An update on the expanding aspirations of al-Shabaab. The story below notes how al-Shabaab has somehow "mutated" from a "nationalist" movement to an international jihadist organization, with rhetoric indistinguishable from that of al-Qaeda.
This is easier to explain than CNN may think, or want to believe. First, the fundamental goal of jihad is the imposition of Islamic law. Various jihadist conflicts around the world are but local expressions of a global goal: Think jihad globally, wage jihad locally, one might say. And al-Shabaab's rhetoric does not match al-Qaeda's because al-Qaeda invented it. No, they and the other jihadist movements have a common source of incitement in the Quran and ahadith.
"Somali group with al Qaeda ties threatens Israel," by Mohamed Amiin Adow for CNN, November 1:
(CNN) -- A militant Islamist group associated with al Qaeda has for the first time threatened to attack Israel, far from its normal base of operations in Somalia.
Al-Shabab, which is fighting to control the east African country, accused Israel of "starting to destroy" the Al Aqsa mosque, where standoffs have taken place recently between Israeli police and Palestinians. The mosque is part of the complex that Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif.
"The Jews started to destroy parts of the holy mosque of Al Aqsa and they routinely kill our Palestinian brothers, so we are committed to defend our Palestinian brothers," said Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur, a prominent Al-Shabab commander.
His threat was part of a series of fiery sermons delivered after Friday prayers in Baidoa in southwest Somalia. Al-Shabab controls the region, which is part of a country that has been without an effective national government for nearly 20 years.
Other leaders of the group also threatened Israel, the first time the group is known to have done so.
"We will transfer and expand our fighting in the Middle East so we can defend Al Aqsa mosque from the Israelis," Al-Shabab commander Abdifatah Aweys Abu Hamza said in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
He is apparently the leader of a new Al-Shabab armed group calling themselves "Mujahedin Al Aqsa," or "Al Aqsa Holy Warriors," which they said is assigned to attack Israel.
It is not clear whether Al-Shabab has the capacity to carry out its threats against Israel.
But Rashid Abdi of the International Crisis Group warned that the group should be taken seriously.
"We should not underestimate the capacity of Al-Shabab," he said. "This is a deadly organization, a formidable foe."
Abdi said the group had been mutating from a nationalist group into a terrorist organization more like al Qaeda, which was behind the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
"If you look at the rhetoric and language and if you look at the Web sites, if you hear their preachers or their scholars speak, it is completely indistinguishable from al Qaeda leaders," Abdi said.
The group has also become more vicious in Somalia, a local human rights expert said.
"The most gruesome and gross violations of human rights are committed by Al-Shabab," activist Hassan Shire Sheikh said. "They have also instilled fear. They just shoot, they kill, they maim and they lash."
The group also threatened African neighbors on Friday, including Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Eritrea, Ghana, Sudan and Uganda. They have in the past threatened African nations that provide peacekeeping troops to the war-torn country.
" "They have also instilled fear. They just shoot, they kill, they maim and they lash."
Islam...feel the love...?
And those million$$$ they are getting in pirate ransom and booty are just to replace their lost fishing revenues, due to predatory international fishing trawlers. Right...
Echoing my previously posted comments on how Canada is still asleep when it comes to recognizing the threat within, because we’ve so far been spared a domestic assault in the name of islam, RCMP Commissioner Elliot warns of the radicalization of our own Somali community:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Mountie+worried+about+radicalization+Canada+Somali+community/2165517/story.html
This seems timely given Al-Shabab’s boldness.
Where sharia law and traditional Islam is in full control, Jihad on a worldwide scale becomes INCUMBENT on everyone. Training of foreign terrorists is a noble and direct way of fulfilling that obligation. There is no such thing as a 'stable sharia ruled country' as long as non-sharia compliant people exist. "Jihad on all infidels' IS sharia's highest and most central purpose. Someone please tell our Western elites this unpleasant fact.
"Somali group with al Qaeda ties threatens Israel"
So let's DEFINITELY invite them to continue moving, in whole villages, to the Midwest of the U.S. of A.
Al-Shabab, which is fighting to control the east African country, accused Israel of "starting to destroy" the Al Aqsa mosque, where standoffs have taken place recently between Israeli police and Palestinians. The mosque is part of the complex that Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif.
"The Jews started to destroy parts of the holy mosque of Al Aqsa and they routinely kill our Palestinian brothers, so we are committed to defend our Palestinian brothers," said Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur, a prominent Al-Shabab commander.
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What crap. Muslims regularly use the Al Aqsa mosque to rain stones down on Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall. Israeli forces pursued the assailants—but stopped, perhaps foolishly—when they ran into the mosque, no doubt because it would be bad public relations for Israel if they were known to enter a mosque.
Of course, attacking unarmed worshippers—on high holy days, yet—didn't seem to mar the sterling reputations of the Palestinians at all.
This isn't the first absurdity we have heard out of Somalia regarding Israel. One Somali claimed that piracy was acceptable because the Red Sea had "become a Jewish lake".
