Culture of Somalia Islamic jurisprudence, although some are also adherents of the Shia Muslim denomination. Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, is also well-established, with many local "jama'a" ("zawiya") or congregations of the various "tariiqa" or Sufi orders. The constitution of Somalia likewise defines Islam as the religion of the Somali Republic, and Islamic Sharia as the basic source for national legislation. Islam entered the region very early on, as a group of persecuted Muslims had, at Prophet Muhummad's urging, sought refuge across the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. Islam may thus have been introduced into Somalia well before the faith
2009 timeline of the War in Somalia In south-western Somalia gunmen shot and killed a World Food Program officer. In Guriel, fighting between insurgents and government backed moderate militiamen resulted in the deaths of six people, four believed to be militiamen and two thought to be Al Shabaab insurgents. A roadside bomb exploded in the community of Towflig in the Yagshid district which is north of Mogadishu killing four TFG soldiers and injuring two others. On the road between Baydao and Diinsoor in the Bay region of South-western Somalia an Al-Shabaab ambush hit a militia driven out of Kismayo in September and Ethiopian troops in support of