Somalia's Al Shabaab Demands Obama Embrace Islam Or Americans Will Die

If it wasn't for the fact that at least 20 young Somali Muslim males went missing from Minnesota several years ago, some of whom blew themselves to bits and yet others have been indicted in connection with an ongoing investigation into how and who recruited the would-be-terrorists, the latest out of Somalia would be laughable.

Al Shabaab, the marauding, hardline Islamist thugs have ravaged Somalia (along with their arch-enemies now good buddies Hizbul Islam), in an attempt to establish their uber-strict form of Sharia on the poor people of the country. Some of the most bizarre fatwas have emerged from over there, including the banning of bras and school bells, because they are un-Islamic. Somalia has been a hotbed of violence for ages, and now they are threatening to export it to the good old U.S.A. unless Barack Obama gives in to their demands. They don't want ransom money, they don't want the removal of troops from Afghanistan, they want Barry O to embrace Islam. I'm not quite sure what their rationale is for demanding that he convert to Islam, other than the fact that they might consider him one since he has a Muslim background which would mean they would expect him to 'revert' but that's what Fuad Mohamed "Shongole" Qalaf wants. During a speech broadcast on radio he said,

"We tell the American President Barack Obama to embrace Islam before we come to his country."

So, although I find the idea that some extremist goons thousands of miles away in some God-forsaken country seem to think they can threaten a President into converting to their religion rather entertaining, the fact that they already reside in the U.S. is not so amusing. I am sure the majority are law-abiding, peaceful types glad to not be subjected to the religious excesses of al Shabaab, but how many other young Somali men have been recruited into jihad like the missing Minnesotans? And look at 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who was absolutely convinced that dialing a cellphone was about to blow up a van at a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Oregon this year? Not only was he Somali-born, he also happened to be a naturalized U.S. citizen.

So al Shabaab's threats are not out of the realm of possibility, which is not a comforting thought.