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Research Paper: Al-Shabaab
07/31/2022
HLSC 610
Professor Richards
Jonathan Coggin
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Abstract
A-Shabaab, the word comes from Arabic meaning “the Youth” it is a Somali word that
has come to inspire fear in the hearts of many across East Africa. Al-Shabaab is an Islamist
militant group with links to Al-Qaeda. The group was initiated in the early 2000s and become a
real threat in 2006. Originally Al-Shabaab was a militia affiliated with the Islamic Courts Union
(ICU), a federation of local and clan-based Islamic courts that had been founded in southern
Somalia in 2004 to combat the lawlessness and banditry afflicting the area since the collapse of
the government of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. “From about 2004 this militia acted as an
armed wing of the ICU, incorporating fighters from the disbanded Somali militant Islamist group
al-Itihaad al-Islamiyyah as well as a number of fighters who had fought for the al-Qaeda network
or received training from it (Britannica, T. Al-Shabaab).” At the beginning the group was led by
Aden Hashi Farah Ayro, a Somali operative reportedly trained by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Ideologically, Al-Shabaab took a more extreme stance than the ICU, espousing a puritanical
version of Islam at odds with the Sufi-influenced form practiced by many Somalis.
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Introduction
Al-Shabaab is a group that has been gaining in power and terror. One of the country’s
most affected of course are the Somali people. The group has taken up land and even governs
some parts of the country that has been divided up into so many different parts. The group is
based the Horn of Africa which is northeast of the continent. The Al-Qeada linked group initially
concentrated much of its attacks in one specific county of Somalia. The group has developed
many tactics, has capabilities to strike out at many neighboring countries. But their main or
general goal is to make an Islamic republic or Caliphate. Caliphate a word that originates from
Arabic, “Khilafat” in Arabic) was a semi-religious political system of governance in Islam, in
which the territories of the Islamic empire in the Middle East and North Africa and the people
within were ruled by a supreme leader called Caliph (“Khalifa” in Arabic meaning successor)”
(https://www.worldhistory).
Although Somalia is still run by a president who governs from the capital Mogadishu.
Many of the governors and provenances have their own rules and laws. They sometimes adhere
to Mogadishu rule if they choose, or they ignore it all together. Another country that is affected
by the terror of Al-Shabaab is Kenya, because of its proximity to Somalia. Kenya has a faction of
Somalis’ that have resided in the county for relatively some time now. Since the early 90s when
the war first broke out in Somalia there have been groups of Somalis’ that settled in Kenyan and
took up residence. In 2011, following a spate of kidnappings at the coastal region, Kenya sent its
troops into the neighboring nation of Somalia to find Al-Shabaab fighters. The Kenyan
government blamed the terrorist group for abductions and of course the group denied any
involvement. The Kenyan troops with the help of Somali soldiers, pushed Al-Shabaab out of
several of the places and towns they had control over in the southern parts of Somali. This
provocation become the rallying cry that Al-Shabaab need to retaliate and start its recruiting
campaign inside Kenya. This made Kenya a target for many attacks in the future and is still a top
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target for many of the horrendous attacks that continue to happen sporadically till presently.
Saying things like, “They invaded the Muslim land of Somalia it’s our duty to take revenge,” al-
Shabab’s spokesperson Sheikh Ali Dheere told Al Jazeera in 2014 after the group killed 28
people in an attack in Mandera, near the Somali border. This same group takes responsibility for
the killings that happened in neighboring Uganda and Djibouti. In 2010 the group took
responsibility for a bomb that went off in a restaurant in Djibouti killing three people.
Ideology
Al-Shabaab’s core ideological identity appears to have been definitively figured out or
settled on. Within its strict Salafi-jihadi orientation, the core leadership has a heterogenous
system it comprises of nationalistic and politically pragmatic figures. The political wing does not
like attacks on civilians while the nationalistic and religious wing wants to clean house of the
impurities, they consider none worthy. They want to instill fear and bring on a Caliphate that
would usher in the dawn of an Islamic republic. Generally, Al-Shabaab is headed by a supreme
central commander, who is known as Amir. He is assisted in his duties by a ten-member council.
This body is responsible for all major activities that Al-Shabaab takes on. Without this council
deciding on targets the terror group will not act. “Under this groups leadership and guidance, the
council or the general shura majlis which comprises of junior Amirs in charge of several
subdivisions of different areas covering traditional areas like politics, media, and daily military
operations”
The Targets
Al-Shabaab has gone through an evolution since its inception, at first it started as group
to fight back against invaders or so perceived invaders. The group has been very specific in
targeting journalist and politicians. With the targeting of journalists, the character of such attacks
was predominantly hostage taking. As the organization started to lose territory. A leader
emerged, Ahmed Godane began to consolidate power, he shifted in targeting and tactic choices
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which was directed towards journalists. With Godane’s leadership he directed the group to do
targeted assassinations and they would target journalists who were unsympathetic to the group’s
goals or ideology. But now they have become a very political arm that is very prominent in the
country. As late as of last week we saw the budding a long-term establishment for this terrorist
group. Former Al-Shabaab “group co-founder and spokesperson Mukhtar Robow was named as
the minister in charge of religion by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre in Mogadishu, Somalia
August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar.” At one time Mukhtar Robow had a $5 million bounty
on his head after is co-founded the group and now we see the extent and how they have changed
or forced the leadership that is backed by major Western players the U.S and many African
nations
The Tactics
Al-Shabaab has gained and learned from a lot of other militant groups. They have
gathered fighters from all over the world. Most of the fighters they recruit are disgruntled youth
and young men who are not happy with situations in their own country. They have recruited
from neighboring Kenya a country with a lot of Somali population that moved over there during
the conflict in the nation of Somalia. There are many foreign fighters that come from the west
with ideas of glorified deaths. As we see examples of this in the attack on a Kenyan hotel Dusit a
complex in Nairobi. The group use all sorts of tactics. In the Kenyan attack, according to the
Kenyan police there were women who moved weapons across the border from Somalia into
Kenya. A nationwide manhunt was started for the alleged collaborators including women who,
local media say, the police suspect of being weapons couriers between Somalia and Kenya.
