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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 30-Aug-2014
30-Aug-14 World View -- Al-Shabaab wants jihadists from UK, Germany and Minnesota

Web Log - August, 2014

30-Aug-14 World View -- Al-Shabaab wants jihadists from UK, Germany and Minnesota

UK raises terror threat level, citing British citizen terrorists

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

UK raises terror threat level, citing British citizen terrorists
Al-Shabaab wants jihadists from UK, Germany and Minnesota

UK raises terror threat level, citing British citizen terrorists

Aftermath of 3-day Sept 2013 al-Shabaab terror attack on Westgate Mall, Nairobi, Kenya. Two of the terrorists were from the Somali community in Minneapolis

Aftermath of 3-day Sept 2013 al-Shabaab terror attack on Westgate Mall, Nairobi, Kenya. Two of the terrorists were from the Somali community in Minneapolis

Saying that approximately 500 British citizens have traveled to fight in Syria, 200 of which have already returned home, Britain's prime minister David Cameron announced that the UK was increasing its terror threat level to "severe," meaning that a terror attack is "highly likely," but not necessarily imminent.

The announcement may have been triggered by a recent online video that depicted the gruesome beheading of American journalist James Foley. The video was posted by the Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria (IS or ISIS), and the person carrying out the gruesome beheading is a jihadist speaking with a British accent. Cameron said Britons were "shocked and sickened" by the idea that Foley may have been killed by someone who is British. LA Times and Daily Mail (London)

Al-Shabaab wants jihadists from UK, Germany and Minnesota

In a recent video posted by the al-Qaeda linked Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab, and English speaker asks Muslims living in the West to give up their comfortable lives and join the jihad:

"Those who are living in the U.S., especially Minnesota, Great Britain, Germany, and many parts of the kufr [unbelief] world – you have a decision to make today. This decision [is] a decision that makes you successful in this dunya [life] and the hereafter, a decision that will have a great effect on your children and your grandchildren. This decision is hijra [emigration] fi sabilillah [for Allah's sake] to the lands of Muslims, such as Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and many places in the Muslim world.
If you chose to not make this decision and not answer the call of Allah, know that there is clear evidence against you in the Day of Judgment, in the court of Allah the Exalted. For what are you still living in dar al-kufr [abode of unbelief] for? Is it the schools, the jobs, and the nice settlements you have? ... Know that this was only temporary and the hereafter is internal [sic. eternal]. So save your own souls from the great punishment of Allah the Exalted and make hijra fi sabilillah."

The al-Shabaab video was probably triggered by the announcement of the death of an American named Douglas McArthur McCain in Syria, while fighting for ISIS. He was one of a number of jihadists who were recruited from Minnesota, which has the country's largest community of Somalis. The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis is sometimes called "Little Mogadishu."

The first wave of Somali refugees came to America in 1991 and were relocated to Minneapolis, where there was a need for workers. The refugees were so successful that their relatives soon followed, and today there are 40-80 thousand Somalis living in the region, including many that were born there and are American citizens.

Al-Shabaab received increased international attention and prominence last year as a result of the horrific three-day terror attack on the Westlake Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. It's recognized that the attack was extremely well-planned and executed, indicating a degree of high sophistication that was previously not recognized in al-Shabaab. Furthermore, two of the Westlake Mall terrorists were American citizens, from "Little Mogadishu" in Minneapolis. (See "23-Sep-13 World View -- Minnesota link to Kenya shopping mall attack raises U.S. fears") A number of Somalis are known to have gone to Somalia for terrorist training, and returned to the United States, where they can enter freely because they're American citizens. As a precaution, the Mall of America in Minnesota, the largest Mall in the United States, capable of holding almost 10,000 people, has been holding "lockdown drills" since 2009. Memri and CBS News

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 30-Aug-14 World View -- Al-Shabaab wants jihadists from UK, Germany and Minnesota thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (30-Aug-2014) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 30-Aug-2014 30-Aug-14 World View -- Al-Shabaab wants jihadists from UK, Germany and Minnesota

UK raises terror threat level, citing British citizen terrorists

Al-Shabaab wants jihadists from UK, Germany and Minnesota

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 30-Aug-2014
30-Aug-14 World View -- Al-Shabaab wants jihadists from UK, Germany and Minnesota