By Rasheed Abdy
Al-Shabaab’s campaign to undermine Somalia’s traditionally diverse forms of worship and rituals has no scriptural and doctrinal basis.
Many people assume the Somali militant group Al Shabaab enjoys the support of most Islamic leaders. However, Somali-American Imam Hassan Ali Mohamud condemned the group’s attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in September.
He spoke to The EastAfrican’s Rasheed Abdy about youth radicalisation, the failures of Muslim leaders, and what the future holds for Somalia. The interview was contacted in Somali, and translated by Abdy.
You are well-known in the US and have great influence over the Somali Diaspora communities in North America. But could we start with a bit of background for those in East Africa who may not know you that well?
Like many Somalis, I have a nickname, which is Imam Hassan Jami’i. I got the name in 1982, as a tribute to my ability to memorise the Koran and to distinguish me from another Hassan who was my classmate in the dugsi (traditional Koranic school). The name has stuck with me ever since.
I became a da’i (Muslim missionary) at the tender age of 14. I was born in Hamar (Mogadishu) in 1962. I attended Banaadir High School, which was run by Arabs.
I have two law degrees – one from the National University of Somalia and a post-graduate sharia degree from Cairo. I am currently a lawyer and an adjunct professor teaching comparative law.
I moved to the US in 1996 and have lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the past 17 years. I am married and have seven children – three sons and four daughters.
Youth radicalisation is said to be a big problem in Minnesota and there have been confirmed reports of radicalised youths being recruited to join Al Shabaab in Somalia. How have you personally addressed these issues in your role as imam and community leader?
I continue to speak out against these issues. In my first Friday sermon after the Westgate attack in Nairobi, I condemned the atrocities and stressed that Islam forbids the killing of innocent people. Islamic sharia puts great emphasis on the sanctity of human life.
Extremism is a threat to all of us, including Muslims. It is our religious duty to protect human life and oppose any act that destroys life.
Our sermons and lectures are primarily geared towards tackling these problems.
I am a director of a youth centre that trains Islamic missionaries. Our course content and methods are guided by the Koran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Koran counsels missionaries to use wisdom and tact in seeking converts. Sadly, we have departed from this tradition. We hold annual youth conventions to revive this teaching, and to counter the distortion of our faith.
How serious is the problem of radicalisation and youth recruitment within the Somali Diaspora community in the US?
The problem is real. The US government has been busy in the past two years probing the full extent of the problem after a youngster by the name of Shirwa was confirmed to have been involved in a suicide attack in Somalia.
Shirwa was a high school graduate, a bright young man who was enrolled at a local university. He had a promising future. The news created great anxiety and concern.
The US government became interested in mosques and to what extent they played a role in the recruitment and radicalisation of Somali youth.
The probe found out that no Somali-run mosque was implicated and that these activities were being conducted outside mosques and in great secrecy.
A number of Somalis – 20 in total – have since been convicted of various terrorism–related offences and sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to 30 years.
It is clear the recruitment and radicalisation networks are operating outside the mainstream mosques.
It is important to probe the root causes. They include events in the Muslim world, in particular the Ethiopian occupation. Some were radicalised because their relatives were killed by Ethiopian soldiers.
The Ethiopian occupation radicalised many Somalis and acted as the main catalyst for recruitment. It spurred hundreds of young Somalis to leave for Somalia to join Al Shabaab.
But the ulema (Muslim scholars trained in Islam and Islamic law) cannot be absolved of blame for they were slow to respond to the problem. There was a general complacency and tendency to downplay the magnitude of the youth radicalisation crisis. The extremists were better organised and built powerful networks and alliances.
The Sheikh Sharif Government (2009-2012) is equally to blame. It failed to clarify its moderate position. This ambiguity created a vacuum – an ideal context that allowed the militants to disseminate their distorted theology.
No attempt was made to mobilise the ulema and create a forum to challenge extremism and draw up a concerted response and strategy.
Some people had in the past questioned your credentials as a “moderate” and suggested you did not do enough to stem youth radicalisation, especially in Minnesota. But perceptions may have since changed. You are well-regarded by the Somali government and Amisom, as attested to by your presence here in Kigali for the Somali youth conference. How would you characterise your current profile and status?
Let me first say that most of the imams and Muslim activists in the US came under suspicion from the general public and the authorities in the wake of 9/11. Understood from this perspective, I was not singled out for special scrutiny.
But many of these claims were fuelled by my activities following the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in December 2006. Like many Somalis, I was opposed to the Ethiopian intervention and the tacit US approval.
