Islam Online is reporting that the Muslim Brotherhood of Somalia recently elected new leadership in concerns over ” disappointing performance” and the discouragement of the “jihad” against Ethiopian troop. According to the report:
“Dr. Ali el-Sheikh Abu Bakr has been replaced by Sheikh Othman Ahmed Ibrahim,” the group, known as the Islamic Movement in the Horn of Africa, said in a statement obtained by IslamOnline.net. The decision came at the conclusion of an extraordinary five-day meeting, held in an undisclosed location, that brought together senior members of the group. Sheikh Ibrahim, the former dean of the Shari`ah College in Mogadishu University, will serve as leader of the group for only two years until the 2010 general congress. The meeting also decided to disband all the bodies of the movement, including its Shura and executive councils, and amending its bylaw to separate the posts of leader and chaiman of the Shura council. Senior leaders were for years critical of the fact that outgoing Abu Bakr held both positions, undermining any chance for self-criticism and improving within the group….The group statement particularly criticized the sacked leadership over its position with regard to the Ethiopian deployment in Somalia.”Instead of standing firmly against this brazen aggression and mobilizing the people against it, the leadership continued to work with the proxy interim government that invited the occupiers,” said the statement. The group accused its outgoing leadership of justifying the Ethiopian “invasion” and thus discouraging many from joining the “jihad” against the Ethiopian troops.
The report also provides a brief profile of the Somalian Muslim Brotherhood:
Somalia’s wing of the Muslim Brotherhood is locally known as the Reform Movement. It was formed in 1978 and slowly grew in the 1980s. The group became a key player after the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. During the 1990s, the movement devoted much effort to humanitarian efforts and providing free basic social services. It contributed to educating the Somali people and the establishment of Mogadishu University.
Somalian-born individuals are also active in Muslim Brotherhood organizations in Europe, most noticeably in the U.K. and Finland.