Publication

This paper describes how chaos in Somalia has created opportunities that have been exploited by radical groups with links to al-Qaeda. East Africa has been a sanctuary and base for Islamist terrorist operations since the early 1990s and remains a priority area in al-Qaeda’s global strategy. However, the author argues that although Salafism has made inroads among the educated elites, traditional and Sufi practices continue to predominate among the mass of the Muslim populations in the region. He underlines that it is by no means a foregone conclusion that the radical Islamists will prevail.