Sunday, October 26, 2008

Somali Pirates: Islamist and Jihadist Influences and Funding

by Ganesh Sahathevan
Reuters reports that an explosion of piracy this month off the coast of Somalia is funding a growing insurgency onshore as the hijackers funnel hefty ransom payments to Islamist rebels.
The spike in attacks at sea has coincided with a rise in assaults on land by radical al-Shabaab [the "youth"] insurgents, including the capture on Friday of Somalia's strategic southern port Kismayu.
The United States say al-Shabaab is a terrorist group with close ties to al Qaeda. Experts say some of the businessmen and warlords who command the pirates are also funding the rebels (see
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/mar/102338.htm).
"The entire Somali coastline is now under control of the Islamists," Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters in an interview.
(http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSLO00572320080824)
According to Abdisaid M. Ali, a former cabinet secretary in the Transitional Federal Government of
Somalia, and now an independent consultant/analyst on Horn of Africa:
Al-Shabaab and a few other Islamic extremists in Somalia including the ICU have their roots
in the former Al-Itihad Al-Islamiya which also evolved from Somalia’s religious organization,
the Al-Salafiya Al-jadiid in the early 1970’s. Al-Salafiya Al-jadiid was defeated by the former
Somali President (General) Mohamed Siyad Barre) in the late 1970’s and Al-itihad Al-
Islamiya in Somalia was defeated by Col. Abdulahi Yusuf, the present Somali president,
during the early 1990’s in the North East region of Somalia and later by the Ethiopian military
in the Gedo region in Somalia.
The new Al-Shabaab Leadership is decentralized, often with loosely coordinated levels of
leadership that revolve around local villages and religious leaders who are guided by these
scholars for interpretations of the meaning of the Jihad and the Qur’an in specific terms as
well as for the guidance of the armed conflict against the TFG and Ethiopian security forces
and other African peace keeping forces present in Mogadishu. In the past, they used to be in
conflict with traditional religious leaders but the radicals seem to have overpowered them
now.
On the matter of funding:
…(in the case of ) the Somali As-Shabaab Al-Mujahidin, the local mosques, local religious leaders, and local community networks provide the bulk of long term financial support for their logistical and operational needs. Mostly in kind, food, water, shelter, clothing and to some extent extensive sympathy among local communities as they bring some form of justice to the locals and do not abuse ordinary Somalis as does the TFG and other powers such as warlords and corrupt politicians.
To some extent, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states remain the most significant
source of external funds flowing to Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahidin and other radical
Islamist movements in the Horn of Africa through Dubai. In most cases, "charitable
foundations" linked to radical Islam in Somalia, as well as a careful examination of the radical
Islamic funding, indicate a continuing flow of funds directly from official Saudi organizations
to these Horn of Africa terror organisations. For example, The World Assembly for Muslim
Youth (WAMY) and the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and Somali
businesses in the Gulf States, Europe and the United States as well as Australia and New Zealand and as far as Malaysia and Singapore are active financiers of radical Islamic movements in the Horn of Africa’s financial Jihad.
Southern Somali communities contribute to Al-Shabaab in the form of Zakat for the benefit of
Jihad in Southern Somalia against Ethiopians, TFG and other non violent Muslims.
Praising the merits of financial jihad, Muslim scholars also rely on Islamic tradition (hadith)
attributed to the Prophet Mohammad, which assures Muslims who donate money for jihad the
same reward in Heaven as the mujahidin themselves. According to hadith: "One [Muslim]
who equips a person on his way to raid [to the enemy's camps] in Allah's path [jihad] is
considered to have the same status as the raider [ mujahid ]. One [Muslim] who substitutes
[the raider] concerning his family and [taking care of their needs] with good deeds is
considered to have the same status as the raider [ mujahid ]." Technically therefore, whether
we like it or not, Muslims (provided the council of learned Sheikhs approves) are required to participate in the Jihad. Al-Shabaab is only an armed operation. Others who contribute all the other resources mentioned above also believe they are in the Jihad. (In the case of Somalia,
Jihad may be used euphemistically for clan cause)
(Ali’s paper is located at http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Library/Publications/Detail/?ots591=0C54E3B3-1E9C-BE1E-2C24-A6A8C7060233&lng=en&id=55851. It is worth reading in full ) more..http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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