Profile: Omar Hammami
Hammami's Al Shabaab Activity
Posted: February 9, 2010
Since the fall of 2007, Omar Hammami has issued written statements on behalf of Al Shabaab and has appeared in the terror organization's propaganda videos and audio recordings. His ascent to becoming the public face and voice of Al Shabaab demonstrates the group's effort to target American and other English-speaking audiences.
While his statements focus on a range of issues, including Al Shabaab's goal to establish an Islamic caliphate "in all parts of the world" and to fight against Somalia's transitional governments and its Ethiopian supporters, they often include appeals to Americans "to come and live the life of a mujahid [holy warrior]," as well as praise of Al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri and clips of Hammami leading Al Shabaab militants.
Several Americans charged with terror-related offenses have been influenced by Hammami's statements and recordings. In June 2010, federal authorities arrested two American citizens as they attempted to board separate flights to Egypt with the intention of continuing to Somalia to join Al Shabaab. Court documents allege that the men, who watched Al Shabaab videos featuring Hammami, planned to kill American troops who they thought would soon be deployed to Somalia to help fight Al Shabaab.
During an Al Shabaab rally In May 2011, Hammami vowed to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden. "Osama is dead but the holy war is not dead. Mujahedeen fighters all over the world are fully prepared to revenge the death of our leader."
The following is a sampling of other statements and recordings issued by Hammami on behalf of Al Shabaab, as well as Al Shabaab recordings in which Hammami has appeared:
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On October 7, 2011 Hammami released an audio lecture entitled "Lessons Learned," in which he reflects on over his "five years in southern Somalia." He characterizes Al Shabaab's fight as a "war of civilizations," in which all Muslims will "have to realize sooner or later that trying to practice your religion in Dar al-Kufr (the land of infidels) is nothing more than a dream world." He says that "it's necessary for us to prioritize especially in these times of crisis. So we have to put the liberation of the Muslim lands first. Jihad and hijrah (emigration from non-Muslim lands) have to be the first order of the day." He also offers a frank account of day-to-day life of a mujahid, describing of the depravation and boredom they often face, but concludes that the sacrifices are worthwhile and calls on his listeners to come "to the lands of jihad as soon as possible."
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In April 2011, Hammami released two rap songs on the internet titled "Send Me A Cruise" and "Make Jihad With Me." In "Make Jihad With Me," Hammami calls for attacks on the U.S.: "Allahu Akbar Give Some More Bounty/Attack America Now!/Martyrdom or Victory/We take it Nairobi to Addis – Paradise Inside/Khilafah is here!/We are wiping Israel clear off the globe!
- In an Al Shabaab video released in May 2010, Hammami can purportedly be heard rapping over footage of militants training for battle. Hammami's rap included the following line: "Establishing Allah's law on land and sea / My number one goal... die a shahid."
- Hammami appeared in an Al Shabaab video released in April 2010 featuring a festival for the children of Al Shabaab "martyrs." Several young boys are shown throughout the video playing with plastic guns and shooting toy AK-47s; one of the boys tells the cameraman he will use his gun to kill the kuffar, or non-Muslims. Hammami is shown urging a group of mothers to tell their children "to try to be like their hero fathers who were martyred" and encouraging a group of young boys "to continue the fighting started by those heroes."
An Al Shabaab video released in September 2009 featured footage from an Al Shabaab training camp, including various shots of Hammami leading a group of Al Shabaab militants. The video, entitled, "We Are At Your Command, O Osama," also included numerous clips from a previous Osama bin Laden audio recording, in which the Al Qaeda leader urged fighting against the Somali government.
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In July 2009, Al Shabaab released an audio recording in response to U.S. President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo the previous month. In the audio, entitled "A Response to Barack Obama: The Beginning of the End," Hammami affirmed Al Shabaab's allegiance to Al Qaeda and justified the September 11 terror attacks. Hammami further criticized the U.S. for supporting Israel, which he deemed "the most vicious evil nation of this modern era."
- An Al Shabaab video dated July 2008 marked the first video in which Hammami appeared with his face uncovered. In the video, which was released the following March, Hammami was shown preparing an ambush against Ethiopian troops and explaining that, "the only reason we're staying here, away from our families, away from the cities, away from ice, candy bars, all these other things, is because we're waiting to meet with the enemy." After the ambush, Hammami again issued an appeal to foreigners to join the jihad in Somalia, saying, "if you can encourage more of your children and more of your neighbors and anyone around you to send people like him to this jihad, it would be a great asset for us."
According to American law enforcement officials, also featured in the video were several Somali-Americans from Minnesota, including Shirwa Ahmed, who, three months later, carried out a series of suicide attacks with four others against the United Nations compound, the Ethiopian Consulate and the presidential palace in Hargeisa, killing 24 people.
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In a January 2008 letter, entitled, "A Message to the Mujahideen in Particular and Muslims in General," Hammami explained Al Shabaab's goal to "establish the Islamic Khilaafah [Caliphate] from East to West after removing the occupier and killing the apostates."
- Hammami first surfaced as a fighter in Somalia in an October 2007 interview with Al Jazeera, less than a year after his arrival in Somalia. His face covered with a green scarf, Hammami appealed to Americans to "take into consideration the situation in Somalia. After 15 years of chaos and oppressive rule by the American-backed warlords, your brothers stood up and established peace and justice in this land."
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