Thursday, July 28, 2011

Ex-Recruit Speaks Out on Al-Shabaab Experience, Methods

MINNEAPOLIS - As a new round of congressional hearings focuses in on the terror group al-Shabaab in Somalia, FOX 9 News delved into a question few have dared to ask: What is the connection between a local mosque and the recruitment of Somali youths?As the nation’s lawmakers take a deeper look into the radicalization of American Somalis, many are asking how the young people became radicalized to begin with. How do you take a teenager and convince him it’s his duty as a good Muslim to fight -- and possibly die -- for a country he may not even remember?In an attempt to answer that question, FOX 9 News spoke with a man who has seen both sides of the Holy War.“They were telling us, ‘One day, we’ll take over the whole world,’” recalled the former recruit, who will be identified only as Marsel.Marsel said he was recruited for jihad in Somalia at just 16 years old.“I was involved with the mother organization,” he admitted.Marsel said he was trained by al-Quaeda for a group that would later become known as al-Shabaab. At training camp, there were religious lectures at night and terrorism classes by day, he said.“They were like a mystery to us,” Mansel recalled. “In the mornings, they were our teachers -- teaching us everything from hand grenades to making bombs.”Mansel’s journey began in the early 90s, when Somalia was beginning its long road into anarchy. Injured and disillusioned, Marsel found his way -- like thousands of other refugees -- to Minnesota, where he married and settled down to raise a family.He sent his three young sons to Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, the state’s largest mosque located in south Minneapolis, on the weekends to keep them away from drugs and gangs. Then, Mansel said one of his own children brought home a message that spoke to him once before.“’Is America our country, our enemy, or ally? How do we know that, dad?’ When your children approach you and ask you these kinds of questions, a parent is only left to wonder: What am I going to do about my children?” Mansel said.Mansel said it happened slowly -- almost imperceptibly, but he asked his son where those questions came from and was pointed toward several lectures from Sharif Mohamed Umal.Umal is a controversial and charismatic leader based in Kenya, and one of his numerous lectures from Nairobi was delivered via satellite straight into Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center.
The FOX 9 Investigators recovered a recording from a teenager’s iPod of one of Umal’s lectures focusing on Muslims living among infidels.“What we need is the average Muslim to be true to what he has in his heart. That is, to be with the righteous against the evil people,” the recording says.Abdi Bihi is a community leader who has long warned that some of the so-called scholarly lectures at Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center were not only divisive, but are also potentially dangerous.“He is radical to the bone,” Bihi said of Umal.Bihi said Umal’s lectures can sound like a call to action for young people hearing news from Somalia that Ethiopian troops are invading their home country, raping women and children in the process.“This guy is building the fundamental beliefs of this community and these young people,” Bihi said. “He’s laying down the bricks of radicalization. That’s his job.”The iPod containing the recording belonged to one of the Minneapolis teenagers who vanished from Minnesota nearly three years ago, presumably to go fight in Somalia. His parents did not want to be identified, but said he attended religious school at Abubakar As-Saddique for years and believe that is where he downloaded the lectures.The device contains a mix of the innocent and the insidious, ranging from children’s cartoons telling the story of Mohammed to dozens of podcasts from Anwar al-Awlacki, the notorious leader of al-Quaeda in Yemen. Since the death of Osama bin Laden, al-Awlacki has topped the FBI’s wanted list and the CIA’s assassination target list.So how does faith turn to fighting? Bihi said it’s a problem that’s not limited just to Islam.“Misinterpretation of our holy book -- that’s what we have to deal with,” he said.Many major religions have sects inside that quibble about details and can lean to the extremes, but Bihi said terror groups are using indoctrination as a tool, and he said he knows those techniques were used to manipulate his own nephew, Burhan Hassan.Hassan attended youth programs at Abubakar As-Saddique and also listend to al-Awlacki lectures before he left Minneapolis in November 2008 to join al-Shabaab in Somalia, where he died. Family members say they believe Hassan was killed by the group when he became too sick to fight.Travel itineraries show many of the missing young men first traveled to Kenya, where they reportedly stayed or visited Nairobi’s renowned Sixth Street Mosque, led by none other than Umal.“He’s going to welcome them to his mosque, the Sixth Street Mosque, where al-Shabaab will take them to Somalia,” Bihi said. “Every missing kid in our comminuty, missing for Abubakar As-Saddique.”Despite repeated requests, no religious leaders from Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center were willing to speak with the FOX 9 Investigators, and some of those attending prayer were less-than-eager to let FOX 9 ask questions on Wednesday.In the lobby of the Islamic center, there’s now a sign warning against recruiting at the mosque, but according to a federal indictment, Cabdulaahi Faarax was doing just that Known as Smiley, the Minneapolis cab driver was a recruiter for al-Shabaab and conducted teleconferences with the group at a mosque believed to be Abubakar As-Saddique. Among those recruited, Faraah Beledi, a former gang member known as Bloody, who lived up to his name two months ago when he blew himself at a checkpoint in Somalia. Beledi killed himself and three others in the attack.Beledi was once a volunteer for youth programs at Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, and was even a speaker at one of the mosque’s open houses held after another man who attended the mosque, Shirwa Ahmed, became the first American suicide bomber in an attack that killed 22 in Somalia.It was that event that caught the attention of the FBI three years ago, according to Donald Oswald, who is the new man in charge of the Minneapolis FBI office.“You hit it on the head when you said they could, in fact, do the same activity in this country,” Oswald said. “Whether it’s a lone-wolf syndrome, that is a problem. We try to stay on top of it.”Oswald was brought to Minneapolis specifically because of his counter-terrorism background. Still, he says that while agents can follow the money trail, the ideological trail is more elusive and First Amendment rights protect the satellite episodes.“Generally speaking, they have the right to worship as they see fit,” Oswald said. “Until they cross the line.”Yet, Marsel said he believes the line has already been crossed and took his children out of Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center two years ago because he doesn’t want them listening to leaders who would have them follow his footsteps into jihad.“They can say whatever they want and don’t’ care about repercussions,” he said. “The mosque is using this to radicalize young people without being responsible and not leaving any paper trail.”The controversial issue has been a point of contention within the mosque itself, which has moderated the tone and tenor of its lectures in the past few months. However, police were called to break up a fight at Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center July 4 after some young people accused the mosque of turning its back on Somalia.It is important to note that federal prosecutors have said they believe the suspects indicted on recruiting charges were acting as individuals and proxies for al-Shabaab, not as representatives of the mosque

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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

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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.

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