In early 2007, I launched a public campaign to highlight our opposition. Some in the US government were not happy with my action and stance.
The situation was further aggravated by negative reports fed to the US authorities by some Somali officials. As far as these officials were concerned, anyone who opposed Ethiopia’s 2006 invasion to dislodge the Union of Islamic Courts and the subsequent three-year occupation was an extremist. I was called many names – militant, radical, hardliner, you name it.
It was, therefore, no surprise that my name would be put on a US government watch list.
I continue to petition the relevant departments in a bid to reverse the decision, but as you probably know, this is not going to be easy.
Many of the officials I talk to are sympathetic, but there are many bureaucratic and systemic hurdles which makes the process of getting me off the list extremely complicated. They tell me it is easy to be put on the list but very difficult to be removed from it, and they cite a variety of technical complications, some of which I find plausible.
That said, I am not worried because my conscience is clear and I am not regarded a threat to US national security. I move freely and go about my business with no hindrance, whatsoever.
My relations with the US government continue to improve. In fact, I am regularly called upon to conduct seminars and lectures for various US government departments such as the FBI.
I value these interactions because it is a good opportunity to correct misperceptions about Islam and foster greater understanding and tolerance.
It is equally my duty as a citizen of the US and a Muslim to protect my adopted country from harm and to offer advice to the authorities. I see no contradiction in my civic and religious roles.
You were part of the 160 Muslim scholars who recently met in Mogadishu and issued a fatwa against Al Shabaab. This was the first gathering of its kind and was hailed as an important milestone in the efforts to challenge the Al Shabaab narrative and theology. But some would say it has come too late?
Yes. It has, I agree, but better late than never. And there are many reasons why it has taken us this long to act.
To start with, we had no strong and functional government and much of the country, including the capital, was controlled by Al Shabaab.
This is now changing. We now have a post-transition government, which, despite many challenges, has greater legitimacy and has managed to create pockets of relative safety where large numbers of ulema can meet.
Many of us felt that such meetings have a greater impact when they are held inside the country.
Equally important, unlike the previous governments, the current administration led by President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud seems keen on prioritising counter-radicalisation.
Unlike in the past too, many of the ulema, representing all the major strands and mazhab (sects), appear much more united in this common goal.
The Mogadishu conference of imams and scholars was therefore an important milestone that marked a significant shift in our collective effort and desire to create a structured forum to unify views and build consensus on the way forward. The ultimate goal is to create a home-grown, Somali-led strategy to counter violent extremism and inculcate the values of moderation.
Are you saying that we now have an inclusive and non-sectarian process aimed at tackling extremism and youth radicalisation?
Absolutely.
But sceptics may say your new-found unity is based more on opposition to Al-Shabaab and less on what you stand for. We have not heard much about the so-called moderate values espoused by the participants at the Mogadishu forum. Can you define what you meant by moderation?
We are constantly bombarded by reports and images about the rise of Islamist militancy, but rarely do we get to hear about the resurgence of moderate Islam.
The truth is that there is a powerful moderate Islamist movement which is emerging in the Muslim world. It is beginning to influence public discourse and perception and is transforming societies through non-violence.
Tunisia and Egypt, before the recent coup, are just two recent examples of countries where the moderate Islamist movement has triumphed over the extremists.
Sadly, the West’s confused response and lack of support for this moderate Islamist movement has seen the recent gains slowly reversed, especially in Egypt. Many disillusioned moderates are turning to militancy. And that cannot be in the interest of the West.
The tendency in the West to conflate all forms of Islamism and the inability to distinguish between extremism and moderation is bound to have disastrous consequences. Every time a moderate Islamist movement fails, the extremists succeed.
The values of moderation are deeply embedded in our faith and traditions. The Koran says: “We have made you (Muslims) a nation of moderation.”
Sharia is not an end in itself, but a means towards creating a just and harmonious society. Its applications must be preceded by a lengthy period of education and work to create the optimal conditions – a fully functional state and an equitable and just socio-economic and political system.
It is preposterous to impose sharia in an impoverished and conflicted country, and to start chopping off hands as Al Shabaab has done. Their sharia model is inconsistent with the philosophy and spirit of sharia as understood and codified by the early jurists.
Moderation disavows violence and expansionism. It seeks to foster tolerance, peaceful coexistence and non-sectarianism.
People must be left to practise their faith in accordance with their own creed and mazhab (sect).
Al-Shabaab’s campaign to undermine Somalia’s traditionally diverse forms of worship and rituals has no scriptural and doctrinal basis.
Source: The EastAfrican
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