Somalia’s Defence Ministry Spokesman Sheikh Abukar Mohamed spearheaded the ushering in ceremony of an AUSSOM colonel into the fold of Islam.
The Ugandan soldier stationed at Lower Shabelle region pointed that his conversion to Islam was heavily influenced by the positive interaction with Muslim faithful’s in Somalia and also his home country.
His colleagues embraced the move and urged the Federal government to give greater prominence to ideological battle in countering extremism by encouraging scholars to join military operations.
Prior to this, there are documented instances where peacekeeping soldiers in Somalia have converted to Islam though rare as hen’s teeth.
During the UNOSOM II mission in the early 1990s, there were reports of U.S. soldiers converting to Islam. One notable case involved a U.S. soldier who converted after being involved in humanitarian efforts and interacting with the local population.
The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) began on 1 January succeeding African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), that operated from 2022 to 2024.
