NEFA Foundation: "Migrating from the Arabian Peninsula to Somalia"
By Evan Kohlmann
The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new message posted on an Al-Qaida web forum, wherein a jihadist recounts his journey from Saudi Arabia to join the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia--in the process providing valuable insight into the radicalization process and the logistics involved in waging jihad in a foreign land. Identifying the impetus that pushed him to leave Saudi Arabia, he explained, “I was watching a European educational program about the American occupation of Iraq, and the program had gained a recorded video by the Americans about ugly sexual harassment against Iraqi girls under the age of 12…And, the program continued, until the broadcaster said that they acquired another video that shows an Iraqi lady being raped…American soldiers invading one of the houses…an Iraqi lady awakes frightened from her sleep because the invasion was at night time…one of the dogs pulled the lady to her room and raped her as she screamed calling the Muslims…and, another soldier pointed a weapon in her face asking her to be silent…I wasn’t able to finish watching the video…I felt at the moment the sweat pouring from the back of my head down to my back…and I began shivering…and anger filled my joints…until I stood up from my desk and went to one of the brothers…"
The full English translation is now available on the NEFA Foundation website.
