Bringing global jihad to the Horn of Africa: al Shabaab, Western fighters, and the sacralization of the Somali conflict

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Periodical article

Title:	Bringing global jihad to the Horn of Africa: al Shabaab, Western fighters, and the sacralization of the Somali conflict
Authors:	Vidino, Lorenzo Pantucci, Raffaello Kohlmann, Evan
Year:	2010
Periodical:	African security (ISSN 1939-2206)
Volume:	3
Issue:	4
Pages:	216-238
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Somalia
Subjects:	Islamic movements jihads terrorism
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392206.2010.533071
Abstract:	Sacralization of conflict is the process through which religion, or, in most cases, a militant interpretation of it, evolves from being an irrelevant or secondary factor at the onset of a conflict to shaping the views, actions, and aims of one or more of the conflict's key actors. The article outlines how this phenomenon has taken place in Somalia over the past twenty years by looking at two related phenomena: (1) the rise to prominence of al Shabaab, an Islamist group that, unlike its predecessors, follows a global jihadist ideology, and (2) the arrival of foreign fighters, both ethnic Somalis and others, particularly from Western countries, attracted more by global jihadist ideology than ethnic ties or nationalist sentiments. The article also provides an overview of al Qaeda's growing interest in Somalia, starting with the early 1990s, and draws some conclusions about the security implications for both Somalia and the West. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]