Al-Shabaab radicalises youth, funded by piracy: experts

The Islamic group linked by police to an alleged plot to attack Australian military personnel is known for its efforts to radicalise young Muslims, an expert on terrorist organisations says.
Professor Greg Barton, acting director of Monash University's Centre for Islam and the Modern World, said Al-Shabaab had been responsible for recruiting young people from previously moderate backgrounds to fight for their cause in Somalia.The group had recently recruited some 20 young American Somalis, some of whom had since been found dead, he said.
Professor Barton said he was surprised to see the terrorist group allegedly surface in Australia.
"It is surprising," he told Radio 3AW. "The developments in America were surprising enough in themselves but there was no reason to think it was going to happen in Australia in the same way."Police this morning alleged that the plotters targeted in today's raids had links to groups affiliated with Al-Shabaab.It is alleged that some had travelled to Somalia to join in fighting there, police said.Al-Shabbab is not listed as a terrorist group in Australia but has been designated since February last year as a foreign terror organisation in the US. Its senior leadership has been linked by US officials to al-Qaeda. Al-Shabaab has also made money through piracy for at least the last 12 months. Andrew Mwangura from the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program has said the money from piracy goes directly to funding onshore activities.
Originally formed out of opposition to the overtaking of Somalia by Christian Ethiopia, Al-Shabaab has become one of the most fearsome Muslim groups in Africa, The New York Times reported in May. The US National Counterterrorism Centre describes it as the militant wing of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council "that took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006". Since the end of 2006, Al-Shabaab had led a "violent insurgency" against the continued Ethiopian presence in Somalia and the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, the centre said...more..http://www.theage.com.au/national/alshabaab-radicalises-youth-funded-by-piracy-experts-20090804-e7zm.html