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Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a
Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ) ( so, Ahlu Suna Waljamaaca) is a Somalia-based paramilitary group consisting of moderate Sufis opposed to radical Salafism. The group opposes hardline capital punishment or limb amputations advocated by extremist interpretations of Islam, as well as laws banning music and khat. They oppose the demolition of religious shrines and stoning. Background The Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a was formed in 1991, before the existence of Al-Shabaab, in opposition to Salafi Islamist groups such as Al Ittihad Al Islamiya. Originally the group focussed on community religious affairs and was not primarily a militant organization. During the civil war, the organization worked in cooperation with faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid. ASWJ are fighting to prevent strict Sharia and Wahhabism from being imposed, while protecting local Sunni-Sufi traditions and generally moderate religious views. Timeline * In 2008 Al Shabaab conducted several anti-Sufi attacks and ASWJ began f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the Military dictatorship, military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups,Ken Menkhaus,Local Security Systems in Somali East Africa' in Andersen/Moller/Stepputat (eds.), Fragile States and Insecure People,' Palgrave, 2007, 73. including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement Somaliland War of Independence, in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups Somali Rebellion, overthrew the Somali Democratic Republic, Barre government in 1991. Various armed factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum and turmoil that followed, particularly in the south. In 199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of Al-Qaeda
The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihad. It usually consists of a black background with a white text of the ''shahada'' (Islamic creed) emblazoned across it in calligraphy style writing. Its usage was widely adopted by jihadists in the early 2000s, and in the 2010s by the Islamic State. Aside from Islamism, the flag has also been used by various Islamic terrorist organizations. Organizations which have used such a flag include: * al-Qaeda * al-Shabaab * Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) * Hizbul Islam (2009) * the Taliban, which is a black-on-white variant In the last decade of the South Thailand insurgency, the al-Raya' flag has largely replaced the colourful secessionist flags formerly used by different rebel groups. Islamic State variant The variant used by the Islamic State, and before that by the Islamic State of Iraq (since 2006) depicts the second phrase of the shahada in the form of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term ''sharīʿah'' refers to God's immutable divine law and is contrasted with ''fiqh'', which refers to its human scholarly interpretations. In the historical course, fiqh sects have emerged that reflect the preferences of certain societies and state administrations on behalf of people who are interested in the theoretical (method) and practical application (Ahkam / fatwa) studies of laws and rules, but sharia has never been a valid legal system on its own. It has been used together with " customary (Urf) law" since Omar or the Umayyads. It may also be wrong to think that the Sharia, as a religious argument or belief, is entirely within or related to Allah's commands and prohibitions. Several non-graded crimes are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Mohamed Farrah Hassan Aidid ( so, Maxamed Faarax Xasan Caydiid; ar, محمد فرح حسن عيديد; 15 December 1934 – 1 August 1996) was a Somali general and diplomat. Educated in both Rome and Moscow, he served as a chief in the Italian colonial police force and later as a brigadier general in the Somali National Army. He would eventually became chairman of the United Somali Congress (USC), and soon after the Somali National Alliance (SNA). Along with other armed opposition groups, he succeeded in toppling President Siad Barre's 22 year old regime following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. Aidid possessed aspirations for presidency of the new Somali government, and would begin to seek alliances and unions with other politico-military organizations in order to form a national government. Following the June 5, 1993 attack on the Pakistanis, the SNA - and by extension Aidid, would be blamed for the death of 25 UNOSOM II peacekeepers, causing him to become one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI; ar-at, الاتحاد الإسلامي, lit=The Islamic Union) was an Islamist militant group in Somalia. It is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. History In the early 1990s, as Somalia fell into disorder following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime, Osama bin Laden took advantage of the chaos to fund al-Itihaad, later sending foreign militants who trained and fought alongside al-Itihaad members, with the goal of creating an Islamist state in the Horn of Africa. AIAI was also active in setting up sharia courts. Despite its association with al-Qaeda, other analysts cautioned against overgeneralisation, noting that al-Itihaad had elements of a genuine social movement and that the characters of sub-factions throughout the country substantially differed from each other. By 1994, al-Itihaad had established itself in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. According to a report by the Emergency Unit f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Shabaab (militant Group)
