Sheikh Abdulqadir Mumin recently pledged loyalty to ISIS

24 October 2015 – Al-Muhajiroun, a pro-al-Shabaab jihadist group with links in Kenya and Tanzania, blasted a recent pledge of loyalty to ISIS from an al-Shabaab idealogue based in the Puntland region of Somalia.

Just days ago, al-Shabaab idealogue Sheikh Abdulqadir Mumin released an audio statement pledging loyalty to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Mumin reportedly only had the support of about 20 other members out of the 300-large al-Shabaab contingent in Puntland’s Galgala mountains, and the pro-ISIS faction had fled to another location, probably to avoid friction with their jihadist counterparts.

On 24 October, al-Muhajiroun released a statement condeming Mumin’s ISIS pledge, stating:

“Unfortunately, this week in Somalia we have witnessed the unhelpful pronouncement of a minority of individuals and their so-called Baya’ah to those that have thus far failed to follow the Sunnah but expect to united [sic] the Mujahideen…The Emigrants of East Africa remain united behind our beloved brothers in Al-Qaida and Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen.”

The press release is the first official statement from a jihadist group in East Africa in response to Mumin’s pledge and highlights how the growing debate over jihadist loyalties in the region.

A copy of the full statement can be found here.