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Somalia: Emerging Trends of Political Islam

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Somalia: Emerging Trends of Political Islam
Somalia: Emerging Trends of Political Islam
By Abdurahman Abdullahi (Baadiyow)
Abdurahman M. Abdullahi (Baadiyow) is a former military officer (19971-1986), electronic engineer, Islamic scholar and politician. He obtained PhD degree in the Islamic history from McGill University in Canada and engineering degree from Somali National University. He is co-founder of Mogadishu University in 1997 and its chairman of the Board of Trustees. He is also one of the prominent political figures in Somalia who participated in the presidential race in 2012. A militant group affiliated to al-Qaida controlling large swaths in Somalia aka Al-Shabab (the young) had been creating havoc in the whole region of the Horn of Africa. The recent terrorist action in the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi caught the attention of world community to the dangers looming in the region and reaffirmed terrorism has no religion and ethnicity. Even though, Somalis were suffering terrorism and massive violence of human rights in the last two decades. Nonetheless, all Somalis are considered and eschewed as potential terrorists.. Despite the fact that Western scholarship on political Islam has increased exponentially after 9/11, yet, writing inside out is paramount important and may offer added value. First, will put the topic in the geographical and historical context and then pursue trends and persuasions of the political Islam connecting them to their root organization and core ideology.
Background
Somalia is a Muslim country located in the strategic Horn of Africa connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa. The country was constituted from the unification of the former British protectorate in the North and Italian trusteeship administration that gained independence in 1960. However, this state had totally collapsed in 1991 ushering in gross violation of human rights, massive refugee crisis, and emergence of Islamic extremism and piracy. There is no single causal explanation for the state

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