Al Shabab calls for a government that follows sharia, or Islamic law, and have conducted amputations for theft and stoning for adultery in what they claim is accordance with Sharia. Yet the more hardline Sunni Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia and favored by Al Shabab ideologues – and to a certain extent by Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed – is alien to most Somalis, who favor a more tolerant Sufi-influenced culture, regional experts say.
What is Somalia's Al Shabab?
What would an Al Shabab government look like?
