Abukar Arman -Somali Envoy to the United States

If there is one thing that I learned in the past half a decade-when I consciously decided to hang my viewpoints and values in the public square, or the market place of ideas-it must be that one cannot appreciably persuade others without sincerity and sustained commitment. And the disciplined pursuit of these two critical elements trains one to transcend the trivial distractions and provocations spewed at people to throw them off track and derail their vision.

So, typically I refrain from responding to people who are not genuinely interested in civil discourse; who, for one reason or another, find pleasure in putting their biases and selective assessments in writing. However, the last couple days I was forwarded two different articles by two different friends that required dose of clarification. Both articles (How Somalia's Envoy to the USA vindicated neo-cons on Somalia, and Friend or Foe: Who Has Failed the TFG?) appeared on WardheerNews.

All other half-truths about my person aside, these articles claim that in a recent Associated Press article I angrily took a jab at Professor Ahmed Samatar and accused him being "a lazy thinker". The quote used in both articles was indeed mine but it was never intended for Professor Samatar.

Knowing Professor Samatar, I am sure he would care less about what I or any one else calls him as he offers his intellectual viewpoints and analysis. However, I find this clarification necessary for the following reasons:

1) To nip this issue in the bud, if you will. A few people e-mailed me and some wrote to me in order to offer their congratulations on "how (I) handled the professor". I had to disappoint them with the truth.

2) In our deen, as exemplified by the Prophet (ASWS), we should respect our learned and put them on their deserved pedestals.

3) Professor Samatar is an individual whom I could never in my right mind accuse of being a lazy thinker when I very well know that he is not only an accomplished scholar, but, one of the most prolific thinkers when it comes to envisioning a better Somalia. Make no mistake; Professor is some one whom I greatly admire, though he and I had disagreed on some critical issues, publicly and privately.

4) The question that the AP reporter asked me was something like: What do you think of those who say that the current government is hopeless and it is bound to fail? [at no time did he mention Professor Ahmed Samatar] And my answer, of course, was directed at those who, over the years, became consumed by the defeatist mentality whose mantra fosters nothing but a self-fulfilling prophecy.

------

Mr. Abukar Arman is the Somalia Transitional Government Envoy to the Unites States. He can be contacted at:Abukar_arman@yahoo.com

________________________________________________________________

We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com
So please email your article today Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the views of WardheerNews
Maqaalkani wuxuu ka turjumayaa aragtida Qoraaga loomana fasiran karo tan WardheerNews 

Copyright © 2010 WardheerNews.com