Radical Islam spills into Kenya: report

Thursday, February 02, 2012

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Somalia’s growing Islamist radicalismis spilling over into Kenya, a new report shows. The International Crisis Group attributes this to the militia’s swift rise torelative dominance in southern Somalia since early 2009, which it says hasadded to concerns about radicalisation in Kenya and beyond.

According to the report, the al Shabaab movementhas built a cross-border presence and a clandestine support network amongMuslim populations, and is recruiting and radicalising youth, often capitalisingon long-standing grievances against the state. The report reveals that al Shabaab has built a formidable and secretive supportinfrastructure in Kenya with North Eastern, Nairobi and Coast regions as theareas where the recruitment and radicalisation activities are most active.

However, the report says Somali sourcessuggest al Shabaab-inspired radicalisation is on the decline in North Eastern province and Eastleigh, but counter-terrorism experts caution against hastyconclusions. Titled 'Kenyan Somali IslamistRadicalisation', the report projects Islamic radicalism could grow moresevere with the October 2011 by the government’s decision to intervene directlyin the two decade-old Somalia conflict.

“Radicalisation is a grave threat to Kenya’s security and stability. Formulatingand executing sound counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation policiesbefore it is too late must be a priority. It would be a profound mistake,however, to view the challenge solely through a counter-terrorism lens,” statesthe report, which was launched on Wednesday in Brussels.

According to the report, a tiny, buthighly radicalised, close-knit and secretive Salafi Jihadi fringe (marja’iyah) emulates al Shabaab,supports its jihad, funnels money and recruits and is the primary agent ofradicalisation. However, it notes that “anecdotalevidence” does suggest a drop in traditional jihadi propaganda activities inand around the major Salafi mosques in Eastleigh.

Friday sermons – often important ingauging clerical establishment views – appear less inflammatory and devotedmore to spiritual matters. “With exceptions, the jihadi pamphletsgiven to congregations during prayers have either disappeared or cover issuesbeyond the region. The “toning down” of sermons, however, may simply be aresult of the routine surveillance most major mosques reportedly now receive. “Even without the physical threat posedby Al-Shabaab, Kenya would have to contend with this small but dangerous,homegrown threat,” the report states.

Another plausible explanation is thatjihadi radicalization may have gone underground. Most mosques in Eastleigh nowlook deserted during the “off-peak” times between the five mandatory prayers. The special muhazara (lecture) and halaqa(study group) sessions conducted by clerics for select students appear fewand far between.

According to some sources, these “master classes” are beingconducted away from mosques, usually in homes or in the dozens of madrasas thathave sprung up. No place has as many madrasas per square kilometre in Kenya asEastleigh. A mosque in Pumwani, until recentlyhanded out jihadi pamphlets with articles and speeches by Anwar al-Awlaki, anextremist Yemeni-American cleric killed in a US drone attack in Yemen inSeptember 2011. “It was said to have been animportant Al-Shabaab recruitment centre throughout 2010. Youths with potentialwere reportedly often sent to Kiunga, Lamu for further vetting at an Al-Shabaab“holding” facility, their IDs, birth certificates and other documentsconfiscated and burned.

The founder of the Muslim Youth Centre(MYC), based at the Pumwani mosque, Sheikh Ahmed Iman Ali, was recently namedAl-Shabaab’s leader and coordinator in Kenya. He allegedly commands a force ofsome 200-500 fighters, most of them Kenyans. The report wants the government todevelop effective, long-term counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisationstrategies.

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