Policy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Policy Paper - Essay Example Al-Shabaab, actually the Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin, was the rebellious branch of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts. A major portion of the southern Somalia was taken over by this group during the last six months of the year 2006. The group has exercised control over the southern and central Somalia, at times temporary, otherwise sustained through recruiting local sub-tribes along with their armed force, even forcibly. Majority of the fighters within the group are concerned with fighting against Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The senior leadership of Al-Shabaab group is associated with al-Qa’ida and it is believed that a number of the terrorists within the group have received training and battled in Afghanistan. Ideology of Al-Shabaab The ideology of Al-Shabaab is another tread towards the vision of the global ‘jihadist’ movement. The group operates with the notion that the troubles of Somalia can only be eradicated through such governance that runs on religious values. They work with the notion that everything has to be in compliance with the laws of the Islam. According to a report written by Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, an American mujahid, a conference was boycotted by the Al-Shabaab group because it was violently against working with any non-Islamic group. Al-Shabaab’s ideology was that if they work with any group that does not value religious belief, the scope of political feeling within the group increases. The politics ultimately build up a path that gives rise to defeats and losses. Ideology of the group that is developed upon the God’s verses makes the terrorists’ group believe that they are ‘good Muslims’. This idea of the group bars them from realizing their mis deed through taking the lives of many (Gartenstein, â€Å"The Strategic Challenge of Somalia's Al-Shabaab†). Structure of Al-Shabaab The nominal leader of the Al-Shabaab group is Sheikh Mohamed Mukhtar Abdirahman. However, according to various experts, the group’s activities are guided by a number of senior leaders. Al-Shabaab group is classified into mainly three geographical locations. The locations are: the regions of Bay and Bokool where it is led by Mukhtar Roobow, Mogadishu with southern and central Somalia and Somaliland and Puntland. There is another unit whose leader is not a member of the Al-Shabaab group but is believed to have a strong association with the group. A report of the ‘December 2008 UN Monitoring Group’ revealed that the four regional units of the group operates separately and even passes through conflicts among themselves. There are carious estimates about the exact size of the group. However, it is according to the notions of analy sts that people believed the group to be consisted of thousands of fighters. A major portion of the group belongs to the Hawiye tribal community