Al-Qaida-Linked U.S. Citizen Addresses Shabaab al-Mujahideen; Shabaab Responds

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a statement issued by Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al-Qaida-linked U.S. citizen, addressed to the Shabaab al-Mujahideen, as well as a communiqué Shabaab issued in response. On December 21st, al-Awlaki released a message titled "Salutations to al-Shabab of Somalia”, in which he stated, "We are following your recent news and it fills our hearts with immense joy. We would like to congratulate you for your victories and achievements. Al-Shabab not only have succeeded in expanding the areas that fall under their rule but they have succeeded in implementing the sharia and giving us a living example of how we as Muslims should proceed to change our situation. The ballot has failed us but the bullet has not.” However, he also urged Shabaab to "be kind and soft with the masses; to excuse them for centuries of ignorance and false beliefs; to teach first and hold responsible last. I would advise you to go by certainty and to leave doubts; to prefer forgiveness over revenge."

Al-Awlaki served as an imam in Colorado, California, and Washington D.C. and worked as the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University. He was the “spiritual advisor” to 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar, and the Congressional Joint Inquiry on 9/11 reported that “the FBI agent responsible for the September 11 investigation informed staff that ‘there’s a lot of smoke there’ with regard to…[al-Awlaki’s] connection to the hijackers.” Returning to Yemen, he was arrested in 2006 and held for over a year. He reports being interrogated by FBI agents about a number of subjects, including 9/11. A February 2008 Washington Post article notes that U.S. officials now "believe that al-Awlaki worked with Al-Qaida networks in the Persian Gulf after leaving Northern Virginia” and has been involved in planning attacks on the U.S. and its allies.

Responding to al-Awlaki on December 27, Shabaab blamed the media for purportedly misreporting events in Somalia: "[The media] are continuously throwing accusations at those who want to live by the law of the Creator. For example, we can take the issue of the stoning of the woman in Kismayo. The disbelievers have falsely reported that she was 13 years old, unmarried, and was raped. The reality and truth is that she was over 20 years old, married, and was practicing adultery. This is just one example of how they twist the news, so we would like to take this opportunity to advise our brothers not to believe any news reported about us except from our official Media Department.”

Copies of the two statements can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

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