Somalia:Moderate Islamists declare Jihad against Al-Shabab By Alasow Clickhere

Somalia:People supports government in rallies By Alasow Clickhere

Somalia:Al Jazeera interview with Al-Shabab spokesman.

Baidoa  8 March 2009 Waagacusub Media

The spokesman for Al-Shabab, Shaykh Mukhtar Robow Ali alias Abu Mansur recently gave an interview to Al-Jazeera Arabic in a program called Today's meeting. Many have expressed their disbelief with the Robow and have ended up asking whether he is indeed a liar or is wrongly accused? [Shaykh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur is the spokesman for Al-Shabab].
 

Al-Jazeera: Sheikh Abu Mansur, we are now in Baidoa , Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] forces are not here and those of Ethiopia have withdrawn. What is your position as of now?

Abu Mansur: We would like to congratulate the mujahidin wherever they are. We would also like to send our condolences to the families of those who were martyred during the liberation of Baidoa . We have been able to succeed and reach our goals and our victory is also a victory for Muslims across the world that were supporting us and praying for us, some of whom gave advice while others gave us financial support.

We are telling all of those who supported us that victory is in the hands of the mujahidin. It should be known that the enemy forces did not withdraw [from the country] out of their own free will, but did so as result of the attacks from the mujahidin. The Ethiopian general who came to facilitate the withdrawal of their troops in Baidoa said, "Once I leave here and I am gone for about an hour, Mukhtar Robow will come and sit here." I did not sit in that seat because the so called government officials robbed everything including government property. We came into the town, and thank God, today, the town is under Shari'ah Law. We feel that whatever we have been fighting for has now been achieved and the residents now live in peace and stability. It was not possible for people to walk around with their mobile phones during the day in the market and go anywhere at night. It is now possible to carry anything you like and go out at night at whatever time.

Al-Jazeera: Why was Al-Shabab formed and how is it different from the other groups that are currently operating in Somalia?

Abu Mansur:Al-Shabab was formed not too long ago after people returned from the fighting in Afghanistan in which the Taliban was ousted. Some officials of the Islamic movements who were in the country at the time held a meeting having felt that their groups were not that active as far jihad was concerned. There were various Somali Islamic movements that have in the past tried to carry out jihad but they were faced with many obstacles and dropped their operations altogether.

The men who were previously in these groups held a meeting and decided to form a movement and take part in the jihad and spread the religion. They decided to spread the religion alongside the Jihad. Thank God, these efforts have been realized and God has blessed their efforts, resulting in exposure of many harmful plans that hatched by unbelievers. Many of the men who were part of these movements have been chosen by God to be martyred on his behalf. More than 10 people who were among those who formed this group [Al-Shabab] have been martyred so far, among them Shaykh Ibrahim Hashi, our brother Abu Qutayba, our brother Ma'alin Adan Hashi Ayrow, and our brother Umar Dheere alias Abu Jabal. Many of those who were present during the formation of the group have also been martyred. Those who are still alive are also looking forward to death, in order to die for the same cause that others before them died for. The first time the general public came to know about Al-Shabab was during the fight against terrorism which was led by the nine warlords who had reached agreement with the US government.

These warlords used to abduct the mujahidin and hand them over to the then US administration, through their offices in Djibouti. Among those who were abducted [by the warlords and handed over to the Americans] were two mujahidin who were abducted from the house of Adan Ayrow. One of them is now taking part in the jihad and the other one is imprisoned in Hargeysa. When the warlords became too much in trading in the blood of the mujahidin the mujahidin decided to fight back and they attacked the airport that was used to carry out these operations and those who were in custody at the time were also released. After that, our group and the Islamic courts started carrying out joint operations and the support we got from the public played a big role in the fighting. Al-Shabab has since become popular in the country.

Al-Jazeera: There are people who say that your group has close relations with Al-Qa'idah, what is the truth of the matter?

Abu Mansur: The relation we have with them is the same as the one all muslims have with other fellow muslims. It is an Islamic principle [quotes an Arabic phrase meaning support them or oppose them, which is to distance yourself from the unbelievers and be close to fellow Muslims and love them. That is the kind of relationship we have [with Al-Qa'idah]. They pray for us and we pray for them.

They sometimes broadcast advice on the internet which is very beneficial to us or sometimes they send us messages via the internet and we are very excited about that, last of which was the tape sent by our brother, Abu Yahya Al-Libiyi.

We are usually very pleased with such statements. There is no close relationship between our two groups in such a way that they are part of us or we are part of them, but we belong together as Muslims. They are mujahidin and our enemies are one, they fight the Americans and we fight them. They fight the other unbelievers whom we also fight. They want to implement Shari'ah law and so do we.

We are opposed to the fake borders that have been established by the colonialists banning people from Iraq to go to Jordan or the Saudi to go to Yemen. We are saying that all Muslim countries be united as one and they also want the same thing. That is all there is to it. We are not part of them but we love them very much.

