Mogadishu, Somalia ? An influential religious leader and alleged al-Qaida collaborator vowed in an interview Wednesday to establish an Islamic state in Somalia, a lawless Horn of Africa nation the United States fears could grow into a major base for Islamic terrorists.

“The Western world should respect our own ideas in choosing the way we want to govern our country, the way we want to go about our own business. That is our right,” said Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, a key figure in a growing religious camp vying with secular factions for control of Somalia.

Despite peace talks and the formation last year of a transitional government, Somalia remains a patchwork of heavily armed clan fiefdoms – with no government to provide such basics as schools, hospitals, phone service, even traffic lights.

Earlier this year, the parliament and Cabinet split into two factions. As a result, fundamentalists offering Islam as a solution have drawn support in Somalia, and there are concerns that Awey’s followers pose a military threat to the transitional government.