Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ) is a Somalia-based paramilitary group consisting of moderate Sufis opposed to radical Salafism. The group opposes extremist interpretations of Islam, as well as laws banning music and khat. The group seeks to protect religious shrines from demolition.

Background and origins

The Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ) was formed in 1991 in opposition to Salafi Islamist groups such as Al Ittihad Al Islamiya, under the guidance of General Mohamed Farah Aidid. He viewed the organization as an important counter-force to more radical Islamist factions. During the civil war the organization worked in cooperation with Aidid's faction, the Somali National Alliance. Originally ASWJ focused on community religious affairs and was not primarily a militant organization prior to 2008. In 2008, ASWJ gained prominence as the main resistance force to the militant organization Al Shabaab, which was conducting many anti-Sufi attacks and destroying sacred Sufi tombs. In response to those attacks, ASWJ organized itself as a cohesive militant force for the first time, taking its fighters from clan militias. In March 2009, after Al Shabaab killed multiple Sufi clerics, ASWJ declared jihad against it. ASWJ and al-Shabaab battled each other for control of various areas in central Somalia during 2008 and 2009. ASWJ are fighting to prevent strict Sharia and Wahhabism from being imposed, while protecting local Sunni-Sufi traditions and generally moderate religious views.

Conflict with Al-Shabaab

Renewed fighting began in September 2021 in the Galgadud region is due to a dispute between Ahlu Sunna and the Galmudug regional administration.