Shabab, Al-, is a terrorist organization that supports Muslim extremists in Somalia. Al-Shabab emerged in 2006 after Somalia had experienced many years of war and unrest. The group aims to rid Somalia of foreign influence and create a conservative Islamic state. Some parts of the group are also dedicated to international lesser jihad, an armed struggle against those they consider to be enemies of Islam. Al-Shabab has conducted numerous assassinations, bombings, raids, and other attacks in Somalia as well as in neighboring Kenya and Uganda. The group has been blamed for thousands of deaths.
Al-Shabab (also spelled Shabaab) is Arabic for the Youth. The group’s full Arabic name, Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahideen, means Movement of Striving Youth. Most al-Shabab members are followers of a conservative Sunni Muslim movement known as Wahhabism. Most are also Somali, but a number come from neighboring and other countries.
Al-Shabab claims to support Sharī`a, the legal and moral code of Islam. The group forbids secular (nonreligious) education and the wearing of Western-style clothing. It also condemns such “Western” activities as listening to music or watching movies.
Al-Shabab formed as the militant wing of a political group called the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU briefly took over parts of Somalia—including the capital, Mogadishu—in 2006. Ethiopian troops quickly drove out the ICU and restored power to a transitional Somali government. Al-Shabab continued its terror campaign, however, attacking civilian, government, and other targets. In the following years, an African Union peacekeeping force greatly reduced al-Shabab’s activity within Somalia itself. However, the presence of Kenyan and Ugandan troops in Somalia spurred al-Shabab to hit targets in those countries.
An antiterrorism force led by the United States has operated from Somalia’s small neighbor Djibouti since 2002. A U.S. missile strike killed al-Shabab’s first leader, Aden Hashi Farah Ayro, in May 2008. In September 2014, a strike by a remote-controlled aircraft called a drone killed his replacement, Ahmed Abdi Godane, in southern Somalia. Many other high-ranking al-Shabab leaders have also been killed.
