Nairobi, Kenya, August 08, 2009 – FOR the top US diplomat, handshakes are usually a mere formality but when it comes to meeting Somalia's leader, it certainly seemed meaningful.

After widespread speculation, Somalia's Islamist but pro-US President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Thursday accepted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's hand in front of the cameras.
Mrs Clinton appeared to initiate the contact, giving him a robust handshake as she left the podium at a joint news conference at the US embassy in neighboring Kenya.

Pressed later by a Somali reporter about the handshake, Mr Sharif said, "I don't think it's a problem."

Many devout Muslims believe it is improper for men and women to appear in each other's company outside wedlock, let alone touch.

Mr Sharif, a young Islamist cleric, was at the forefront of the armed resistance against the 2006 military invasion of Somalia by Ethiopia but has since joined a UN-sponsored reconciliation process and is perceived to be occupying the country's political middle ground.

Mrs Clinton and President Barack Obama have made reaching out to Muslims and respecting their sensitivities a key priority after taking over from president George W Bush, who was widely unpopular in the Islamic world.

But Mrs Clinton is also a staunch advocate of a more assertive role for women.

Source: AFP, August 6, 2009

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