This profile is part of a series on Islamist leadership in East and Central Africa.
Hassan Mahad (or Mahat) Omar (Somali transliteration: ) is a 35-years old irregular sheikh who serves as the ideological and spiritual leader of HSM (Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen). Al Shabaab fighters consider him as their mufti and his fatwas (legal pronouncements) are considered legally binding by HSM senior leadership. He is an adherent of the Salafist School of Islamic Thought and the chief ideologue and proponent of Salafi Jihad in Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti. He recently pledged an oath of allegiance to ISIL, and also offered his baya’ah to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (alias Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Qurashi). He has also asked HSM to recognize ISIL as a legitimate Jihadist organization and thus establish an alliance with it as well as accept its leader, “Caliph Ibrahim” as the Amir al-Mu’minin.
Hassan Mahad Omar was born on April 10th, 1979 in Garissa, Kenya. His parents are suspected to have been Ethiopians residing illegally in Kenya, and thus his Kenyan nationality is suspect. Nonetheless, he acquired a Kenyan National identity card – ID number 23446085; and he also holds a Kenyan passport – Passport number A1180173 – which expires on August 20th, 2017. He is an ethnic Somali who hails from the Ogaden clan of the Daarood sub-tribe.
He currently resides in Eastleigh area of Nairobi, Kenya where he previously administered Masjid-ul-Axmar – an Al Shabaab affiliated informal religious establishment in Eastleigh. Masjid-ul-Axmar is one of the five al Shabaab affiliated religious establishment in Eastleigh, with the other four being Al-Hidaya mosque, Beit-ulMal Madrassa and Abubakar as-Saddique mosque (located along 6th Street).
He currently serves as an ISIL-affiliated al Shabaab ideologue whose teachings are aimed at indoctrinating his audience in takfiri ideology. He serves as an al Shabaab recruiter and also raises funds for the terror group. Previously, he used the now-defunct al Shabaab website alqimmah.net to solicit for funds on behalf of the terror group besides using the online platform to source for recruits.
He currently uses the following aliases: Sheikh Hassaan Hussein Adam, Hassaan Hussein Adam, Hassane Mahad Omar, Xassaan Xuseen Adan, Asan Mahad Cumar, Abu Salman, Abu Salmaan, Sheekh Xassaan Xuseen Aadan and Abuu Salmaan.
He has issued fatwas calling for war to be waged against the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) thus providing al Shabaab with a religious justification to conduct a terrorist insurgency against FGS and its AMISOM allies. His fatwas have also obstructed meaningful dialogue between FGS and moderate factions within HSM.
He exercises inordinate decision-making and leadership authority over al Shabaab’s intra-political and operational affairs; a fact that has led the UN to sanction him as a terrorist. His video lectures are quite popular among militant Muslim youth, and they are widely disseminated by al Shabaab (and al Shabaab-affiliated) media outlets.
It was Mahad’s fatwa which justified Ahmed Abdi Godane (the former emir of HSM who was killed in a drone strike) war on internal dissent. In 2012, over 20 Muslim clerics congregated in Nairobi and issued a fatwa against Mahad Omar after characterizing his actions as un-Islamic and heretical in nature; and thus advised Somali Muslims to boycott his seminars and lectures as well as ignore his books.
Mahad Omar is has also issued a fatwa opposing the Djibouti peace process which he described as un-Islamic, profane and unjustifiable. He is instrumental in disseminating propaganda which justifies a jihadist insurrection against the Government of Djibouti (GoJ).
Mahad studied at an Islamic University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and graduated with a degree in Islamic Studies; and it was during his studies that he internalized takfiri ideology and adopted the Salafist school of thought. He acknowledges the supremacy of the Wahhabi Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) over all other interpretations of Islamic law.
