Friday, November 20, 2009

Analysis: Local grievances are being sucked into 'global jihad'

YOU may know al-Qaeda wants to kill you, but does al-Shabaab, the Islamic militia fighting the UN-backed government of Somalia, perceive the West as a direct enemy? And does the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement – fighting for the ethnic Uighur people in China – wish to see the destruction of the "Crusader states"?
I could add to the list the militant Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, or the Pattani United Liberation Organisation in southern Thailand – Islamic, yes, militant, yes – but do they want to see London, Washington or Glasgow airport in flames?I've only mentioned a random group of Islamic militant organisations, but, as we struggle to understand the motivations of our current most obvious enemy, Afghanistan's Taleban, and their ties with al-Qaeda and other militant groups across the border in Pakistan, it is important to illustrate how different Islamic movements perceive who exactly their enemy is.A recent paper by Thomas Hegghammer, a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and expert on Islamic militancy, paints a fascinating picture of how possibly legitimate regional grievances being addressed by Islamic groups are increasingly getting bound up with al-Qaeda's ideology of "global jihad" – that is to say, how "a little local difficulty" becomes "the clash of civilisations".Take the Uighur people of China's vast Xinjiang region. They are ethnically Turkic and Muslims. This year has seen the outbreak of serious unrest in the area between themselves and ethnic Han migrants from central China, dealt with punitively by Beijing.The Uighur seem to have a legitimate grievance. They feel increased migration is making them outsiders in their own land; that their language and culture are being undermined. They evidently fear a future in which they are marginalised.The recent trouble in Xinjiang has no doubt attracted greater attention from al-Qaeda and its affiliates. Here, after all, are an oppressed Muslim people in need of help – and who better to help them than their brothers in faith?But of course, as al-Qaeda come in one door, any sympathy or assistance from the West will go out the other.No doubt there is currently a fierce debate among politically active Uighurs: whether to involve themselves in the wider "jihad" or keep their focus on China.Another good example is Hamas. While Israeli propaganda would happily lump them as "militants" in the al-Qaeda ideological mould, that is far from the truth.Hamas keeps the focus of its struggle firmly on Israel. Despite the fact that, like al-Qaeda, it is a Sunni Muslim organisation, those engaged in "global jihad" regard Hamas with as much hatred as they do Tel Aviv. Hamas, with its roots in the pragmatic Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, refuses to tie itself up in a wider conflict. At the other end of the spectrum, Osama bin Laden avoided any "local" clash with Saudi authorities in al-Qaeda's early days for fear that such a "local" conflict would damage his global aspirations.In his paper, Hegghammer uses the terms "revolutionary" and "global jihadist" ideologies. He writes: "Revolutionary Islamism advocates military confrontation with Muslim regimes in order to topple them and capture the state. Global jihadism promotes military confrontation with the United States and her allies, to avenge and deter non-Muslim oppression of Muslims." He cites al-Shabaab in Somalia as being a good example of group with "hybrid" ideology. While the focus of its material struggle has so far been against the government in Mogadishu, it will attack UN forces and western civilians if it can. Its propaganda expresses admiration for al-Qaeda, hatred of the US and a view that it is involved in wider struggle.Importantly, Hegghammer sees this as weakness – an attempt to broaden its appeal to gain recruits in a competitive market.He also adds that the tendency to see enemies everywhere is a sign of "late-stage militancy".Mullah Omar, leader of the Taleban in Afghanistan, is aware of this ideological difference. A recent statement that the Taleban "posed no threat to its neighbours" was met with anger on al-Qaeda websites.At the moment, the two have an enemy in common – the West is directly keeping the government of Afghanistan in power.Whether Mullah Omar is interested in a "global jihad" is another question altogether.• The Ideological Hybridisation of Jihadi Groups by Thomas Hegghammer is published in Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, Hudson Institute.

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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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