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| Somalia Islamists impose, No trade, no transport , during prayer time |
| 2006-09-01 |
| HARDLINE Somali Islamists overnight banned all trade and public transportation during prayer times in areas under their control, fuelling fears of a Taliban-style takeover of the lawless nation. A day ahead of a second round of peace talks with Somalia's weak government in Sudan, Muslim clerics ordered all businesses to close during the five-times daily prayers under threat of severe punishment from Sharia law courts. The move tightens the enforcement of strict Islamic law in much of southern Somalia, further challenging the transitional government's limited authority and is likely to exacerbate strains at the Arab League-mediated talks. "The courts have banned business and public transport during prayer time," said Sheikh Mowliid Ahmed, who chairs the Islamic court in northern Mogadishu's Siinay district. "This is religious obligation and we have to implement it." "If a community is Islamic and the country is Islamic, anyone who fails to abide by the order must be punished," he said after Friday prayers. "We will use force to enforce this and we will not hesitate to do so." Islamic court officials and residents of the town of Jowhar, about 90 km north of Mogadishu, said similar restrictions had gone into effect and were being enforced by heavily armed Muslim militia. "Everybody must leave his business and go for prayer when the muezzin is heard," said Sheikh Mohamed Mohamoud, Jowhar's deputy security chief. "Anybody who does not obey will face painful punishment." The new regulations appear to mirror the fundamentalist interpretation of Sharia law adopted by the Taliban in Afghanistan and follow a July edict that Muslims who do not perform daily prayers may be punished by death. It is not clear if anyone has yet been condemned to die under that ruling but the Islamists have tightened their enforcement of Sharia since seizing the capital in June from secular warlords and expanding their territory. Muslim militia have presided over the public executions of at least two convicted murderers, the flogging of more than a dozen people, including two women, for drug offences, and have forcibly closed cinemas and photo shops. They have also banned live music at wedding receptions and other events and have harassed civilians, mainly women, for failing to wear appropriate dress in public. US and other western officials have expressed concern about a "creeping Talibanisation" in Somalia at the hands of the Islamists, some of whom are accused of links with Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network. The Islamists flatly reject the charges, but have vowed to impose strict Sharia law across the largely Muslim Horn of Africa nation of some 10 million that has been without a functioning central authority for the last 16 years. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #10 Somalia Islamists impose, No trade, no transport , during prayer time So I guess prayer time must be, like what, twenty four hours a day over there? Nice to see ya back, dotman. Wanna watch the bandwidth... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-09-01 22:09 |
| #9 Don't be a stranger. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-01 21:59 |
| #8 Hiya .com, nice to see you again! As Phil said. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2006-09-01 21:28 |
| #7 Hey, .com, I think I missed your earlier forays, but I'm glad you're feeling better. (Or still feeling worse but having the energy to post, whichever applies). And hoping you're feeling better (or even better, whichever applicable) soon. |
| Posted by: Phil 2006-09-01 21:08 |
| #6 Dittos.. welcome back..seen ya around .com but in disguise! >:: |
| Posted by: RD 2006-09-01 21:01 |
| #5 Thx :) Tam exanimis quam tunica nehru fio! (I am as dead as the nehru jacket!) |
| Posted by: .com 2006-09-01 20:43 |
| #4 Nice to see you back dot com. |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2006-09-01 20:31 |
| #3 Sheesh. Here we go with the unstated, but subtly implied, memed Myth of Moderate Islam, again. This isn't "hardline" or "fundamentalist" or particularly "Talibanisation", it's completely "normal" in any Islam-dominated shithole. The key is Islam-dominated. Where they have the numbers or power, they proceed with Sharia. Period. Full stop. These cretins are merely following Sharia and instituting the norm because they can. Brutal blind subservience to barbarism. There is no saving grace for any population that accepts Sharia. Re: Prayer Times... You learn to do everything around prayer times - and trust me, 4 of the 5 come at damned inconvenient times. Everyone carries a couple of weeks of the schedule around with them. There's nothing quite like riding in a taxi and having the driver suddenly pull over, get out, consult his little compass, roll out his prayer rug, and start banging his head on the ground -- while you miss your flight. Only happens once, lol. Extrapolate the ramifications of True Believers in occupations that require full attention... |
| Posted by: .com 2006-09-01 20:07 |
| #2 So begins the utter stagnation of yet another culture. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-01 19:25 |
| #1 Here's hoping they have no airlines. |
| Posted by: SLO Jim 2006-09-01 17:53 |