This is just pathetic
Islamists force Somali stations to turn off music
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 | 11:25 AM ET Comments36Recommend28CBC News
Somalis listen to the radio in Mogadishu in June 2009. Music has been banned from the airwaves by hardline Islamists. (Mohamed Sheikh Nor/Associated
Press)
Most radio stations in Somalia stopped playing music on Tuesday, complying with an ultimatum issued by hardline Hizbul-Islam militias.
Hizbul-Islam, one of several Islamist groups that control Somalia outside of Mogadishu, called music un-Islamic and ordered all playing of music to
end by Tuesday.
The ban comes a week after al-Shabab, the country's other big militant group, closed down BBC Radio relay stations in five cities in southern Somalia.
Hosts at Mogadishu's 14 radio stations said they had to comply, because those who didn't were threatened with punishment.
"Today we see an official crackdown on the independent media.… The local radio stations stopped playing any kind of music or songs after the deadline
given by the Islamists came to an end," said Mohamed Ibrahim, an official of the National Union of Somali Journalists.
Somalia has long enjoyed a mix of Western, Arabic and African music over the airwaves and many Somalis rely on a little music to lighten the day.
'We are using other sounds, such as gunfire, the noise of vehicles and birds to link up our programs and news.'
—Somali broadcasterBut even talk shows are having to comply, eliminating the tunes that bridge items or introduce programs, according to one
independent broadcaster.
"We are using other sounds, such as gunfire, the noise of vehicles and birds to link up our programs and news," he said.
He said radio stations feared losing listeners with the new format.
Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991 and the Islamist militants control large parts of its territory. Movies were banned by
the same Islamist groups as un-Islamic.
The groups will carry out punishments, including flogging or amputations, against those who defy their authority.
The only radio stations in Mogadishu to ignore the ban are the government-run station and the UN-controlled station.
Both stations are based in the small area of Mogadishu under the fragile control of the government and African Union forces.
With files from The Associated Press
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