Al-Shabaab
East African extremists
Al-Shabaab is a militant Islamist group based in Somalia, affiliated with al-Qaeda.
The name means "the youth" in Arabic.
The organization controls territory in rural Somalia and conducts insurgent attacks and terrorism across East Africa: Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.
Western news coverage often uses the definite article: the Al-Shabaab militants.
Ultraconservative Sunni movement
- WahhabismPuritanical Islamic reform doctrine
- caliphateIslamic successor-led government
- Islamic StateMilitant caliphate in Syria
- IslamismFaith-driven political ideology
fundamentalism · propaganda · recruitment videos · allegiance · enforcement · morality · bans · indoctrination
Somalia's seat of government
- Horn of AfricaNortheast African peninsula
- East AfricaContinental region by Indian Ocean
- famineSevere food shortage
- civil warDomestic armed conflict
Somali · territory · control · governance · checkpoints · taxation · courts · sharia
Retail center brand name
- hotelsCommercial lodging establishments
- embassiesForeign government offices abroad
- peacekeepersForces maintaining cease-fires
- journalistsNews gatherers and writers
aid workers · government officials · civilians · markets · mosques · universities · military bases · checkpoints
Intimidation through targeted violence
- insurgencyArmed uprising against authority
- extremismIdeology beyond accepted norms
- jihadIslamic struggle, inner or outer
- militiaNon-professional armed force
fighters · attacks · bombings · recruitment · radicalization · combat · violence · warfare
Salafism
Ultraconservative Sunni movement
- WahhabismPuritanical Islamic reform doctrine
- caliphateIslamic successor-led government
- Islamic StateMilitant caliphate in Syria
Islamism · fundamentalism · propaganda · recruitment videos · allegiance · enforcement · morality · bans · indoctrination · clerics
Mogadishu
Somalia's seat of government
- Horn of AfricaNortheast African peninsula
- East AfricaContinental region by Indian Ocean
- famineSevere food shortage
civil war · Somali · territory · control · governance · checkpoints · taxation · courts · sharia · clan
Westgate
Retail center brand name
- hotelsCommercial lodging establishments
- embassiesForeign government offices abroad
- peacekeepersForces maintaining cease-fires
journalists · aid workers · government officials · civilians · markets · mosques · universities · military bases · checkpoints · convoys
terrorism
Intimidation through targeted violence
- insurgencyArmed uprising against authority
- extremismIdeology beyond accepted norms
- jihadIslamic struggle, inner or outer
militia · fighters · attacks · bombings · recruitment · radicalization · combat · violence · warfare · armed
Al-Shabaabdemocratic government
System where citizens vote
United Nations · constitutional authority · rule of law · civil society · state institutions
Al-Shabaabreligious tolerance
Acceptance of differing faiths
human rights organizations · women's rights advocates · liberal democracy · Amnesty International · interfaith dialogue