Al-Jazeera:Does your party have priorities that you would like to address in a particular order?

Abu Mansur: Shari'ah law rules as per the book [Koran] and the Sunna [Practises of the prophet] and common sense. We apply all of these rules as they are. But in order to bring back the Islamic Khalifa, we will attain our goals by spreading religion, accountability and Jihad. We make the right path clear for people and we remove those who are obstacle to our mission to spread the religion. The start of all of this is now apparent in that Baidoa is now ruled as per God's law.

Al-Jazeera: If what you are saying is true, is demolishing of graves or instilling of Shari'ah Law in Alaska, United States among your first priorities?

Abu Mansur: I will first of all concentrate on Baidoa and instil God's law. Afterwards, I will go to Diinsoor which is among towns in Bay Region and I will also sort it out and that is how it will continue. When you want to climb a tree, you start from the stem; you do not just jump to the leaves. Those reports were broadcast by Al-Jazeera English after speaking to a man who was very upset and said that he will implement Shari'ah law in Alaska. Similar statements have been made by members of Islamic courts.

I heard about those statements, but I did not hear them say it in person. They also said they will pray the Eid prayers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and that did not happen. We are not personally known to those who made these statements but I can tell you that they are not part of our strategy. We do not want to transgress against anyone. We want to establish order in our country. Our religion, Islam, is not one into which people are forced. As for the graves, do not believe if you are told that these graves have been demolished by Al-Shabab.

Does the Shari'ah Law accept the demolition of these graves yes or no? That is a debate for another day and it can be discussed at length at an appropriate time. We know what is written in the book but discussing that now is another issue altogether. You are aware that Islamic Shari'ah gives priority to what is in the interest of the people and things that are generally harmful to people. Whenever we are doing anything, we always think about whether it is appropriate to do it at this time or no. If for example demolishing of these graves will force some clans to take up arms and result in the illegal spilling of blood, then we have an obligation to stop its demolition until these people can be made to understand the issue from a religious point of view. The incident [of demolishing graves] occurred in Kismaayo where there is a three sided administration, Raas Kaambooni, Canoole brothers and Al-Shabab movement.

The administration there is an independent one and its decisions are not influenced by each of these groups who are part of it. We believe that we should move forward with caution. As an example, when alcohol was being outlawed, it went through three stages. The prophet was told [presumably by God] that people will ask you about alcohol and gambling. Tell them both are a big sin although they have things that might be beneficial to people [Chapter 219]. The Second phase was Do not go for prayers while you are intoxicated, or at least until you know what you are actually saying, [Chapter 43] and at last it was said Those of you who fear God, alcohol, gambling and worshiping of idols are evil doings, distance yourselves from it so that you may be blessed [Chapter: 90] These are the steps that are the steps that our religion prescribes.

Al-Jazeera: The things I hear from your group and what I am hearing from you now are totally different. You are accused of committing atrocities of the highest level and that whoever disagrees with you is sentenced to death. Has there been a change in your group's rhetoric?

Abu Mansur: Look at the way I am [looking rough with signs of bodily neglect]. I am away from my family and children, I do not have any money or houses in this world and I can comfortably choose to engage in business like others. To live in this kind of harsh life and then go to hell fire tomorrow [when I die]; I seek God's protection from that. It is not possible to kill the person that disagrees with your opinion, that is forbidden. Everything that is said [about us] is propaganda that is being spread by the enemies of God. We have been in this town for few weeks now and nobody has been killed other than a man who killed his mother. Before we came, at least ten people used to be killed in the town everyday.

How can we kill people who disagree with our opinions at a time when we forgave the same ones who were fighting us yesterday? [Al-Shabab had captured some government officials and members of the Federal Somali parliament in Baidoa and set them free] Our Prophet Muhammad when he went back to Mecca, he brought together all of those who displaced him from the town earlier on and said, "What do you think I will do to you?" and they said "You are a good brother whose father was also a good brother". They were seeking his compassion and the prophet told them "You are free to go." That is the kind of forgiveness that Islam teaches. I am surprised by the rumours that are being spread on the internet. A man with a knife is reading Koran and trying to behead another man. The one trying to behead the other man cannot even properly read the Koran. Then they go ahead and say this is what Al-Shabab movement does. We do not do that at all, I am the spokesman for Al-Shabab and I would have the authority to speak for the group.

Al-Jazeera: There is an Islamic Party led by Dr Umar Iman which was recently formed, is your group ready to unite with this party?

Abu Mansur: There are certain principles that we are trying to follow which we cannot at all negotiate. That group formed its own party and they did not consult us, we do not know much about it, but we welcome the union of the Mujahidin. I believe their union is a big victory for the Mujahidin. We will look into the matter and debate on it and afterwards make a decision that is appropriate. Dr. Umar Iman is a man whom we have a lot of respect for in regard to his sense of judgement of the wrong doing. He is a well known person.

