Somali piracy and Muslim-Western relations

Washington, DC and Doha - On the morning of 8 April, a US-flagged cargo ship – the Maersk Alabama – carrying US government food aid destined for Africa was hijacked by Somali pirates 300 miles off Somalia's coast. Eventually, the crew and the ship escaped to safety, while Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage by the pirates who fled in a smaller boat. After a significant US naval deployment, the pirates were killed and the captain was rescued. Story over? Not really. This wasn't the first piracy case off the coast of Somalia and it won't be the last. This past December, a Saudi super tanker carrying 100 million US dollars worth of oil was hijacked, with the pirates eventually getting paid $3 million in ransom. Piracy has risen dramatically in recent years, with over 100 incidents reported off the coast of Somalia in 2008. This year is set to be even more dangerous with the International Maritime Bureau citing about 70 attacks in the first few months of 2009, and with Somali pirates currently holding about 200 international crew members hostage – Asians, Arabs and Eastern Europeans...more.,http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=25397&lan=en&sid=1&sp=0&isNew=1