WELCOME NEWS: Somali women celebrate as they welcome the decision to implement Islamic Shariah law - unanimously endorsed by Somalia's parliamentarians - at Konis stadium, in Mogadishu, in April this year Picture: AP

All the colourful politics motivating each contender aside, the most pressing question begging an answer is: Can lawless Somalia be governed by Sharia?

Short answer: It depends!

If by Sharia we mean the Talibanesque, self-righteous and unjust brand being practised by the Somali Neo-Islamists known as al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam, the answer is: No.

As these two groups have been asserting their authority through violence-driven territorial expansion, they have been rapidly losing the public confidence necessary for them to sustain any gains.

Horrific accounts attesting to their ignorance and to the cruelty of their method have been stirring panic and cultivating hate.

Stories such as the two Neo-Islamist assassins who followed their victim-to-be into a mosque and prayed alongside him, only to shoot him in the head after he stepped outside the mosque, raise serious questions regarding these groups' understanding of Islam and Sharia.

Theirs is an obtuse, if not dysfunctional, interpretation of Sharia. They are oblivious to the education-based societal transformation that the classic Sharia seeks to achieve. To them, Sharia is a purposeless, uncompassionate, punishment-driven set of laws that is arbitrarily implemented without consideration of time, circumstances or objectives.

Therefore, it would be a matter of time before the masses would conquer their collective fear and revolt against this accountable-to-no-one, selectively oppressive, and entirely alien brand of Sharia.

If, however, by Sharia we mean the classic concept of Islamic governance adapted to address contemporary political, social, economic and spiritual challenges in a just way, the answer is: Yes.

While the name "Sharia" connotes a politically radioactive concept in the West, and there are those who believe that Sharia and governance are mutually exclusive, this is hardly a fair estimation of this profoundly misconstrued system.

The Somali people are desperate for a government, and indeed a system of governance (any system, for that matter) in which they can invest their trust; a system that protects them against injustice and guards their God-given right to life, to own property, to enjoy basic freedoms and to exercise their free will.

Granted, in a number of the speeches he made while visiting the Somali Diaspora in the United States, President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed highlighted security, humanitarian needs and capacity building as his top priorities.

While no one would dispute the importance of these three, some ask why peace and reconciliation are not his top priorities. They argue that there should be an ongoing process that resists any temptation to give up prematurely.

That being said, the model of Sharia that is likely to succeed is the one that genuinely addresses the following categories of needs:

• Preserving the sanctity of life and the provision of a secure environment in which the average Somali could reach his/her optimum potential. Within this, protecting the lives of civilians and addressing the humanitarian crisis reign high;

• Instituting a peace and reconciliation policy that would keep the door open and the peace process in motion;

• Protecting individual properties against any abuses, including nationalisation, and state properties by establishing a transparent system of accountability;

• Instituting policies that guarantee equality before the law and protect the rights of women and minorities;

• Protecting individuals from power abuse and preserving any individual's honour by protecting him or her against false accusations, imprisonment, slander, and character assassination;

• Protecting freedom of assembly, conscience, and thought;

• Promoting education and protecting the God-given right of the individual citizen to question and scrutinise their leaders by protecting their right to elect their representatives;

• Enacting policies promoting ethical and moral conduct that, among other things, criminalise favouritism and other corruptions such as bribery and nepotism;

• Paving the way for the development of independent institutions that, on one hand, ensure a system of checks and balances, and on the other, enhance the overall function of the government; and

• Instituting policies that protect the sovereignty of the nation and promote neighbourly co-existence with neighbouring states and with the rest of the international community.

President Ahmed must succeed in persuading people to accept the legitimacy of his government and to trust the individuals appointed to exercise that authority. And, in order to achieve that, those entrusted to lead must resort to taking tangible actions that would restore law and order and improve the lives of people.

They must do away with the clan-based quota system that by and large appoints incompetent demagogues who neither serve the nation nor the clans in whose name they were appointed.

More importantly, they must streamline all the militias led by shrouded warlords who are now considered government allies into a disciplined army that can be held accountable.

• Arman is a writer and analyst who lives in Ohio in the US