Saturday, March 1, 2014

THE RISE OF A JIHADI MOVEMENT IN A COUNTRY AT WAR

HARAKAT AL-SHABAAB AL MUJAHEDD  IN  SOMALIA
 
 
 
 
Roland Marchal
Senior Research Fellow at CNRS
SciencesPo Paris March 2011

This report is independent and does not represent the views of Her Majesty’s Government
 
1. CONTENT
Executive Summary
Chapter I: Historical Background to the Development of al-Shabaab

1. A political history

1.1. Learning from failures? The radicalisation of the Somali Islamist movement
1.2. The experiments of the Islamic Courts

1.3. The emergence of al-Shabaab
2. Getting organized

2.1. The Supreme Council
2.2. The ministries or Maktabs
3. Conclusion
Chapter II: The confrontation with other Islamic Trends

1. The Salafi divide
2. Al-I’tisaam, Muqawama and the Salafi Trend
3. The merging with Hisbul Islaam
4. The collusion with Takfiir wa Hijra
5. An apolitical Jihad?
6. Conclusion

Chapter III: Citizens of Jihad. Al-Shabaab Recruitment

1. Joining al-Shabaab

1.1. Coerced recruitments
1.2. Economic incentives
1.3. Born again Jihadists

1.4. Recruitment of diaspora and East African radicalized Muslims
 
1.5. Challenging generational privileges
 
2. Short notes on the media policy
3. Recruitment among political “minorities”
4. Conclusion

Chapter IV: Al-Shabaab Military Tactics

1. The modernisation of war and the globalisation of suicide bombers
2. Organizing the coexistence of foreign and local fighters
3. Military misadventures
4. Conclusion

Chapter V: Funding an apparatus and ruling a population

1. Getting money for al-Shabaab

1.1. Collecting money outside the country
1.2. Getting funding from Somalia: maximisation of the protection economy

2. Building local administrations

2.1. Taking over a region
2.2. Building an authority

3. Conclusion
 
4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This study intends to provide a fresh understanding of what the Somali Jihadi movement, al-
Shabaab, has become over the last 6 years in terms of social constituency, political project, links
to foreign Jihadi supporters and military power. Data are those collected by the authors and in
the public domain.
The main finding of this analysis is that al-Shabaab found ways to evolve and get lessons from
previous strategic mistakes. Near to be eradicated in January 2007, this group is today the
most powerful one in Somalia. The main instruments for this resilience have been: highly
debatable western and regional policies that allowed this movement that claims a global agenda
to appear as the best defender of the Somali nationalism; the illegitimacy of its contenders in
southern Somalia; and the ability to structure the organisation using economic and ideological
resources in a very innovative and efficient manner, thanks to foreign support.
Yet, as analysed hereafter, al-Shabaab is not deprived of strategic weaknesses. Its status
within the Somali Islamist trend is subject to bitter discussions and al-Shabaab over the last
year lost the support of very influential Salafi ‘ulemaa who before were sympathetic to its
regional agenda. Its military tactics are often unproductive and may prove self exhausting. The
fear it creates while governing populations also may push people to leave areas it controls.
Although the movement is polarized by its military agenda, it has to rule population and get
involved in many day-to-day problems that create the need for a more consistent administrative
framework, and raise ambitions among its commanders. While it is eager to address local issues
and restore law and order, its extremism is questioned by popular grievances, as illustrated by
the reactions to the current drought.
One concerning consequence of the Western misreading of the Somali crisis after 9/11 is the
attraction created by Somalia for foreign Jihadists. Although most are either Somalis with a
foreign passport or lost individuals (often recently converted or born again Muslims), two
patterns should be considered. The Somali diaspora is playing a role that has become increasingly
important both in funding that organisation or providing it with military and civilian cadres (even
for short periods). The “genuine” foreign fighters are increasingly East African citizens
(compared to 2007 and 2008) and this trend may likely produce Jihadi movements in Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa in the next two or three years...more

No comments:

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

About Us

The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

Blog Archive

We Are Winning the War on Terrorism in Horn of Africa

The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

Terror Free Somalia Foundation