[2] During the regime of Siad Barre, Aweys was a colonel in the Somali National Army and served in the 1977 Ogaden War against Ethiopia.

[3][4][5] Aweys later came to be a leading figure in Somalia's rising Islamic movements at the start of the Civil War, beginning with Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya from 1991.

[8] From 1991 to 1998, AIAI's Gedo Region branch led by former Somali High Court Judge Mohamed Haji Yusuf maintained formidable forces.

[citation needed] At the time, there were other regional military authority Somali National Front (SNF) running parts of Gedo.

But if strictly following my religion and love for Islam makes me a terrorist, then I will accept the designation.After the defeat of AIAI Aweys played a key role in setting up a system of courts according to the shari'a by local businessmen desperate for order.

[8] According to independent military experts, Aweys training and strategy had given the ICU forces the edge they required to rout the warlords.

[12][13][14] On 19 December 2006, he received medical treatment in Egypt just before the beginning of the war against the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Ethiopian troops.

[15] On 21 December 2006, as the fighting intensified with Ethiopia, he took a flight to an undisclosed location with Yusuf Mohammed Siad Inda'ade, and rather than news of medical treatment, it was said he was on the hajj.

In early 2009, four major rebel groups, Sheikh Aweys' Asmara-based wing of the ARS, Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki's Ras Kamboni Brigade, Jabhatul Islamiya and Muaskar Anole joined to form a new group called Hizbul Islam, to oppose the new government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

[19] Although the group was initially led by Omar Iman Abubakar, he stepped down on 26 May 2009 in favour of Sheikh Aweys taking the position of chairman.

Mogadishu residents reported that they saw foreign fighters in the frontline of the battle, raising concerns that Somalia may become the next terrorist safe haven after Iraq and Afghanistan.

[30][31] In June 2013, Aweys defected to the government and was taken into custody by Somali security forces,[32][4] denoting the victory of the hardliners in al-Shabaab.