On December 24, 2010, the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia announced a merger with its former rival Hizb-ul-Islam, led by Shaykh Hassan Dahir Awey: “…[A]fter constant meetings and doctrinal debates between the leadership of al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement and Hizb-ul-Islam, the promised day we awaited with the desire of the lover and the longing of the patient has arrived; the day of unity and harmony and grouping and unification and grasping onto the rope of Allah altogether.
And through this matter, it is the pleasure of al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in the proud land of ‘Two Hijras’, which has been watered with the musky blood of martyrs, to announce for the Islamic Ummah and its Jihadist vanguard in all the fields and by all the fronts, that Allah awarded your brothers in al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement and Hizb-ul-Islam to unite their ranks, and to work under the name of al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement, displeasing the enemies of Allah and pleasing the hearts of the unifiers in earth’s East and West.”
The NEFA Foundation plays a role in the fight against terror through cohesive and comprehensive efforts to research, analyze, and disseminate information pertaining to past and current terrorist activities. The Foundation shares its findings with law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community where appropriate, and works with other research organizations to educate the public on the threat of terrorism. NEFA, by funding extensive field research, is able to obtain original documents as well as develop an on-the-ground understanding of events.
