local culture in a forum hosted by the United
Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

The event brought together representatives from the civil society,
religious groups and the Federal Government of Somalia.

Participants analysed reconciliation efforts in Somalia, scrutinising
historical events and case studies from other countries that have
applied Islamic jurisprudence in resolution initiatives.

For UNSOM, the event provided critical insight for its programming
priorities, ensuring ownership and deep knowledge of the local
context in their future activities.

The outcome for the United Nations is to take recommendations
from the participants and turn them into actionable approaches that
will be useful for the stakeholders in moving the reconciliation
forward, said Annie Demirjian, Director of the Political Affairs and
Mediation Group.

Its important for intellectuals, politicians and religious leaders to
debate and discuss this important issue and see if we can resolve
things through tradition and religion, said Dr. Hassan Sheikh Ali, an
Islamic scholar who participated in the forum.

As Somalia turns around to ensure a stable future for its citizens,
dialogue on the future of those on the fringes of the society is
inevitable.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG)
Nicholas Kay challenged the representatives to begin considering
reaching out to members of the Al Shabaab and urge them to
denounce violence.

Members of Al Shabaab are our sons, brothers, cousins, nephews of
Somalis and there must be, between Somalis, some way in which you
can begin to reach out to these misguided people, he said while
urging the participants to think about programmes in education and
capacity building that would encourage combatants to lay down arms
and contribute to the rebuilding of Somalia.

Some of the scholars at the dialogue recognised the need for
continued dialogue to ensure sustainable peace in Somalia.

This meeting is very good because it is open up to the Somali
Intellectuals, politicians and religious men to discuss, debate and to
see if there is a possibility to use it or not and thirdly, it is to the
international community and also the entire world, because maybe
they want to help the Somali people but they do not know how to
how to help them. So let us come back and look into the internal
problem and see if the Somali people can solve this through the clan,
politically sharing power. This can be used in religion, in other things
just to see if there an alternative in the country, said Dr. Hassan
Sheikh Ali, an Islamic scholar.

Samirah Hussein Dwale, one of the female participants noted that
fora such as these provide an opportunity for positive engagement.

Attending this consultative forum was highly educative and uplifting
and most of all for the Somali Woman. Its time for our rights to be
heard and our time to know when to ask questions from the
necessary authorities such as the Islamic leaders, scholars, the
government officials and moreover the people who are in charge of
Somalia, the UN all of them collectively, she said.

Participants at the dialogue emphasized the need to address
misconceptions associated with Islam, which have been exploited by
al Shabaab to recruit youths into acts of terrorism.

UNSOM has facilitated dialogue and outreach events across Somalia,
hosting debates and important discussions on key issues facing the
country as it embarks on important political processes including the
state formation, constitution review and the 2016 elections.