{ { Infobox person
| name = Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweisالشيخ حسن ضاهر عويس
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption = Aweys during press release
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Dhusa Mareb, Italian Somalia
| occupation = Founder of Al-shabaab, ICU and Hizbul Islam
| years_active = 1990—2013
| organization = Al-itihad —1991ICU (Mahakim) —2000Al-shabaab —2006Hizbul al-Islam —2009 | nationality = Somali | opponents = | criminal_status = TerrorismAl-Qa'edaRadicalFundamentalAl-shabaab | children = 11 | title = Former leader of Hizbul Islam, founder of major terrorism groups' }}
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (English: (, (; born 1935) is a Somali political figure from the Habargidir/Ayr subclan within the Hawiye clan. During the regime of Siad Barre, Aweys was a colonel in the Somali National Army (SNA) during the 1977 Ogaden War against Ethiopia. He was decorated for bravery for his part in 1977 the war.
1994–2002: Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI)
Sheikh Aweys was part of the al-Itihaad al-Islamiya leadership which took over large parts of Somalia immediately following the collapse of the Somali Central Government. From 1991 to 1998, AIAI's Gedo Region branch led by former Somali High Court Judge Mohamed Haji Yusuf maintained formidable forces. Gedo district seats of Lugh, Balad Hawo and Burdubo were all run by IAIA forces. Lugh was entirely governed by AIAI. At the time, there were other regional military authority Somali National Front (SNF) running parts of Gedo. Sheikh Aweys settled in Lower Shabelle when some disputes came of light in Lugh's Al-Itahad leadership.
At an early stage in the fighting, Sheikh Aweys captured Abdullahi Yusuf and put him in jail. Sheikh Aweys later became a leader of Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, which was destroyed in the late 1990s by a force led by Abdullahi Yusuf and funded by Ethiopia. At an early stage in the fighting, Sheikh Aweys captured Abdullahi Yusuf and put him in jail.
On 18 September 1996, the Ethiopian army invaded Lugh and forced out most of the AIAI forces. The following two years, the war front changed into what was later to become the Mountains War of Gedo. And the war this time was between SNF and AIAI. The Ethiopian regime just armed SNF militias. Ethiopians gave SNF an estimated 800 to 1000 small arms and around a dozen heavy weapons. The Gedo war ended when both sides agreed on a truce, and general peace with a peace conference held in El Ade in December 1998 was concluded.
Terrorism accusations by U.S. President Bush
On 7 November 2001, Sheikh Aweys was named a 'supporter of terrorism' in a supplement of Executive Order 13224 of United States President George W. Bush. According to NBC News, Sheikh Aweys is also on the terrorist list of the United States Department of State as somebody who is known as an al-Qaeda operative or who is connected with al-Qaeda.
Sheikh Aweys has always denied the US terrorism allegations. He told AFP news agency; It is not proper to put somebody on a list of terrorists who has not killed or harmed anybody. I am not a terrorist. But if strictly following my religion and love for Islam makes me a terrorist, then I will accept the designation.
2004–2006: Islamic Courts Union (ICU)
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. According to the BBC he was the ICU's spiritual leader. The Courts brought relative stability to areas under its control, after years of turmoil. The Courts' notion of order was strict, including stonings for serious crimes such as rape and murder. At first it only controlled the area of north Mogadishu, but it gained support from many Somali's following the random violence committed by the warlords who controlled southern Mogadishu. Beginning 2004, eleven of these courts folded into an umbrella organization, the Islamic Courts Union, which fielded a formidable militia. A UN report in early 2006 stated that Aweys was receiving military support from Eritrea, as part of the ongoing conflict between it and Ethiopia, though Eritrea denies the claim. Following the ICU's victory in Mogadishu in June 2006, Aweys rose to be the head of the shura committee.
