Essay on Al-Shabaab African Terrorist Organization

The Al-Shabaab is regarded as one of the most dangerous African terrorist organizations. Al-Shabaab is a multiethnic militant group out of Somalia that uses many terrorist tactics in attempts to gain control over the country of Somalia. They use many forms of terrorism that include ideological revolutionary, dissident, and nationalist terrorism, as they have the motive to gain power over a territory by overthrowing the government. The Al-Shabaab is suspected to have taken part in many terrorist attacks, including the 1998 United States embassies bombings. The motive behind their violence is their goal of creating an Islamic state in Somalia, which they believe is morally justified by the ideological beliefs. An important psychological†¦show more content†¦If Al-Shabaab notices an individual that they think will benefit them and help their cause, they will threaten the individual into joining the organization (NCTC, 2013). This is an example of the Al-Shabaab using the ration al selection method to select specific members. However, lower ranking members and solders of Al-Shabaab are more concerned about nationalist matters in hopes of gaining control of their territory, compared to its leaders, which are focused on the global jihad. It is reported that the lower ranking members of Al-Shabaab will sometimes shift alliances and turn on Al-Shabaab. This is an example of intergroup conflict within Al-Shabaab. If the members of the organization do switch sides, Al-Shabaab is powerful enough to manipulate that clan network and absorbing them. This makes Al-Shabaab more powerful and gains a significantly more amount of members at the cost of one. Al-Shabaab keeps their head internal leader unclear, although it’s leadership as a whole eventually falls upon Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s leader. Though it seems that Al-Shabaab tends to no comply with Ayman al-Zawahiri at all times. In 2010, Ayman al-Zawahiri replaced Al-Shabaab’s Emir, title o f a Muslim ruler, Moktar Ali Zubeyr â€Å"Godane†, who is regarded as Al-Shabaab’s Emir, with Ibrahim Haji Jama. However, Godane refused this notion and continued on to be the organizations ruler. Al-Shabaab, the cells of al-Qaeda, recently have begun to leave major cities in Somalia, in routeShow MoreRelatedAl-Shabaab Terrorist Group1590 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction: Al-Shabaab as a terrorist group poses a significant threat in Somalia and in the global community. This paper will start by discussing the background. In this part the paper will show how the group has evolved from Al-Ittihad Al-Islam (AIAI) to the Islamic Court Union (ICU) and lastly to Al-Shabaab. 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