Some 160 Somali religious scholars came together in Mogadishu on Set. 11 to issue a fatwa denouncing al-Shabab, saying the rebel group has no place in Islam. The Fatwa calls al-Shabab a “strayed group,” and called upon members to repent from its “criminal acts.” It asserted that Somalia’s interim government is a Muslim government and it is illegal to call it “apostate” or to wield arms against it. It forbids Muslims from joining or providing support to al-Shabab, and mandates support for the government’s fight against the rebels.
Despite being pushed out of key cities in the past two years, al-Shabab still remains in control of smaller towns and large swathes of the countryside. The day of the fatwa, local residents reported that al-Shabab has executed a young man in the town of Bula Burte and performed a double amputation on another in front of a crowd of several hundred people. (RBC Radio, Mogadishu, Sept. 12; Somali Diaspora News, Sept. 11)
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