This is a jaw-droppingly bizarre statement—but probably no weirder than the assertion that Somali pirates are just protesting the ecological exploitation of the Horn of Africa, or that the violence in Somalia is some sort of reaction to the Tsunami.
Blaming the West is great, but if you can blame and threaten "The Jews", so much better.
It would be such beautiful poetic justice if that Al Aqsa mosque was struck severely by lightning.
Memo to CNN. I have a few suggestions re. wording of your latest 'report'.
Here are two paragraphs of your report, as they might have been written, if you had had your wits about you...that is, if you had been using a non-Muslim *and* Islamosavvy reporter, rather than one 'Mohamed Amiin Adow':
"Al-Shabab, which is fighting to control the east African country, accused Israel of "starting to destroy" the Al Aqsa mosque, where mobs of local Arab Muslim men recently attacked non-Muslim tourists and Israeli police. The mosque is part of the complex that Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif.
"The Jews started to destroy parts of the holy mosque of Al Aqsa and they routinely kill our Palestinian [sic] brothers, so we are committed to defend our Palestinian [sic] brothers," said Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur, a prominent Al-Shabab commander.'
Has any American politician explained why we let Somalis come here in their droves?
Do we need to support international terrorism, by providing homes for these people?
From the article: "The group also threatened African neighbors on Friday, including Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Eritrea, Ghana, Sudan and Uganda. They have in the past threatened African nations that provide peacekeeping troops to the war-torn country."
It should be noted that Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana and Uganda are non-Islamic states with majority-non-Muslim populations, mostly Christian. All four, however, also have an expanding and aggressive Muslim presence [Ethiopia - 31 % Muslim in 2001 (all Christian groups together make up around 67% of the population)]; Kenya - 8 % Muslim; Ghana - 21 % Muslim; Uganda - 6 % Muslim] within their borders.
Djibouti is 93 % Muslim and about 4 % Christian; Islam is, officially, the state religion. In Eritrea, according to one Christian sourcebook that I have, the percentages of 'Muslim' and 'Christian' were about evens in 2001 - just under 48 % for both, with the remaining 4 % of the population listed as either non-religious (probably Marxist) or animist/ traditional beliefs.
There are Somalis (i.e. people speaking Somali and identifying with one or the other of the Somali clan groupings) in Djibouti [where they fight with the Muslim Afar tribe], in eastern Ethiopia, and in north-eastern Kenya. From among Somali Muslims resident in Kenya there has been a steady trickle of conversions to Christianity.
Al-Shabaab presumably intend to foment jihad and push sharia among Somali Muslims in Kenya and Ethiopia.
It should be noted that Ghana is not an East African but a West African country - that is, it is not a 'neighbour' to Somalia at all.
Furthermore , note the 'my allah is better than your allah' syndrome, in the threatening of Djibouti and Eritrea, but also in the threatening of Sudan - Muslim-ruled, majority-Muslim [65 %] Sudan, dominated by jihad-waging sharia-pushing Arabised Muslims, in which the substantial Christian and animist population (combined percentage of population roughly 34 %, mostly in the south) has been ruthlessly suppressed, enslaved and mass murdered by the Muslims pretty continuously throughout the past fifty years.
One must presume that Al Shabaab thinks that the Muslims of Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan are not sharia-compliant enough and have not been thorough enough in purifying their countries of everything that is not Islam.
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We also need more iraqi "refugees". The more the better!
http://www.iraqirefugee.us/Site/Welcome_to_IRAP.html
The bleeding heart guilty-white rich kids at Berkeley and Yale are working on it!
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Somalia v Israel? LOL, Bring it on.
Maybe those Somalis could send those MN Jihadis who have been spilling into Somalia to head for Israel? And maybe Israel could then divert them to Gaza?
Or send their 'navy' i.e. their pirates to go to Eilat, and try a seaborne invasion. Hey, I'm just giving them ideas. Maybe they'll land in Saudi Arabia or Sinai, or if they are lucky, Aqaba.
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LOL Yes, but it will be Somalia AND the U.nited N.azis vs. Israel.
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I guess all the women and girls were working the oil patch that day..Obviously not economics majors. Unbelievable.
Sorry, but this is a little off topic. Check out this video from the EDL demonstration in Leeds a few days ago. The x-soldier is very moving. You can really feel his passion. I think he sees the rise of Islam in his own country ... he realizes the fight is really for our own societies, not in some God forsaken hell on earth in the Middle East somewhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmOb-fCU0Hg
There is a fault line through the Mount of Olives whch runs directly under the Temple Mount. One day that 'Synagogue of Satan' will come crashing down and vanish forever, then who will they blame?
Ethoman- over at New English Review there's a preliminary report on the EDL rallies that took place in London and in Leeds. They managed to face down Anjem Choudary.
The Island of the Mighty (old Welsh term for Britain) is awakening!