The Supreme Islamic Courts Council (formerly the Islamic Courts Union), in control of a large portion of southern Somalia, continues to follow the path charted by the Taliban in Afghanistan:
Islamic militants controlling much of southern Somalia shut down a radio station Sunday for playing love songs and other music, the latest step to impose strict religious rule which has sparked fears of an emerging, Taliban-style regime.
Since sweeping to power over much of southern Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu, in June, the Islamists have banned movie viewing, publicly lashed drug users and broke up a wedding celebration because a band was playing and women and men were socializing together.
The group closed Radio Jowhar because the programs were un-Islamic, Islamic official Sheik Mohamed Mohamoud Abdirahman said. It was the only radio station in Jowhar, some 90 kilometres from Mogadishu.
"It is useless to air music and love songs for the people," Abdirahman said.
As I explained in my earlier post, the SICC is both expanding and formalizing its control in and around Mogadishu, the nominal capital of Somalia.
The AP report does not explain what happens to those who defy this music ban. More from Voice of America:
The Islamic official [Abdirahman] said anyone violating the music ban could be arrested, fined and flogged.
Meanwhile, a familiar name is leading the government side in negotiations for a power-sharing agreement:
The fragile interim government and representatives of a Mogadishu-based Islamist movement met in the Sudanese capital Khartoum for a third day of Arab League-mediated talks aimed at reaching a power-sharing agreement.
"We are going to sign tonight what will be a time frame for coming back together for further talks," said Awad Ahmed Ashareh, a parliamentarian and member of the government delegation.
"We will come back on Oct. 30 to resume talks on power-sharing and other issues," he added without giving further details.
Awad Ahmed Ashareh is purportedly the father of Yasmin Ashareh, the 20-year-old Toronto woman found with her throat cut, her body dumped in the garbage in the city's west end. A Nigerian, William Imona-Russel, has been arrested, but police are not releasing any details about the case, including the relationship between the accused and the victim, nor the motive. Nor will they explain why Imona-Russel was under surveillance after the murder. Nor has anyone considered what significance Yasmin's family ties to the former Minister of Religious Affairs might have had in the case.
Nevertheless, being the former Minister of Religious Affairs in Puntland, Awad Ashareh was no doubt seen as a man who could "speak the language" of the Islamists. The power-sharing includes a combine armed forces and police. One wonders how that would work if the two forces have different loyalties. Especially since the Islamists have no need for what the interim government is offering -- democracy:
Somali’s powerful Islamists controlling much of south and central Somalia said they would never accept the democratic system wanted by the interim government based in Baidoa, 250km southwest of Somalia capital Mogadishu.
The deputy leader of executive Council of Islamic Courts (CIC) Abdirahman Mohamud Janaqow told the local media the Islamists will not enter talks with the government on the issues relating to democracy.
Islamic Courts see the democratic rule as irrelevant and unacceptable in Islam.
Unacceptable? As useless as music, I suppose. Sounds like the future is grim for any sort of power-sharing. Indeed, the future is grim for all of us, according to Janaqow:
“We can not accept the laws of democracy because it can’t be compared with the practice of Islamic religion, we believe that Islam is the only religion to rule on this globe,” Mohamud Janaqow said.
Interesting. I wonder if Awad Ashareh, religious conservative that he is, shares the same disdain for democracy, and the same goal for the implementation of conservative Islamic rule everywhere on the planet. If so, I can't help but wonder if maybe a bit of that particularly harsh form of Islamic justice used by the SICC was visited upon Yasmin.
