This terrorist group’s hated of foreign influences is well documented. Broadcasts from Voice of America and the BBC are not allowed in al-Shabaab-controlled areas. This is on top of a recent demand that every radio station in the country discontinue playing music, as it is blasphemous, and many have complied out of fear of retribution. Foreign aid workers are routinely slaughtered for the high crime of attempting to deliver food to starving Somalis. Harsh sharia law has been implemented wherever al-Shabaab reigns supreme. Recently gold and silver filling were declared against Islam and soldiers sent out to forcibly ‘collect’ these offences against Allah. Stories of mutilations and decapitations in the name of Islamic law are rampant.
The brutality of al-Shabaab was illustrated quite clearly in 2008. They held a massive rally Kismayo that culminated in the stoning of a 13-year-old girl for the crime of adultery (or zina). It was not important that she was the victim of a gang-rape, just that she had violated the Muslim rules governing pre-marital sex. Unwillingness to participate in the act did not factor into the equation.
There are a few signs that al-Shabaab’s reign of terror might be nearing an end, though. The bulk of the members, and even some of the leadership, is largely composed of uneducated zealots, and as such there is little chance that al-Shabaab can effectively transition from a militia to a viable regional government. There are stories of major defections from the group. Those that leave the brutal organization cite the crimes against the Somali citizenry as the main reason they no longer wish to fight. The public is showing increasing distaste for the ultra-conservative and seemingly capricious rulings of al-Shabaab religious leaders.
Perhaps one day the school bells of Jowhar will ring again. Hopefully on that day they will toll for the doom of al-Shabaab and all of the intolerance that xenophobic terror group breeds.
