The Mujahideen Youth Movement and Its Impact on the Political Reality of Somalia

Abstract

The Young Mujahideen Movement is one of the Islamic movements that appeared in 2006, and it has a Salafi Islamist orientation that aims to establish a state on the basis of Islamic law. This movement managed to control most aspects of political life in Somalia, specifically in central and southern Somalia, and sought to impose taxes and fees. Zakat on Somali citizens, and the application of strict Sharia provisions in the areas under its control, and perhaps what helped this movement to expand and spread in Somalia is the deteriorating conditions the country is going through, as well as political instability due to the many conflicts over power, deteriorating economic conditions, the spread of ignorance, poverty and famine. Despite the rapid spread of the elements of that movement, it was suffering from a split in its ranks, there are those who wish to join the Al-Qaeda organization in order to benefit from its military capabilities and develop its combat methods, and other elements want to join (ISIS) due to the rapid spread of that organization, which led to the weakness of the movement’s strength, however, that movement continued to exercise its military operations in Somaliland in order to maintain its successes in the acquisition of large areas of the country.