Kenyan Jihadists Target Surprising Recruits: Ex-Christians

Radical Islamists are capitalizing on poverty and unemployment to enlist would-be martyrs.

Hundreds of Kenyan youths who converted from Christianity to Islam—and then went to fight alongside jihadists in neighboring Somalia—are returning to their home churches. But these prodigal sons are not being welcomed back with fully open arms.

Instead, pastors are on high alert—with good reason. Al Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliated militia, has begun using young men from predominantly Christian ethnic groups to attack churches.

In November, an assailant hurled a grenade into a church located inside a police station, killing the pastor. In September, assailants threw grenades into a children's Sunday school class, killing a 9-year-old boy. In July, similar grenade attacks at two churches killed 17 worshipers.

Last October, Kenyan military forces entered Somalia to engage Al Shabab. The militia responded with a recruitment drive of Kenyan youth, offering cash incentives for the families of would-be martyrs.

"[Jihadists] have changed their recruitment tactics," said Wellington Mutiso, head of Evangelical Alliance of Kenya. "Instead of enlisting from predominantly Muslim communities such as the Somali, Boran, and others, they are targeting those from tribes that are majority Christians, such as the Kikuyus, Luos, and Luhyas."

Mutiso believes this is "an act of disguise," given that security forces have been concentrating on suspects from Muslim communities. "With the new recruits, the security forces have been left in a spin." Read more