Somalia: Al-Shabaab Under Increased Pressure

 The International Crisis Group posted on 11 January 2023 a 35 minute podcast titled "Somalia's Offensive against Al-Shabaab" with Omar Mahmood and Alan Boswell.

Over the past few months, Somali government forces have consolidated gains against al-Shabaab in a large-scale offensive in central Somalia initiated by local clan militias.  At the same time, the government is confronting a serious drought.  

The Role of Religious Actors in Somali Politics

 The Rift Valley Institute and Somali Public Agenda published in 2022 a report titled "The Role of Religious Actors in Contemporary Somali Politics: Key Dynamics and Opportunities for Engagement" by Stig Jarle Hansen, Mahad Wasuge, Abdimalik Abdullahi, and Abdullahi Adan.  

Since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, religious organizations have demonstrated strong staying power when compared with the rapidly changing mosaic of non-faith-based actors.  In so doing, they have acted as a source of institutional stability in Somalia.  At one end of the spectrum, religious groups actively participate in armed combat or seek to gain power over, or exert influence on government.  At the other end lies the broader societal influence wielded by religious leaders and groups, which, though not explicitly political, may have political consequences.  Religious actors are set to play a significant role in Somalia's emerging democratization process and the broader shaping of the country's political settlement in the years to come.   

Islamist Extremism in East Africa

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 9 August 2016 a study titled "Islamic Extremism in East Africa" by Abdisaid M. Ali. The author concludes that militant Islamist ideology has recently expanded throughout the East African region.

East Africa's Sufi Path to Countering Violent Extremism

The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 15 September 2015 a commentary titled "East Africa's Sufi Path to Countering Violent Extremism" by Rashid Abdi, Horn of Africa analyst with the ICG.  He argues that the wholesale demonization of Salafism by Sufi groups is not helpful.  Rather, Sufis should reach out and engage those Salifis who oppose violence. 

My New Book Hizmet in Africa Now Available

My most recent book, Hizmet in Africa: The Activities and Significance of the Gulen Movement, is now available through Tsehai Publishers in Los Angeles.  This is the only book-length work that analyzes the multifaceted activities in Africa of the followers of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in exile in rural Pennsylvania since 1999.  The book covers the philosophy of Gulen and the educational, business, dialogue, humanitarian, and media activities of Hizmet in Africa.  It also deals with the relationship between the movement and the government of Turkey.  The paperback edition sells for $19.95.