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Al-Qaida affiliate boasts goal is to eliminate Christianity Posted: November 17, 2009
10:05 pm Eastern By Michael Carl Two masked members of the al-Shabaab Muslim militia have shot and killed
a pastor as he drove home from a worship service, according to reports.
The shooting killed Mogadishu, Somalia, pastor Ali Hussein Weheliye in
the attack in October, but reports of the incident didn't come out until
this week. Experts at the missions think-tank the Joshua Project estimate that
Somalia is 99 percent Muslim. International Christian Concern's Jonathan
Racho agrees with that statistic and says the overwhelming numbers make
it difficult to be a Christian in Somalia. "A vast majority of Somalis are Muslims, but there are hundreds of
Christians in Somalia. This pastor was the pastor of an underground
church," Racho said. "Christians in Somalia have to go underground and they don't give away
their identities because once al-Shabaab knows someone is a Christian,
that is a death sentence for that person," Racho says. Racho makes the death sentence claim because al-Shabaab is a jihadist
militia with close ties to Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida terrorist group. Intelligence sources say that most al-Shabaab fighters receive training
at al-Qaida or Taliban training camps in Pakistan before being sent to
Somalia for the declared anti-Christian jihad in that eastern African
nation. Racho said that these facts are evidence that Weheliye’s murder is not
an isolated incident. "Al-Shabaab has gone on a campaign of killing Christians. One of its
official policies is to eradicate Christians from Somalia," Racho said. "This year alone, Pastor Ali is the fifteenth Christian to be killed in
Somalia. The killing has been going on for the past several years. The
church in Somalia is going through a difficult time. If this trend
continues many more Christians will be killed and many will be forced to
leave Somalia," Racho explained. The American Enterprise Institute's Michael Rubin agrees with the
assessment. "Al-Shabaab is a franchise of al-Qaida. That they would kill a Christian
is no surprise,” Rubin said. The ICC's Racho says it's part of an organized campaign. "Al-Shabaab has controlled many areas in Somalia and they’re trying to
control Mogadishu as well. They want to take over the fledgling
government in Somalia. They want to rule the whole country and make
Somalia an Islamic state," Racho explained. "In an Islamic state, Muslims who convert to Christianity should be
killed. This is part of their policy and this is part of what they've
been doing for the past several years," Racho said. As for a standard procedure, the AEI's Rubin says there are no
established patterns. "I wouldn't say that there’s a standard operating procedure or a set way
to carrying out the attacks. They don’t have a preferred method of
execution: Gun machete, electric drill or bomb, it doesn't matter,"
Rubin said. Even though the al-Shabaab group may not have a standard method, Racho
says the public needs to be aware that more violence is coming. "Americans and Christians need to be aware. This group is threatening
the peace and security in Africa and the international community must
come up for a solution for Somalia," Racho warned. "It's high time for
the international community to do something. If we don't act soon,
al-Shabaab will turn Somalia into another Afghanistan."
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