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (HSM; ar, حركة الشباب المجاهدين, translit=Ḥarakat ash-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn, so, Xarakada Mujaahidiinta Alshabaab, ), more commonly known as al-Shabaab, is an Islamic fundamentalist Salafi jihadist group which is based in Somalia and active elsewhere in East Africa. It is actively involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War. Even though its membership incorporates Somali nationalist elements, al-Shabaab's central aims are Salafi jihadist. Allegiant to the militant pan-Islamist organization al-Qaeda since 2012, it has also been suspected of forging ties with Boko Haram, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Formed in the mid-2000s as part of the Islamic Courts Union, al-Shabaab came to prominence during the 2006–2009 Somalia War, during which it presented itself as a vehicle for the waging of armed resistance against the Ethiopian occupation. In subsequent years, it became a dominant forc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. The Torah and Talmud prescribe stoning as punishment for a number of offenses. Over the centuries, Rabbinic Judaism developed a number of procedural constraints which made these laws practically unenforceable. Although stoning is not mentioned in the Quran, classical Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') imposed stoning as a '' hadd'' (sharia-prescribed) punishment for certain forms of ''zina'' (illicit sexual intercourse) on the basis of hadith (sayings and actions attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad). It also developed a number of procedural requirements which made ''zina'' difficult to prove in practice. Stoning appears to have been the standard method of capital punishment in ancient Israel. Its use is attested in the early Christian era, but Jewish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they are veneration, venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain Cult image, idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which votive offerings are made is called an altar. Shrines are found in many of the world's religions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Shinto, indigenous Philippine folk religions, and Germanic paganism, Asatru as well as in secular and non-religious settings such as a war memorial. Shrines can be found in various settings, such as Church (building), churches, temples, cemetery, cemeteries, Conservation of South Asian household shrines, museums, or in the home. However, portable shrine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khat
Khat or qat ( ''ch’at''; Oromo: ''Jimaa'', so, qaad, khaad, khat or chat, ar, القات ''al-qāt'') is a flowering plant native to eastern and southern Africa. Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, a stimulant, which is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite, and euphoria. Among communities from the areas where the plant is native, khat chewing has a history as a social custom dating back thousands of years analogous to the use of coca leaves in South America and betel nut in Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified it in 1980 as a drug of abuse that can produce psychological dependence, although the WHO does not consider khat addiction to be a serious problem. The legality of khat varies by region. In many countries, khat might not be a specifically controlled substance but may nevertheless be illegal under more general laws. It is a specifically controlled substance in some countries including Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salafi Jihadism
Salafi jihadism or jihadist-Salafism is a transnational, hybrid religious-political ideology based on the Sunni sect of Islamism, seeking to establish a global caliphate, characterized by the advocacy for "physical" (military) jihadist and Salafist concepts of returning to what adherents believe to be the "true Islam". The ideological foundation of the movement was laid out by a series of prison-writings of the Egyptian Sunni Islamist theoretician Sayyid Qutb during the 1960s. The interchangeable terms "Salafi jihadism" and "jihadist-Salafism" were coined by the French political scientist Gilles Kepel in 2002"Jihadist-Salafism" is introduced by Gilles Kepel, ''Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam'' (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2002)Deneoux, Guilain (June 2002). "The Forgotten Swamp: Navigating Political Islam". ''Middle East Policy''. pp. 69–71." to describe "a hybrid Islamist ideology" developed by international Islamist volunteers in the Soviet–Afghan War who ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sufis
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ritualism, Asceticism#Islam, asceticism and esotericism. It has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism",Martin Lings, ''What is Sufism?'' (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 2005; first imp. 1983, second imp. 1999), p.15 "the mystical expression of Islamic faith", "the inward dimension of Islam", "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", the "main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam, and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice". Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and historically typically belonged to "orders" known as (pl. ) – congregations formed around a grand who would be the last in a Silsilah, chain of succe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carry out duties that a country's military or police forces are unable or unwilling to handle. Other organizations may be considered paramilitaries by structure alone, despite being unarmed or lacking a combat role. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definition, not a military, it is usually equivalent to a light infantry force in terms of strength, firepower, and organizational structure. Paramilitaries use "military" equipment (such as long guns and armored personnel carriers; usually military surplus resources), skills (such as battlefield medicine and bomb disposal), and tactics (such as urban warfare and close-quarters combat) that are compatible with their purpose, often combining them with skills from other relevant fields such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
