“the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD.”
The Islamic militant group al-Shabaab, which has been active in Somalia for 18 years, is still having a strong impact, which has exacerbated the threat to Christians, Evangelical Focus said recently.
Since its establishment in 2006, Somalia’s Islamist militant group al-Shabaab has expanded its scope of activities by linking with al-Qaeda in 2012. They still have a strong influence in Somalia and neighbouring countries and are focusing on regional control using Sharia law as their base. International experts analysed that the reason al-Shabaab has been able to survive longer than other extremist groups is that it focused on expanding its power in Somalia and local authorities.
Stig Jarl Hansen, an expert in the Horn of Africa, told the online media The Conversation that al-Shabaab still has between 7,000 and 12,000 militia members. The main reason al-Shabaab was able to survive is the failure of Western countries in establishing peace in Somalia.
As the intervention of the United States and the United Nations has not been effective, al-Shabaab has touted the democratic system provided by the West as unreliable, and they have won the support of the residents by ensuring safety in the areas they control. Especially, amid frequent ethnic conflicts in Somalia, al-Shabaab has strengthened its power by exerting influence as a strong mediator.
The situation for Somali Christians has worsened significantly due to al-Shabaab activities. The Somali government has not established a policy to protect religious minorities such as Christians. In 2022, as Minister of Religion, the government appointed ‘Mukhtar Robow’, who was the No. 2 of al-Shabaab.
Somalia ranked the second for the second consecutive year in the 2023 and 2024 World Christian Persecution Countries rankings released by the Open Door Mission. “Church activity does not exist in Somalia, and the threats faced by Christians in recent years seem to have worsened,” Open Door said. “Most Somali Christians are underground Christians and persecuted communities,” two Christians from Somalia testified through Spanish online media.
According to the Somali Bible Society, more than 171,000 people in Somalia identify themselves as Christians, of which 85.6 % are evangelicals and 12.5 % are Catholics. Among the Somalis who migrated to neighbouring countries, Christian numbers are 5,649 in Kenya, 8,917 in Ethiopia, and 3,760 in Djibouti. (Source: Evangelical Prayer Newspaper Roundup).
Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. (1 Samuel 25:29)
God, may You break the evil power of al-Shabaab who has been active for 18 years and is threatening Christians. May You reveal the great and fearful God of righteousness to Al-Shabaab, who is deceived by false religion and harms life without the knowledge of sin, so that they may realise that no one is free from the judgment of the Lord. Through the churches of Jesus, let everyone hear the salvation given by grace to those who believe and confess that they cannot live without the grace of the cross. May You bind securely the spirits of saints who are under attack in the bundle of Your life and renew Somalia with the vitality of the gospel.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
