DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i01.001

Pages: 1-6

Religious radicalism, fanaticism, and extremism are a global phenomenon and a unique problem in East Africa today. Most if not all religious groups express one of the above elements in one way or another. Religious groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko haram, Al-shabaab mostly sprout from devout followers of religion in the name of fighting regimes in power that they believe are not seriously observing religious teachings of Islam. Terror attacks have happened in Europe, America, Asia and other parts of the world. Radicalized individuals and groups use extremist teachings from scripture in support of their ideology to perpetuate violent attacks, to inflict pain and fear on innocent people or perceived or real enemies. Hypothetically violent extremisms and terrorism is driven by hate, religious and political vendetta, social and economic trends as displayed in this paper. The main focus of this paper is on Al-shabaab. Its origin, trends in radicalization, organizations perceived to support its activities are discussed. East Africa has been an Island of peace for a long time, until the emergent of the religious terror group in Somali before it spread to the whole of East Africa. It is a real thorn in the flesh.