What they don't tell u about shababs - lol

[waryaa]

1- Like a communist regime you are owned by the system and you are expected to sacrifice your wealth and life for the cause if needed.
2- There's almost zero crime in shabab controlled cities and towns.
3- They will kill you the minute you cross them.
4- They know how to control ppl.
5- zero tolerance for illegal drugs.
6- You can walk around well past midnite (only under shababs)
7- You can be treated as nonbeliever (beheading) if you defend TFG in an argument.

[Shift]

[Monk-of-Mogadishu]

No surprises there, I think myself and most people already knew that.

[LobsterUnit]

you went all the way to muqdisho then you tell us what everybody knew.

[udun]

Ask Iranians who lived in Iran during the early days of the Islamic revolution in Iran. They would exactly tell you the same thing.

You support or suspected of supporting the Shah regime, and you are swiftly gone.
You expressed your doubts on Ayotullah Khumeini and the Islamic revolution and you are swiftly gone.

Well, today the average Iranian in Iran is living much better than the most of Sunni Muslim world even under 32 years of economic embargo.

Even during the reign of Mullah Omar on Afghanistan (before 2001), there were peace in all areas under the Taliban, and Afghanistan had a food self sufficiency with meager resources under the Taliban. They were also swift and harsh on any one who doubted their islamic government.

If you even look at Hamas and Hezbollah, they extacly have something in common with fomer ones when it comes to restoring peace in all areas under they control, and being swift and harsh on those who stand on their way. Hamas and Hezbollah also had an effective welfare program where majority of their funds are spent on helping the poor. There is a reason why they are very popular in Gaza (Hamas) and in Southern Lebanon (Hezbollah).

In Egypt, the only group that helps Egpytian poor is the Muslim brotherhood.

In Saudi Arabia, the only group that helps the poor and undocumented refugees from Somalia and other Muslim states is a Muslim NGO.

There is no doubt Islamists in the Muslim world do perform far better than the so-called seculars in those countries.

[union]

I really doubt the claim that there exists no crime in Al Shabab dominated areas. They are a riffraff group that is an unsavory mix of religious cult and criminal enterprise, and while their punishments may be absolutely brutal hat never really deters desperate criminals from snatching something valuable for a little bit of extra food for their families.

[Jaidi]

Udun the analogy to Iran is off. Iran first of all has massive oil reserves and as a result strategic political and economic importance for its neighbors. This gives them a whole lot of leeway on policy which doesnt exist in Somalia. While the regime that came to power through the regime, enforced their interpretations of a theocracy, and also changed Iran's foreign policy, they *did not* reject all relations with the world. In fact one of their priorities was to get oil production back to normal capacity . The Iranians regardless of their views, showed a whole lot of pragmatism in their dealings with the world, none of which has appeared with AlShabaab. The same can be said for Hezbollah and Hamas. AlShabaab's political immaturity and reactionary ideology is shocking and simply indefensible. There is zero long term potential for a group that has little conception of its position in relation to the world and its own region.

[Monk-of-Mogadishu]

Jaidi, Iran can play ball with the rest of the world because they have oil. Until recently, when boiling points were reached, 'political Islamists' like MB in North Africa were not even allowed to seriously try for office. Groups like Shabaab see only two routes - to routinely get denied power & legitimacy by more powerful forces, like what happened to the UIC before them or MB for decades or Hamas in Gaza today-----or they take the other route and play a different set of rules altogether, which is to take the Taliban route and just open a war without end....eventually you either win or lose through attrition, as opposed to being a lone-wolf and trying to play a game that you're supposed to lose 100% of the time. The Shabaab actually have a better chance with their current lunatic strategy rather than playing it safe in a rigged sport.

[Jaidi]

Jaidi, Iran can play ball with the rest of the world because they have oil. Until recently, when boiling points were reached, 'political Islamists' like MB in North Africa were not even allowed to seriously try for office. Groups like Shabaab see only two routes - to routinely get denied power & legitimacy by more powerful forces, like what happened to the UIC before them or MB for decades or Hamas in Gaza today-----or they take the other route and play a different set of rules altogether, which is to take the Taliban route and just open a war without end....eventually you either win or lose through attrition, as opposed to being a lone-wolf and trying to play a game that you're supposed to lose 100% of the time. The Shabaab actually have a better chance with their current lunatic strategy rather than playing it safe in a rigged sport.

I was mainly addressing Udun's point that AlShabaabs strategy can be viable in the long term. It clearly is not. There is no long term hope for people who operate purely on ideology, regardless of what it is in the long term. Replicating the Taliban script surely is not a template for success is it? Even the Taliban survives because of major regional interest in the region. The Afghan Taliban still gets major support from the Pakistani ISI. Who does alShabaab have?

The other groups have evolved and adjusted, and begun to show pragmatism based on their circumstances. They've learnt from their 90s experiences. Can you say the same for alShabaab? If they showed an iota of pragmatism and political insight they could've easily gained power at their peak. Their example relates much more to AQ than it does anyone else IMO. They've thrived off Somalia's power vacuum and chaos to fare a bit better, than the likes of AQ in Yemen and Iraq, but when it comes to strategy, and their outlooks on the world that is who they are the closest to. At least on the leadership level.