9/11: How attacks changed Africa’s security outlook
Twenty-five years after 9/11, Africa’s fight against terrorism has evolved—but so have the challenges of balancing security with human rights, good governance and religious freedom, writes Ahmed Hadji.
Ahmed Hadji.
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OPINION
By Ahmed Hadji
On September 11, 2001, the world witnessed one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in modern history. Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial aeroplanes in the US, deliberately striking the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon, while passengers on a fourth plane fought back before it crashed in Pennsylvania. A total of 2,977 people were killed, including citizens from 90 countries.
Twenty-five years later, the pain of that day remains deeply felt. We remember with sympathy and solidarity the American victims, their families, first responders and communities whose lives were permanently changed. The attacks were not simply an American tragedy; they were an assault on international peace and security. They fundamentally changed how governments understood terrorism.
Africa was no exception. Africa had already experienced transnational terrorism. On August 7, 1998, al-Qaeda bombed US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam, killing 224 and injuring more than 4,500. In 2010, al-Shabaab struck Kampala, killing 74, underscoring Africa’s growing frontline role in global counter-terrorism.
Across Africa, governments adopted or strengthened anti-terrorism legislation, expanded intelligence sharing and tightened border controls. They also established specialised counter-terrorism units, intelligence cells and rapid-response mechanisms.
At the continental level, the African Union developed stronger counter-terrorism institutions. The African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism was established in 2004, creating a continental platform for information-sharing, research, training and co-operation against terrorism.
The transformation also reached Africa’s financial systems. Governments strengthened Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism laws. Additionally, they established or enhanced fi nancial intelligence units, tightened banking regulations and improved mechanisms for tracing suspicious transactions. International standards, promoted by the Financial Action Task Force, helped states disrupt networks supporting terrorist organisations and other criminal enterprises.
But the post-9/11 security architecture produced dilemmas. In some countries, broad definitions of terrorism and expansive security powers have been used beyond combating genuine violent extremist threats, including against political opponents, protesters, journalists and civil society actors.
There is another legacy that deserves greater scrutiny: the tendency to associate Islam or Muslim identity with terrorism. This is both analytically flawed and strategically counterproductive. Terrorism is a method of violence, not a religion.
Muslim communities across Africa have themselves been among the victims of terrorism and have contributed significantly to preventing radicalisation, countering extremist narratives and building community resilience. Effective counter-terrorism, therefore, requires working with Muslim communities rather than treating Islam itself as a security threat.
The persistence of terrorism demonstrates that institutional expansion alone cannot solve the problem. Groups such as al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, as well as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, continue marginalisation, poverty, unemployment and local grievances across parts of East and West Africa.
The lesson of 25 years is clear: hard security is necessary, but it is not sufficient. Africa needs capable intelligence services, specialised counter-terrorism units, effective legislation and financial controls. But these must be matched by accountable governance, functioning justice systems, education, employment and meaningful youth participation.
As we remember the victims of September 11, Africa and its international partners should preserve the security gains of the past quarter century while learning from its shortcomings. The next generation of counter terrorism policy must be firm against violence, but equally firm in defending human dignity, religious freedom, democratic accountability and the rule of law. That is the foundation of sustainable security.
The writer is a foreign affairs analyst, an adjunct senior fellow with the Centre for Policy and Strategic Studies Africa and the provost of the Lincoln Institute for Diplomacy and International Relations, Kampala, Uganda.