He is one of IS's highest leaders, confirms Magnus Ranstorp, a lecturer in political science and terrorism researcher at the Defence University.
Mumin is not a caliph, but rather the operative spider in the network for IS provinces – including those in Syria and Africa, as well as IS Khorasan in Afghanistan. The latter has launched several terrorist plans in Europe.
Abdulkadir Mumin, also known as Sheikh Mumin, was born in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia sometime in the 1950s. During the 1990s and early 2000s, he lived in Hjällbo in Gothenburg with his wife and daughter.
Sworn loyalty
Magnus Ranstorp, who has written about Mumin in a research study, emphasizes that the Somali was radicalized through the Bellevue Mosque in Gothenburg, where he preached and also radicalized others. He is said to have contributed to dozens from Sweden joining the Somali al-Shabaab, as well as collecting money for the Islamist terrorist group.
Mumin himself moved to the UK in 2003, where he became a citizen and made himself known for provocative sermons in mosques in London and Leicester, according to reports from AFP.
There, he also got to know, among others, Mohammed Emwazi, who later became known as the IS executioner "Jihadi John", says Magnus Ranstorp.
In 2010, Sheikh Mumin returned to Somalia, where he became the spokesperson for the jihadist movement al-Shabaab before it joined the terrorist network al-Qaeda. But a few years later, he swore loyalty to IS.
Actual leader?
In recent years, Mumin has led the jihadist movement in his home country, survived assassination attempts, and climbed the ranks. European intelligence sources tell AFP that he "distributes volunteers and money", including to the rebel movement ADF in Uganda and groups in Mozambique, Yemen, and Afghanistan. Researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College in London conclude that he is now IS's actual global leader.
This role requires a sharp intellect and leadership skills, which Sheikh Mumin likely has, according to Ranstorp. Moreover, his ideology is in line with IS, which wants to proclaim a caliphate and have sharia law.
He has a Salafist-jihadist mindset. It is a violent ideology, whose proponents see themselves as the enlightened and those who wage the merciless war against infidel non-Muslims.
Tina Magnergård Bjers/TT
Facts: Salafist jihadism
TTTT
Salafism is a very conservative and literal interpretation of Islam, where adherents want to follow the Prophet Muhammad and his closest followers as closely as possible through, among other things, clothing, rituals, and rules for social behavior. Those who do not live up to the norms are labeled as apostates or infidels.
Salafist jihadism advocates for a militant version of this interpretation.
Being a Salafist does not automatically mean that one is an extremist or violent, but Salafism has in some cases proven to be a breeding ground for violent jihadism. Some notable events from the Swedish Salafist-jihadist environment are the extensive travel to jihadist groups in the Middle East, as well as the terrorist attack on Drottninggatan in Stockholm in 2017.
Sources: NE and FHS
