Abdi O. Shuriye, associate professor at the International Islamic University in Malaysia, published in the January 2012 issue of Academic Research International an article titled "Al-Shabaab's Leadership Hierarchy and Its Ideology." The objective of his research was to investigate al-Shabaab's political ideology and its structural leadership, to assess the ideological relationship between al-Qaeda, to comprehend the political future of the group and to ascertain its political and theological beliefs. The author concluded that al-Shabaab's political ideology originated outside Somalia.
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