Hiiraan Online
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Mogadishu (HOL) - Hizbul Islam the Somali hard-line militias stopped playing all music and songs from local radios in Mogadishu, on Tuesday after they called it un-Islamic.
The group ordered on 4th April to all radios in Mogadishu to stop playing music and songs 10 days.
Almost all of the city's 14 radio stations turned off the Somali old and modern music and other Western, Arabic and African music that fills up their 18-hour broadcast time.
Most of the local radios in Mogadishu are based in Bakaro market, where Al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam militants control.
"The ban was the most appropriate move towards eliminating evil deeds because listening to music and songs are illegal in Islam and anybody who goes against the orders will face consequences," Sheik Mohamed Ibrahim, a top Hezb al-Islam leader, told AFP.
Mohamed Ibrahim, an official of the National Union of Somali Journalists told AFP "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,"
"We denounce the move as a gross violation against the freedom of expression... because order after order means there will not be any independent media in this country," he told AFP.
“The local radios have no option but to stop playing music, the radios changed the music of the news and programs and started adopting other methods,” Mohamed a local radio news editor told Hiiraan Online.
He adds who disobeys the orders of the militias will put his life in danger.
Somalia was with out functioning government since 1991 when clan warlords overthrown Siad Barre’s administration.