Writing a brief essay outlining a terrorist organization's character is the primary goal of this assignment. The paper must place the group chronologically in David Rapport's "4 wave" diagram as per the instructions. Second, the essay will provide a brief background on the organization, including its founding date, purpose, enemies, and constituencies. The formation of the terrorist group will then be covered in detail. I chose to write an essay about the Al-Shabaab Group in order to finish this task. Al – Shabab is one of the main terrorist groups in Africa. It is widely based in Somali Land. Originally, it was known as Harakat al- Shabab al-Mujahideen. Basically, the name Al – Shabab is a short form of this term. After gathering information from different sources, the name Al- Shabab has a hidden meaning in Arabic. This term means “The Youth”. This group was formed in the year 2006 (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 29). It is a direct affiliate of a bigger terrorist group known as Al Qaeda.
Despite the fact that the group’s headquarters are in Somali, its area of operation is in Yemen. The main headquarters are based in a town in Somali known as Kismayo. Based on this information about its area of operation, it is safe to state the fact that Al – Shabab is funded by its affiliates in Yemen (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 54). This group has the same desires and objectives just like Al – Qaida. Initially, the group was formed to fight for the rights of Muslims in Somali, fight for the creation of an Islamic state in Somali and liberate all the Muslims. As time went by, the group shifted on its focus, goals and objectives.
In the recent past, the group has unleashed attacks on neighboring Countries such as Kenya and Uganda. A good example that can be used to explain on this is that Al – Shabab attacked a mall that is based in Nairobi in the year 2013 (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 64). This mall is known as the Westgate mall. In the year 2010, the group unleashed a series of bombings in Kampala, the Capital city of Uganda. This move ended up killing very many people (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 52). Based on information retrieved from books written by African protagonists such as Bronwyn E. Bruton, the Al – Qaeda linked group has a number of objectives.
Some of the group’s main objectives include the liberation and formation of an Islamic state that operates on Islamic laws. Since the group came into power in the year 2006, there has been a lot of struggle for non – Muslims in Somalia and those in the neighboring Countries (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 48). This group believes that their religion is right and anybody who does not practice this religion should be eliminated. The second objective of the group is to create a state where Sharia laws are well established and closely followed (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 33). Currently, Somali is made of people who practice other religions apart from Islam. Al – Shabab has hoped to destroy this. This is the main reason why the group often attacks people who are Christians, persecutes and kills them as well as burn Churches.
The Al – Shabab group is also against most of the modern reforms (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 70). It hopes to abolish some of the modern activities that are prohibited by the Sharia laws such as various types of entertainment, movies and music. It believes that that this forms of entertainment corrupt the soul of man and make it dark. Basically, the group wants to create a society that is made of people who are pure in heart. It also seeks to create a society that is free and fair from wrongdoing; this means that the group targets to eliminate people who commit social crimes such as theft and adultery (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 19). Generally, this objective means that the group the militant group is trying to eliminate the ‘dirt’ in the society.
Basically, each militant/terrorist group has its own tactics it uses when fighting. The strategy used must favor the group when it faces the opponent. Some of the main tactics that the group uses to fight off its opponents are the guerilla warfare and Counter terrorism aspect ("The Correct Tactic to Defeat Al-Shabab Is Both Defense and Attack - AMISOM | Africa news NP"). Guerilla warfare is a form of war that is irregular. It involves a small group of people/combatants who are using paramilitary personnel ("The Correct Tactic to Defeat Al-Shabab Is Both Defense and Attack - AMISOM | Africa news NP"). The warfare mainly includes fighting from the forest and mountains using hit and run tactics.
Secondly, the counter terrorism aspect involves fighting through the use of explosive devices ("The Correct Tactic to Defeat Al-Shabab Is Both Defense and Attack - AMISOM | Africa news NP"). In this case, Al – Shabab attacks its targets by planting roadside bombs as well as suicide bombers. This are people who wear bombs, target highly populated areas where they can go and blow themselves up. In the event of this scenario, the suicide bomber ends up killing other people who were his/her targets. Al – Shabab mainly uses women and children as suicide bombers since they can hardly be suspected.
The structure and order of Hierarchy of Al – Shabab is very flexible. It involves many units and sub units that work together to make the group effective and relevant to the society ("Al-Shabaab Leadership & Organizational Structure NP"). Basically, the group is led by a paramount leader known as Amir. He is the supreme commander who dictates the activities to be carried. He controls the budget and operations of the group. Since the group is widely based in different parts of East Africa, the Amir is assisted with a council made up of ten members ("Al-Shabaab Leadership & Organizational Structure NP"). This body council is known as top shura majlis. The work of the council is to engage with Amir about their operations.
When we look at the military branch, Al – Shabab is divided into two units. They include the army of hardship and suffering and the social, judicial and economic branch ("Al-Shabaab Leadership & Organizational Structure NP"). In Arabic, this groups are identified as Jaysh Al –Usr and Jaysh Al – Hisbah respectively. The Hisbah branch is responsible for controlling the religious activities of the group as well as controlling and monitoring the moral principles of the group ("Al-Shabaab Leadership & Organizational Structure NP"). Basically, this unit acts as a religious council. Al – Usr is responsible for maintaining law and order.
Since Al – Shabab is in control of four main regions, each region is led by two leaders. One leader must be political whilst the other must be a military representative ("Al-Shabaab Leadership & Organizational Structure NP"). From here the soldiers rank themselves based on their service. Other areas that are not predominantly occupied by the group do not have an effective leadership system. They operate independently ("Al-Shabaab Leadership & Organizational Structure NP"). This means they live by their own set of rules. Below is a diagram that effectively describes the structure of the Al Shabab.
Some of the main attacks that Al Shabab has successfully carried out include the attack of a Kenyan military based camp in Somali (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 18). It is estimated that at least 150 soldiers lost their lives. This is one of the most gruesome attacks that the group has ever conducted. In the year 2013; the group made its way into Westgate mall, Nairobi Kenya (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 50). People shopping in the mall were held captive for a considerable length of time. Many people were also killed. The most recent attack is when 4 police officers in Kenya were beheaded. Apart from Kenya, the group has attacked other Countries such as Uganda.
Propaganda is one of the most effective ways of passing information in East Africa. Since its formation, the group has conveyed a lot of information which is not true. According to reports from news articles about the Al Shabab, the group uses propaganda to instill fear among people (Masters & Jonathan & Mohammed & Aly 49). For example, there was a propaganda that multiple Kenyan soldiers were killed in the beginning of the year. This was false information according to a report by the Commander in Chief of the armed forces in Kenya.
CONCLUSION
Al – Shabab is one of the strongest terrorist groups in Africa. It is an affiliate of the Al - Qaeda group. It was formed in 2006 to liberate and make Somali an Islamic state. It has a flexible stricture of Governance. Generally, this group has managed to instill fear and terror among people living in East Africa. In conclusion, it is safe to say that this essay has clearly laid out its structure, charter/manifesto/goals/objectives and how it operates.
Works Cited
"Al-Shabaab Leadership & Organizational Structure." N.p., 2017. Web. 11 Oct. 2017.
"Al-Shabab." CFR Backgrounders, Council on Foreign Relations 13 (2015).
"The Correct Tactic To Defeat Al-Shabab Is Both Defence And Attack - AMISOM | Africanews." Africanews. N.p., 2017. Web. 11 Oct. 2017.
