Muslims in Kenya Waging Fatwa against Al-Shabaab Terrorists

EVENTS SUMMARY

Today, the Al-Qaeda branch in Somalia Harakat Al-Shabaab Mujahideen terrorism movement outreach to Muslims in Kenya and the United States is not new. The terrorist group in the past 10 years recruited young Muslim youths from Africa, Asia, Europe and United States. One of example of young Muslim youths recruited to criminal terror activities was Shirwa Ahmed, an American Muslim from Minneapolis who gained the dubious honor of becoming America’s first suicide bomber after killing 30 Muslims in Puntland, north-eastern Somalia. In the violent act, there was no valor, glory, honor, let alone a reward, rather vanity and death.

The victims of attacks by these young, radicalized, Muslim youths were Somali Muslims. In Kenya, the terror group has caused thousands of Muslims Somali’s and other Muslim faith communities, unending pain after recruiting children to terrorism besides killing kin and kith. The terror group has caused the Muslim community in Kenya more harm. Collapse of business in NEP region, a Muslims refugee crisis, poverty, and decline in social integration are some of the most notable outcomes of the harms against Muslims in Kenya.

ANALYSIS

According to research conducted by Strategic Intelligence, by relying on digital video and Twitter, the Somali based terror group Harakat Shebaab Mujahideen attempts to projects an image of itself as an effective and united force carrying out the will of God by implementing Shariah and fighting the enemies of Islam. However, the groups succeeds to lie to the Muslims since there aren’t alternatives to offer Muslims in targeted areas (Africa, Europe, United States) with instant and truthful interpretations of the Koran, dangers of violence and peace rather than rebuttals of critiques of violent extremism.

In Kenya, a community based outreach movement spearheaded by Imams is making inroads against the Al-Shabaab terrorism doctrine/ideology.

Recently, Muslim faithful travelling alongside Christians in a bus headed to Mandera town, a frontier county in Kenya’s NEP region, shielded the Christians from the Al-Shabaab terrorists who hijacked the bus attempted to isolate the Christians with intent to kill them The Muslims stood their ground, shielding the Christians and offering to die with them. This was a milestone in war on terror in Kenya. It was the onset of the many setbacks Harakat Shebaab Mujahideen in recent past.

Youth movements in Kenya are helping spread the anti-Shebaab message. These movements are encouraging youth to engage in socioeconomic, avoid crime and militancy and live by the teachings of Prophet Mohamed. The Government of Kenya has encouraged Muslim leaders to spearhead counter-radicalization and extremism efforts.  According David Goldman, lead researcher at SIS CT Research Division, “Governments and the community must face the challenge of terrorism together”.

Kenyan Muslims and Christians are also involved in online communications against radical Islam to counter the Al-Shabaab. Taqwa Media, Epuka Ugaidi, and Islamic Mukhabarat are notable counter-terrorism efforts in Kenya (NB; Islamic Mukhabarat is funded by Strategic Intelligence). These CT-eforts are being spearheaded and carried out on social media and other high communications networks including V-logging, Blogging, websites, and Facebook. These platforms are battlefields.

The Al-Shabaab and Islamic States are using these platforms to conduct warfare and recruit; we must take the battle there and win against them. Muslim Youths in the capital Nairobi have vowed to lynch anyone who attempts to conduct radicalization in Eastliegh area. The business community there too is upbeat, ” we’ve done business with our Christian brothers for many decades, we can’t allow anyone to divide us”

These statements and the Muslims community participation in countering violent extremism in Kenya exemplify the country’s readiness to end Al-Shabaab’s criminal activities.

According to David Goldman, “At Strategic Intelligence, we know that at its core, al-Shabaab has a diverse communications strategy aimed at influencing Muslims living in the Europe, Africa, and the West. To counter this strategy  we encourage the communities in Kenya and Somalia to design strategies infused with culturally relevant material that resonates with members of the Somali and Kenyan Muslims besides the vulnerable Somali diaspora. That way, Al-Shabaab will have nothing else to hold on, we’ll win the war against them.”