Abdul Qadir Mumin | |
|---|---|
Cabdulqaadir Muumin | |
| Leader of the Islamic State in Somalia | |
| Assumed office 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1960s Qandala, Puntland, Somalia |
| Citizenship | Somalia UK Sweden |
| Nationality | Somali British Swedish |
Abdul al-Qādir Mū‘min (born possibly early 1960s) is a Somali Islamist and the leader of the Islamic State in Somalia. He was formerly a senior religious authority in al-Shabaab.
Biography[edit]
Born in Qandala, Puntland, Somalia to a Majerteen Ali saleeban parents,[1] Mū‘min arrived to the United Kingdom in 2005–2006, having lived 1990-2003 in a north-eastern district Angered of Gothenburg, Sweden.[2] While in the UK, he preached at Masjid Quba in Leicester and the Greenwich Islamic Centre in London. In 2010, he took part in a press conference alongside the ex-Guantanamo Bay prisoner Moazzam Begg for the charity CAGE, which was launching a report criticizing Western anti-terror tactics in East Africa.[3]
A few months later he fled to Somalia, after coming under investigation by MI5 for radicalising young men. Mū‘min had given sermons at the mosque attended by Michael Adebolajo, one of the Islamic terrorists responsible for the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby.[4] He joined al-Shabaab and publicly burned his British passport before a crowd of supporters in a mosque.[4]
On 22 October 2015, he pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the Islamic State, creating the "Islamic State in Somalia" (Abnaa ul-Calipha).[5][6][7] He is located in the Galgala region, in Puntland, Somalia.
On 31 August 2016, he was designated as a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' by the United States Department of State.[8][9]
References[edit]
- ^ "The Islamic State Threat in Somalia's Puntland State". International Crisis Group. 17 November 2016.
- ^ Magnus Ranstorp; Filip Ahlin; Peder Hyllengren; Magnus Normark (2018). Mellan salafism och salafistisk jihadism - Påverkan mot och utmaningar för det svenska samhället (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Defence University. p. 95. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2018.
- ^ "The orange-bearded jihadi general spreading ISIS brand in Somalia". Newsweek. 29 April 2016.
- ^ a b Freeman, Colin (29 April 2016). "British extremist preacher linked to Lee Rigby killer emerges as head of Islamic State in Somalia". The Telegraph.
- ^ Zelin, Aaron Y. (22 October 2015). "New audio message from Shaykh 'Abd al-Qādir Mū 'min: "Bay'ah From Him and a Group of Mujāhidīn of Somalia to the Caliph of the Muslims Abū Bakr al-Baghdādī"".
- ^ "Shabaab's leadership fights Islamic State's attempted expansion in East Africa - The Long War Journal".
- ^ "Small group of Somali al Shabaab swear allegiance to Islamic State". Reuters. 23 October 2015.
- ^ "Individuals and Entities Designated by the State Department Under E.O. 13224".
- ^ "US adds Islamic State commander in Somalia to list of global terrorists - FDD's Long War Journal". FDD's Long War Journal.