Kenyan Muslims Worried by Tough Policing Methods

Community leaders among Kenya’s Muslim minority are warning that a police crackdown on Islamists could undermine their own efforts to combat radicalisation in their midst.

Since the Kenyan army began fighting al-Shabab rebels in Somalia in October 2011, the country has suffered a number of attacks, mainly in the capital Nairobi, in the western port of Mombasa, along the north-eastern border with Somalia.

The state’s counter-terrorism strategy was thrown into question by the September attack by al-Shabab militants on a Nairobi shopping centre in which at least 67 people were killed.

But even before the Westgate mall attack, concerns were being raised that the tactics employed by the security services were alienating moderate Muslims and further fuelling extremism.

Two weeks after the Westgate attack, a Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim Omar, was shot dead after leaving the Masjid Musa, a mosque in Mombasa.

The circumstances of his death appeared similar to that of his mentor, Sheikh Aboud Rogo, a preacher at the same mosque who was shot dead in August last year, and whose death sparked days of violent protests by followers who claimed the police were responsible.

Early in 2012, two other individuals – in this case allegedly linked to al-Shabab – disappeared following reports that they had been arrested by police. The body of one of them was later found in a game reserve 180 kilometres from Mombasa.

The police emphatically deny carrying out extrajudicial killings or using excessive force. But many Kenyan Muslims just do not believe them. In some cases, the resentment has been taken out on clerics seen as too moderate.

On October 25, moderate cleric Hassan Suleiman Mohammed was attacked by a group of young men who accused him of giving the police information that led to Omar’s death.

Suleiman said the real reason for the attack was to punish him for speaking out against sermons by other preachers that he says bordered on extremism and “misinterpreted the teachings of the Koran”.

“It is not about me setting up anybody to the police,” he told IWPR. “It is about my being firm and advising the youth who I speak to and mentor to watch out for people who want to mislead them and lead them into danger in the name of religion. Islam does not advocate for shedding of innocent blood. Islam advocates for peace and coexistence, and this is what my brothers don’t want me to say, although they know it is the truth.”

George Kegoro, executive director of the International Commission of Jurists in Kenya, told IWPR that if the authorities were serious about reducing terrorism, they would need to address concerns about the unexplained deaths of prominent Muslim figures.

“We need to see investigations conducted into the recent executions and disappearances of Muslim clerics in Mombasa, and where possible see people arraigned in court,” Kegoro said, adding that repeated denials of involvement were not enough to counter the widespread fears of a crackdown.

Unless the perpetrators are held to account, it could become easy to build on mistrust and resentment and turn some young Muslims towards extremist views.

“Therefore [the authorities] should come out and erase these doubts by bringing those responsible to book,” Kegoro said. “Then the anger and resentment amongst Muslim youth which pushes them towards extremism will begin to melt away.”

According to Kegoro, it is also crucial to improve living standards in Coast province and its main city Mombasa, where most of Kenyan’s Muslims live. Residents of the region have long complained that they have less access to land and jobs than people in wealthier areas around Nairobi. Some experts argue that disadvantaged young people are more susceptible to radicalisation.

“The government needs to solve the bigger problem of unemployment, so that youth can find a better purpose in life than resort to extremism,” Kegoro said.

Within the Muslim community, there is an internal debate going on about how best to fight extremism and terrorism, but the issue is highly sensitive.

Sheikh Khalfan Khamis, chairman of the Council of Muslim Scholars in Kenya, said it was important to take action against extremist elements within the community. This was especially urgent, he said, because of the danger that a “perverted version of Islam” would be passed on to future generations.

“We know there are youth who support these kinds of preachers and teachings, but we will not allow such people to propagate their hate sermons on our mosques, whether they threaten or even kill us, because they are merely bitter people who don’t stand for the Islam we know,” he said.

On October 25, police used tear gas and fired shots in the air to disperse two groups of young Muslims who clashed during prayers at the Musa mosque in Mombasa. One of the groups had questioned the use of the mosque by individuals whom they accused of being extremist clerics.

Joash Mwilu, a retired major working as a security consultant in Mombasa, welcomed the fact that a debate was taking place.

“Such conflicts within the Muslims themselves are healthy – they show that they are sobering up and have awoken to the reality that all may not be well,” Mwilu said. “This will make work even easier for the security agents fighting extremism. First, it is easy to gather intelligence and, second, security agents go in when the Muslims have sorted themselves out already. It is called self-regulation.”

Despite these efforts, Muslim leaders are concerned that threats to anyone who openly denounces extremism are real and growing.

Sheikh Juma Ngao, chairman of the Kenya Muslim National Advisory Council, told IWPR that several moderate clerics had told his organisation of cases of intimidation.

“We have encouraged them to report to the police and continue with the good job, because it is time we stood up and defended the true religion of Islam,” Ngao said.

The police say they are working to support people at risk.

“We are aware of such complaints, and have taken appropriate measures to ensure the said clerics are safe,” Robert Kitur, Mombasa’s county police chief, told IWPR. “We encourage them to speak to their youth and tell them to be careful about preachers who want to lure them into extremism and terrorism. It has helped a lot, because youth are becoming quickly informed and aware.”

Kitur said police had their own resources for counter-terrorism, and did not rely on moderate clerics for intelligence.

“We have our own informers in all these mosques,” Kitur said. “We get to know and hear everything that happens there in recorded audio and video. We are using our own people, not clerics, so they should stop victimising them, and instead preach the right things.”

Human rights groups say the police need to ensure their actions are transparent and accountable.

“Terrorism is a global issue, but even in dealing with it, a government has to be keen to respect and uphold basic human rights especially life,” said Otsieno Namwaya, a researcher with the New York-based Human Rights Watch. “Such killings of Muslim preachers, whether by government or otherwise, erode the good faith and blur the bigger picture of fighting terrorism. The killings don’t deter terrorism, they help create more terrorists.”

Joseph Akwiri is a freelance reporter in Mombasa.

This article was produced as part of a media development programme implemented by IWPR and Wayamo Communication Foundation.