By Bosire Boniface in Wajir
July 09, 2012
Religious leaders in Kenya's Wajir District have been waging a war on extremism after a series of landmine and grenade attacks have targeted civilians, aid workers and security officers.
The peace committees were formed in the 1980s in every village in the district under the auspices of the Wajir Peace and Development Agency (WPDA) to respond to tribal conflicts that were common at the time.Officials from the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK) say they are partnering with Wajir's peace committees to quell extremism and reclaim their role in drawing people closer to the teachings of God.
CIPK Wajir Branch Secretary Sheikh Abduwahab Mursal said the council is using religion -- the same tool as the extremists -- to spread the message of peace.
"The council has more than 300 imams and preachers in Wajir mosques and we found it necessary to insert the topic of terrorism into daily sermons to preach the meaning of Islam," he told Sabahi. "Islam is peace and no one in his right mind would take satisfaction in violence."
The CIPK targets males of all ages who come to the mosques for the five daily prayers, Mursal said. The council then meets at least twice a week to review progress.
The project began in December 2011 and as of last month, scores of youths have abandoned their radical views, Mursal said.
He condemned the attacks on two churches in Garissa on July 1st that killed 17 people and wounded more than 60, which authorities have attributed to al-Shabaab.
Mursal said if he finds someone who wants to commit an evil act like attacking worshippers or civilians, he will recite a verse in the Qur'an that says such acts lead to perdition.
He said the CIPK worries that the recent attacks intend to foment animosity between Christians and Muslims, disrupting the peace the district has enjoyed for more than 20 years. He said the council is doing everything it can to prevent such attacks in Wajir.
Mohammed Abdalla Awad, muezzin at Jamia Mosque in Wajir, told Sabahi that recent kidnappings, grenade attacks and fatal shootings by the al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabaab group have led the council to monitor the community closely.
He said the council's more than six months of hard work against extremism will not go down the drain.
"We will not be deterred; it is our duty to bring everyone closer to Allah's teachings. It puts pressure on us to erase any negative ideology that the extremists may want to sow," he said.
Keeping extremists at bay
WPDA co-ordinator Hussein Adan Mohamud said the peace committees comprise elders, youths, women and government authorities, and have early warning mechanisms to respond to issues that threaten to disrupt the peace.
He told Sabahi the committees' responsibilities have been expanded to monitor extremism and share information with security authorities.
The peace committees have met with security officials and residents, and pledged to co-operate fully. They have also organised peace marches to show solidarity against al-Shabaab's activities.
"Terrorism, like conflict, threatens peace and the pro-active role acts like a wake-up call to everyone to be their brothers' keeper," Mohamud said. "The WPDA carries out sensitisation programmes urging parents to make sure they watch over their children, know where they are going, whom they meet and what they are being taught."
He said religious leaders are also being more vigilant regarding who comes to pray in the mosques.
Nonetheless, Mohamud said that simply advocating for a more open and compassionate version of religion is not enough to counter radical activities, and must be coupled with programmes to fight economic woes.
"To integrate the youths disaffected by high unemployment, the WPDA has introduced programmes to train young entrepreneurs at the Centre for Peace and Applied Research in Wajir town," he said.
Wajir police commanding officer James Mutungi said the initiative has greatly contributed to reducing extremism in the district.
He said police arrested six suspects on Monday (July 9th) after receiving a tip that the men had a cache of illegal weapons and ammunition. The police, in co-operation with Wajir's peace committees, displayed the weapons in public.
Since January, police have arrested more than 10 suspected extremists and foiled attacks because of the co-operation with religious leaders, Mutungi told Sabahi. "We are glad because everyone is playing a part. It is a concerted effort to keep the extremists at bay," he said.
Wajir residents say they back the initiatives, which contribute to the larger good. Abdirahaman Ali Abdi, a 23-year-old college student, said extremism is an alien problem in Wajir District.
"All we can do is find immunity within the body; the imams are doing a great work in preaching the kinder, gentler and more tolerant Islam we know," he told Sabahi.
Adan Musa Ibrahim, a 32-year-old taxi driver in Wajir, told Sabahi that the Islam the imams advocate directly contrasts the extreme version preached by al-Shabaab.
"While our Kenyan forces fight the militants in their strongholds in Somalia, our imams and preachers fight the militants' twisted ideologies from the pulpit and the minaret," he said.
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