Abdul al-Qādir Mū‘min (born possibly early 1960s) is a Somali islamist and he is the leader of the

Islamic State in Somalia The Islamic State in Somalia (short: ISS) or Abnaa ul-Calipha is an Islamic State–affiliated group that primarily operates in the mountainous areas of Puntland, though has also claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks throughout the ...

. He was formerly a senior religious authority in al-Shabab.

History

Born in

Qandala Qandala (also known as Candala, Andala, Bender Chor, Bandar Kor, Bender Kor or Taba Tege) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Bari province of Somalia. Overview Qandala sits on a wadi estuary, which forms a natural protective harbor fo ...

Puntland Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

to a

Majerteen The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...

Ali saleeban parents, Mū‘min arrived to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 2005–2006, having lived 1990-2003 in a north-eastern district

Angered Angered ( ) is a borough of Gothenburg Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. Angered is the biggest Million Programme area in Gothenburg, and one of the biggest in the country, with 60,000 inhabitants. Transportation Angered is s ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. While in the UK, he preached at Masjid Quba in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

and the Greenwich Islamic Centre in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 2010, he took part in a press conference alongside the ex- Guantanamo Bay prisoner

Moazzam Begg Moazzam Begg ( ur, ; born 5 July 1968 in Sparkhill, Birmingham) is a British Pakistani who was held in extrajudicial detention by the US government in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, for ...

for the charity

CAGE A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayin ...

, which was launching a report criticizing Western anti-terror tactics in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. A few months later he fled to

, after coming under investigation by

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...

for radicalising young men. Mumin had given sermons at the mosque attended by Michael Adebolajo, one of the Islamic terrorists responsible for the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby. He joined al-Shabaab and publicly burned his

British passport A British passport is a travel document issued by the United Kingdom or other British dependencies and territories to individuals holding any form of British nationality. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requ ...

before a crowd of supporters in a mosque. On 22 October 2015, he pledged allegiance to

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ( ar, أبو بكر البغدادي, ʾAbū Bakr al-Baḡdādī; born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai ( ar, إبراهيم عواد إبراهيم علي محمد البدري السامرائي, ʾIb ...

and the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

, creating the "Islamic State in Somalia" (''Abnaa ul-Calipha''). He is located in the

Galgala Galgala is a town in Bari, Somalia, Bari region of Somalia. The town has ancient markings of religious symbols and crosses and ancient remains of a cairns which commonly found in Sanaag and Bari, Somalia regions. Galgala Campaign The Galgala cam ...

region, in

. On 31 August 2016, he was designated as a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

References

1950s births Living people Al-Shabaab (militant group) members Somalian Muslims Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government Leaders of Islamic terror groups {{UK-crime-bio-stub