According to a CNN article Al-Shabaab recruits within Kenyan Mosques. The group embeds
local fighters or recruiters into the local community where they pray on youth and send them
back to Somalia for training and brainwashing. A defector from the organization who is called
Musa for the sake of security says, “Musa’s experiences reveal the extent to which
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"brainwashing" by al-Shabaab continues after volunteers have been smuggled into Somalia and
offers a rare insight into the methods the terror group uses to instill absolute loyalty among its
followers” (edition.cnn.com, 2019). Al-Shabaab forces its fighter take part of whatever gruesome
acts like taking turns sawing necks of captured victims. This makes the fighters take part of the
crime and so they are bound to the group out of fear of persecution.
In October of 2017 Al-Shabaab claimed to have used a bomb to devasting effect. They
claimed to have killed more than 500 people in a truck bomb that was carried out by a suicide
attacker in Mogadishu. It was the single deadliest terror attack since September 11, 2001, that
took place on US. Soil. The group continues to recruit fighters from country like the US,
Australia, and the UK. As they recruit, they specifically or explicitly the incoming recruits if they
want to volunteer to “blow your self up” many do choose to volunteer, and man do. They are
selected away from the main group and indoctrinated for at least a year. This is where they’ll
daily study the Quran and get lectures from Sheikh as well as receive intense physical training in
the form of military combat.
The Groups Capabilities
The group has had to reinvent itself since its inception it has been pushed out of much of
the country to the southern parts of Somalia. They have resorted now to small guerilla attacks
and suicide bombing within East Africa. The groups steep decline in recent years has made it
more radical in its nature and ruthless. They made it a matter of survival. The jihadists’ invaded
the Muslim land of Somalia. The groups’ movement has taken a fall from grace, from its zenith
in 2009-10, they use to without question be the most powerful force in Southern Somalia
whereby controlling most of the major towns and even much of the capital Mogadishu. They
would collect taxes that would contribute to much of their annule revenue. Since then, they have
been steadily decreasing as the African Union forces have been increasing and the U.S has made
a permanent presence in three locations to help with advising and training of Somalia special
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forces and the local army of Somalia. The group now relies on raids and small fire fights with
some Somali military but does not do full scale attacks like they use to. They still collect taxes
on the towns they have leadership in, but these too are becoming a lesser source of revenue.
Propaganda Used
Al-Shabaab has extensive tools that is uses to spread its misinformation and fear
mongering. The group has access to high-tech platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter. They can recruit and spread their messages to thousands of people. They have a
magazine called Dabiq and Rumiyah where they can send out print to their followers. The
biggest tool that organization uses to spread their propaganda is radio stations across the county
of Somalia.
Analysis of Attacks
Al-Shabaab has primarily done targeted attacks with a purpose behind each attack, at
least that was in its inception. Now they have changed how they operate, since they have lost a
lot of territory, they are now doing targeted assassinations of specific leaders within the Somali
national government. Now the insurgency, Al-Shabaab employs traditional guerrilla tactics such
as isolated bombings and targeted killings of government and security officials. The organization
has since increased its capabilities and adapted to operate like an insurgent group.
Conclusion
As the organization continues to fight for ground in order to hold influence over the
fractured country. The group is getting access to major actors who are influential across the
nation of Somalia. Even as they continue to gather support across the lower parts or southern
parts of Somalia. The group continues to have internal divisions within the ranks of leaderships.
The organizations internal fighting continues to be critical to its survival. As the group continues
to fight and gain influence politically. It also continues to group its wing of fighters; it continues
to operate and work as terrorist group yet the Somali government that is backed by the West
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continues to give way to Al-Shabaab’s extremist demands. Although the group has lost land that
it uses to hold it has changed its method or ideology by not attacking civilians full out as it use
to. But it has become smarter and now is taking up political influence and at the same time
continues to take out and assassinate government leaders it does not agree with. This keeps
Western backed government leaders in check as they are afraid for their lives. Although the
group is experiencing a decline in terms of territory holding. They remain a powerful force in
Somalia and have demonstrated their capacity to attack soft targets within Kenya, Djibouti, and
Uganda. If noting changes Al-Shabaab will continue to be a significant faction in East Africa for
the foreseeable future.
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References
Bryden, M. (2014, February). The Reinvention of Al-Shabaab. CSIS. https://csis-
website prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs public/legacy_files/files/publication/140221_Bryden
_ReinventionOfAlShabaab_Web.pdf
Kiley, S. C. (2019, January 22). Al-Shabaab: Ex-militant reveals brutal tactics of terror group
after Nairobi attack. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/22/africa/al-shabaab-
kenya somalia-terrorist-intl/index.html
Mohamed, H. (2019, January 17). Why is Kenya an al-Shabab target? Al-Shabab News | Al
Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/1/17/why-is-kenya-an-al-shabab-target
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2015, April 3). al-Shabaab. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/al-Shabaab
Ido Levy & Abdi Yusuf (2021) How Do Terrorist Organizations Make Money? Terrorist Funding
and Innovation in the Case of al-Shabaab, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.
David Mair (2017) #Westgate: A Case Study: How al-Shabaab used Twitter during an Ongoing
Attack, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.
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