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The takfiri ideology imported by al-Shabaab is still a dominant part of life in the rapidly dwindling areas under the al-Qaeda-allied group's control, but many Somalis say they cannot wait until it is eradicated from the country's history.

Takfiri ideology, an extreme offshoot of Salafi ideology, arose in Somalia in early 1990s after the collapse of the central government, according to Sheikh Mohamud Khalif Diriye, an imam at a mosque in Mogadishu's Waaberi District. Militant takfiris and their supporters then grew in strength at the beginning of 2004 with the dawn of the Islamic Courts in Mogadishu and its outskirts, he said.

Diriye told Sabahi that al-Shabaab uses takfiri ideology-inspired suicide bombings to intimidate and kill defenceless civilians, casting Somali society into turmoil.

"Somalis follow the path of Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa and could never fall prey to takfiri ideology, which is manufactured and exported by terrorism," Diriye said. "The truth of the matter is that takfiris have distorted the true image of Islam."

"This mode of thinking breeds intolerance, internal conflict and extremism," wrote Abdirahman Abdullahi Baadiyow, a Somali politician and former presidential candidate. "Often, within Salafi ideology, takfir ideology permeates, which permits its adherents to easily kill other Muslims in simple pretext of labelling them 'apostates'."

Baadiyow pointed to al-Shabaab's attacks on indigenous Somali Sufism and its destruction of tombs of prominent Sufi scholars as evidence of the ideology's intolerance with traditional Somali Islamic practices.

Citizens speak out against takfiris

Deqa Mohamed, a 37-year-old resident of Kismayo, told Sabahi, "Takfiri ideology is threatening many families in Kismayo, Barawe and Burao and it will only spread unless there is a plan on the ground to contain and erase it from Somalia's modern history."

She said that al-Shabaab promotes takfiri thinking to legitimise its role in terrorising and intimidating civilians, including the use of illegitimate means to shed innocent blood, ignoring relevant sharia law.

Omar Mayow Abdirahman, a 57-year-old father of nine, said, "Takfiri is nothing more than fuel used to ignite fire and burn anything in sight. These people do not believe in peace, security and stability and cannot co-exist with those who do not implement their incorrect ideology."

He said al-Shabaab members find Somali religious customs insufficient, and thus do not engage with the local community. "For example, they rely on their own butcher to slaughter sheep in the name of Allah instead of buying meat from local markets since they complain that local butchers do not follow the halal method of slaughtering animals in Islam," he said.

"I confess to my fellow countrymen this bitter situation created by the radical al-Shabaab group that has hidden its head in the sand after its military defeat," Abdirahman continued. "It has exposed our men and women to devastating and illegitimate ideas and imposed upon us backward beliefs that smack of terrorism."

Ikram Mohamed Si'ou, a 24 year-old sociologist, said, "We cannot be naive when it comes to the behaviour of [followers] of the takfiri movement."

"We seek to distance and fight those who espouse a radical takfiri ideology as they kill innocent people so they can achieve their despicable objectives," she told Sabahi. "We will not allow al-Qaeda in Somalia to receive aid so they can create a terrorist base and incubators [across] the country. The dream of terrorists will not be realized in our land."