Al-Jazeera: You have spoken on the government that has been formed in Djibouti many times. Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad has been elected as the President of Somalia with the support of the Somali people and the world. Why did you not accept his appointment and negotiate with him?

Abu Mansur: What we are opposed to is not the particular individual; we are opposed to the principles in which the government led by Sharif has been formed. The new government's constitution is one which has been set by unbelievers who were following the opinions of individuals who themselves are the worst of people and have turned their backs on God. You heard that he [President Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad] swore that he will uphold the federal constitution. The constitution that he has sworn to abide by is the same constitution that we are fighting to oust. We did not fight [Former Somalia President] Abdulllahi Yusuf simply because he comes from the Eastern Regions, but because of the constitution he was upholding.

Sharif wants to force that same constitution on the civilians and lead them according to it. We believe this government is worse than the previous government led by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad. This is because Abdullahi Yusuf used to say that he is opposed to the Shari'ah law and he used to stick to his evil constitution. But this government says that they are an Islamic administration which will implement Shari'ah Law. We do not support the new government and we will treat it the same way we treated the previous government led by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad.

Al:Jazeera:My understanding of your statement is that you will continue fighting the new government?

Abu Mansur: Have no doubt about it. We will also fight all the foreign troops who are in the country. In all, we will also fight the government led by Sharif until they repent their sins to God and stop engaging in the evil acts they are currently involved in.

Al:Jazeera: Shaykh Abu Mansur, everything is possible with politics. If Shaykh Sharif has not been able to establish an Islamic Administration, it is not a problem if he establishes a government that will unite both groups, that is the Islamist group and the group that is said to be allied with the western nations so that he can achieve some of the goals he aspires to reach.

Abu Mansur: God is the most high and he says "Do not mix justice with injustice, and not hide justice knowingly, [Chapter 42]. God has forbidden us to mix the justice with the wrong. There will not be a union of a democratic government and an Islamic one. This is a democratic government that has been formed overnight by Ahmadou Ould Abdallah [UN special envoy to Somalia] and his group. It is not at all possible for them to stay awake at night and work on the formation of an Islamic government. As far as we are concerned, Democracy is disbelief. Democracy says that the civilian population are the ones that rule and they will do whatever they want. God says he is in charge and no one else is. These two issues cannot be brought together. This one is belief and the other is disbelief, it is right and wrong, therefore it is not possible to mix them. We want [to implement] God's Shari'ah which has not been corrupted with garbage by others.

Al-Jazeera: There are people who are saying that you have ties with Somali pirates, is there any truth in that?

Abu Mansur: We are accused of many things. We are accused of killing people without reason. So that is among those accusations. We are not pirates and we do not have any relations with them. We eliminated the pirates during the Islamic court rule and you know that very well. The pirates have been formed by the United States and other western nations. They are the ones that gave them arms and bought the boats and other equipments for them.

They were afraid of the Mujahidin youth who are travelling from Saudi Arabia and Yemen and are headed for Somalia. They told them Watch out for the boats that are coming from these countries and hand us any Arab who is in these boats. The Americans themselves are pirates because they shoot at Somali fishermen and they imprison others accusing them of being pirates while they release the actual pirates and even fund their activities. There are those who rob from the sky and they are the Americans. If you were in this town [Baidoa ] yesterday, you would have seen American planes flying in our air space. Houses shook because of its sound. They have no mercy for the elderly and those in hospitals. They fire their arms and kill whenever they want whichever way they want. This is the kind of piracy that we have a problem with. They are the pirates and they are the ones that fund the pirates.

Al-Jazeera:There are many people who are urging for end to attacks on African peacekeepers in Mogadishu. They say that these African troops did not come to attack the country. What is Al-Shabab's position on these calls?

Abu Mansur:These so called AMISOM troops are the enemies of God. I swear they are worse than the Ethiopians.

Do you know how many times they have massacred the civilians? Almost 40 civilians were killed in their last operation. They have no right to say they are looking after peace because they are the ones that are destroying the peace.

When Ethiopian troops were carrying out massacres in Mogadishu, they were just looking at them and they have never urged them to stop the massacre, infact they were assisting them and they were giving the evil administration [Somali government] equipments and vehicles. Therefore they are our enemies and they should withdraw from our country. We did not go to their country and we did not invade it.

Unless they withdraw, they will face continuous attacks. We are planning to carry out suicide attacks against them [AMISOM troops] soon, God willing. We are urging them to withdraw from our country. Disarmament is a proposal that has been made by the unbelievers and it is not the right path for the Muslims. Disarming and leaving your arms behind is a suggestion by the unbelievers and Bush and any knowledgeable person does not say such things.

Let alone disarming, we are calling upon people to start arming themselves even more now. The prophet used to give arms to men who were without any. These people have been defeated when they disarmed and started chasing after the world. God says, The disbelievers would want you to put down your arms and forget about them so that they come and attack you at once.

By: Mohamed Ali Duran
Email: mohamed.duran@gmail.com
Clifornia-USA
 

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