---
title: "Nairobi Westgate mall terrorist attack is part of Kenya’s sharp rise in religious hostilities"
description: "The number of people killed in religion-related terrorist attacks in Kenya has dramatically increased in recent years. "
date: "2013-09-24"
authors:
  - name: "Brian J. Grim"
    job_title: "Former Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/brian-j-grim/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/09/24/nairobi-mall-terrorist-attack-is-part-of-kenyas-sharp-rise-in-religious-hostilities/"
categories:
  - "Beliefs & Practices"
  - "International Religious Freedom & Restrictions"
  - "Religion & Politics"
---

# Nairobi Westgate mall terrorist attack is part of Kenya’s sharp rise in religious hostilities

The Somalia-based Islamic group [al-Shabab](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/09/what-is-al-shabaab.html) has claimed responsibility for [the Nairobi shopping mall attack](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/world/africa/kenya-mall-shooting.html?hp) that began Saturday and has left at least 62 dead, saying that the assault is in retaliation for Kenyan military operations in Somalia.

The [U.S. State Department considers](http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2012/af/208194.htm) al-Shabab, which controls portions of Somalia, to be a terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda and says that al-Shabab has targeted non-Muslims and those who have converted from Islam to other religions. According to the [Council on Foreign Relations](http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabaab/p18650), al-Shabab is “fighting for the creation of a fundamentalist Islamic state in Somalia.”

The number of people killed in religion-related terrorist attacks in Kenya has dramatically increased in recent years. According to reports analyzed by the Pew Research Center as part of our ongoing [global study of religious restrictions and hostilities](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/06/20/arab-spring-restrictions-on-religion-findings/), more than 300 people were killed, injured or displaced as a result of religion-related terrorist attacks in Kenya in 2012, more than twice as many as in 2011 and more than a five-fold increase from 2010.

![FT_13.09.23_KenyaHostilities_3](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2013/09/FT_13.09.23_KenyaHostilities_3.png)

In general, social hostilities involving religion, defined by Pew Research as concrete acts of religious violence ranging from hate crimes to religion-related terrorism and war, are much higher in Kenya than in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. In 2012, Kenya had nearly four times the level of social hostilities (8.3 on a scale of 10) as the median level among the 48 countries in the region (2.1). The Pew Research [Social Hostilities Index](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/06/20/arab-spring-restrictions-on-religion-findings/) takes into account the level and intensity of hostilities, including sectarian violence, religion-related mob violence and so-called honor killings, where the perpetrators are motivated by religion.

In a March [Pew Research survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2013/06/24/climate-change-and-financial-instability-seen-as-top-global-threats/), roughly half of Kenyans (55%) said Islamic extremist groups pose a major threat to their country.

There have been [some reports](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/explosions-gunfire-at-kenyan-mall-as-armed-attack-enters-3rd-day/2013/09/23/b0b558be-2442-11e3-b3e9-d97fb087acd6_story.html?hpid=z1) that the Nairobi mall militants are from several different countries. Kenya and Somalia are two of 51 countries where religion-related terrorist groups engaged in cross-border attacks or drew on international connections for support between 2009 and 2011, according to a related [Pew Research analysis](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2012/09/cross-national-analysis.pdf).