Monday, September 29, 2014
AL SHABAAB and other local terror networks are taking advantage of historical injustices of marginalisation to advance their agenda, a new report has said.
The report, released on Friday by think tank International Crisis Group, said extremists are actively seeking to appeal to the most alienated members of Kenyan society to spread their influence, especially among the youth.
Titled “Kenya: Al Shabaab Closer to Home", the ICG report explains how local terror networks with a global jihadist agenda have used “grievances of marginalisation among Muslim communities in Nairobi, the Coast and North Eastern and institutional discrimination at a national level”.
It goes on: “Not only are there plenty of immediate grievances to exploit, but nearly two decades of radicalisation and recruitment in Kenya means that the threat is both imminent and deep. The absence of a common Kenyan Muslim agenda and leadership has meant little resistance to the extremist message”.
Therefore, as a measure to contain the growing threats of radicalisation, the ICG said the government should facilitate Muslim-driven madrasas and mosque reforms, which should entail review and approval of the curriculum taught and vetting of mosque committees.
Already, a new curriculum aimed at streamlining Islamic studies is being fronted to ensure extremist teachings are not propagated in madrasas. It is a joint effort by al-Muntada al-Islami Trust, an international charity organisation based in the United Kingdom, in partnership with the Council of Muslim Scholars in Kenya, the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims and representatives from the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.
The government has on many occasions alleged that some mosques and Islamic schools (madarasas) are used as training hubs for terrorists, allegations the Muslim community have always denied. Recently, CID director Ndegwa Muhoro said the government is planning to shut down some mosques that are being used to radicalise the youth.
The Brussels-based think tank also urged the government to implement the recommendations of the 2008 Presidential Special Action Committee to Address Specific Concerns of the Muslim Community in Regard to Alleged Harassment and/or Discrimination in the Application/Enforcement of the Law, popularly known as the Sharawe Commission Report (after its chairman, Engineer A.M.H. Sharawe) as a measure to address the grievances of the Muslim community in this country.
The commission was established by the then President Mwai Kibaki in 2007 to “look into and address specific concerns raised by the Muslim community with regard to alleged harassment and discrimination in the process of the application of the law particularly as regards security issues".
The committee found a range of discrepancies, from serious abuses suffered by Muslims during state security operations to discriminatory practices in the issuance of national identity cards and passports. It also cited the problems of regional underdevelopment, the propagation of negative stereotypes in the country’s media and shortage of Islamic religious education teachers. The Sharawe Committee submitted its final report in March 2008, but the government has never released it and the findings were never publicly discussed or implemented.
The ICG therefore said failure to address such grievances is serving only to lose further hearts and minds of the Muslim community to the extremists. It further asked political leaders to put aside partisan divisions “because [they] almost inevitably translate into communal strife; playing politics with terrorism compounds an already volatile situation”.
“Instead of closing ranks as they managed – just – in the aftermath of Westgate, Kenya’s political elites have bought into the deadly discourse of ethnic and religious recriminations,” the Group said.
To prevent a further deterioration of security and deny al Shabaab an ever greater foothold, the report asked the government, opposition parties and the Muslim leadership to carefully consider the impact of future official operations such as Operation Usalama Watch and paramilitary operations of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, especially when such actions appear to target whole communities.
The report said the recent Usalama Watch operation, for instance, has alienated communities whose “cooperation and support is vital in the fight against terrorism”.
It said the State should allow transparent investigations and redress where operations are found to have exceeded the rule of law and constitutional rights and safeguards.
The report further notes the 2011 military intervention in Somalia has “hastened the expansion of al Shabaab’s campaigns into the homeland”. The think tank said the impact of the Somalia invasion on domestic security has been “severely underestimated”.
While the killing of al Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane removed the organisation’s key strategist, his death will have implications for Kenyan operatives as the terrorists will seek to maintain their relevance with the new leadership.
The government should also acknowledge, the report said, the distinct al Shabaab threat inside the country without conflating it with political opposition, other outlawed organisations or specific communities.
The Group urges the government to put further efforts into implementing and supporting the new county government structures and agencies, to start addressing local grassroots issues of socio-economic marginalisation and also address institutional discrimination against Muslims (for instance, issuance of identity cards and passports) and better (proportional) representation of Muslims in senior public service appointments.