Anatomy of Counter-Jihad

Abstract

This chapter considers how Al-Shabaab messaging can be best countered, drawing on field research in Mogadishu and Baidoa, focusing on the area of Bay/Bakool. It shows that lack of security, opportunity, and justice, combined with clan conflicts create conditions that Al-Shabaab can exploit. In Bay/Bakool, the group is seen as having semi-territorial control; in other words, a fairly regular presence despite intermittent deployments or patrols by forces of the Federal Government of Somalia and African Union Mission in Somalia. Thus, the involvement of sheikhs and clan elders is all the more important as they wield considerable influence in communities and can strengthen efforts of countering violent extremism (CVE). A wide, inclusive approach is recommended, drawing upon a combination of different types of religious leaders, in which Sufi, Shafi'i, and Quietist/non-political Wahhabism are represented.