This week, most Somalian radio stations abruptly stopped playing music or international news programs. According to the New York Times: At least 14 radio stations…stopped broadcasting music on Tuesday, heeding an ultimatum by an Islamist insurgent group to stop playing songs or face “serious consequences.” … The insurgent group, Hizbul Islam, issued its ultimatum 10 days ago and set Tuesday as the deadline to comply, saying that music was “un-Islamic.” In other parts of the country, insurgents have taken over or shut down some radio stations. Last week, the Shabab, the country’s most powerful insurgent group, said it was banning foreign programs like those broadcast by the BBC and Voice of America, calling them Western propaganda that violated Islam. I interviewed the leader of Hizbul-Islam, Sheikh Hassan Aweys, back in 2006 when Kaj and I were in Somalia shooting “Mogadishu Madness” for Vanguard. Back then he was the spiritual leader of the Islamic Court Union. In the piece, we covered his earlier attempts at helping the ICU implement Sharia law and the reaction from the Somali community when he did so. We captured exclusive footage of the uneasy peace that prevailed, albeit briefly, and interviewed other Islamist leaders who held the city, exposing the stated goals and fears of people the U.S. government branded as terrorists. Shortly after we returned to the U.S. to show viewers what we had seen, Ethiopian troops, backed by U.S. forces, invaded Somalia and drove the Islamists into hiding. The country returned to a state of war. In retrospect, was the U.S. justified in backing Ethiopia to invade Somalia so they could overthrow the Islamic government that Aweys had helped establish? Things certainly got a whole lot worse. As a journalist, of course I cringe at the idea of banning a free press. But if 20 years of fighting has taught us anything, its that its time to start thinking outside the box when it comes to bringing stability to Somalia. I wonder if Aweys would grant us an interview today or if we’d be banned along with the rest of the press. Certainly makes me look at this whole radio ban differently. added by: Christof
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Tagged city, country, current, ethiopia, from-the-somali, Hollywood, insurgent-group, islamist, islamists, News, shabab, sheikh-hassan, TMZ
