Kenyans must avoid Al-Shabaab plot

The devastating attack by the Al Shabaab criminal group in Mandera is no doubt a continuation of its evil and unholy agenda of sparking inter-religious divisions and strife in the country.

But despite facing many provocative and terrible attacks from the terrorist group, (including killings in places of worship and shopping malls) Kenyans have not fallen for the trick set by the criminal group of dividing them along religious lines.

The latest attack mirrors the previous ones at Westgate Mall and Mpeketoni, Lamu where the killers singled out for slaughter, those they identified as non-Muslim to turn the war on terrorism directed against them into a religious war pitying Muslims against non-Muslims.

The criminals expect that by provoking inter-religious conflagration in Kenya, they may trigger a weakening or meltdown of the Kenyan state.

But despite many attacks, Kenyans have not swallowed the bait. A scenario which must frustrate the group even as they lose more control of parts of Southern Somalia that they previously controlled with an iron grip. It is only a matter of time before the group is banished from all parts of Somalia thereby ending their rein of terror in the region.

A report by the International Crisis Group said the group has been seeking to assault the “pressure points” in the country to drive a wedge between Kenyans.

These pressure points include political, tribal and religious differences.

From the perspective of the Muslim community in Kenya and the entire Horn of Africa, this group has soiled the name of Islam.

Millions of law-abiding and peace-loving Muslims in Kenya are now facing hostility, suspicions, arrests, detention, social stigma thanks to the evil and criminal enterprise of a few criminals who have the nerve to claim that they are fighting for the Islamic course!

The Al Shabaab tactic of sparing the lives of Muslims during their terrorist attacks is hollow and ironical since the same group kills thousands of Muslims in Somalia every year.

Actually, almost on a daily basis, the criminal group target educated Somali professionals who have returned to their country to help in rebuilding efforts. Only last week, a civil engineer who had returned from the US was assassinated by Al Shabaab killers in Mogadishu.

Efforts by religious and political leaders within the Somali and the entire Muslim community to discredit their warped propaganda to justify their inexcusable crimes is beginning to dent their capacity to recruit and retain followers in Somalia.

In addition, their claim that their brutal killings in Mandera were “retaliation” to the recent police raids and closure of four mosques in Mombasa County have no basis but only aim to cast themselves as the “defender of Muslims” in Kenya and broaden their support beyond the handful of sympathisers they may already have won.

 

Although many Muslims in Kenya were unhappy about the mosque raids, and thought a smarter approach could have been used by police to deal with insecurity in the region, they vehemently reject the outlawed Al Shabaab group claiming the position of spokesman and self-styled defender of their faith.

Any law-abiding Muslim must reject efforts by Al Shabaab and other criminal groups transforming the war against terrorism into a war between Muslims and Christians.

Unfortunately, the rhetoric of some politicians and religious leaders in the country often plays into the hands of Al Shabaab when they collectively blame Muslims for actions of a few criminals.

Even counter-terrorism tactics by the security forces often betrays the fact that they see the whole Muslim community as an enemy, rather than partners in the war on terrorism.

Tactics such as profiling Muslims, mass arrests, the killing of religious leaders, raids and closures of mosques are often exploited by Al Shabaab and their sympathisers as “evidence” of a war against Muslims and Islam.

A report by the Institute of Security Studies cited excessive use of force, collective punishment and mass arrests by police as one of the main drivers of youth radicalisation sending previously peaceful youths right into the hands of criminal groups like Al Shabaab.