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Islamists Kill World Cup Fans
Is Somalia the next Afghanistan? It's been reported that Islamist gunmen opened fire on a crowd watching World Cup football in a cinema in the town of Dhuusa Marreeb. The cinema's owner and a young girl were killed.
The Somalis were watching last night's Italy-Germany match when the militia, reported by the BBC to be loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts, burst in. Claiming that sharia law forbids the enjoyment of football matches, they ordered the game to be switched off. When the crowd protested they fired in the air, and then at the protestors.
The killings follow riots in Mogadishu last week, when another gang of Islamist gunmen tried to prevent youths from watching the World Cup.
While much of Somalia remains lawless, much of its south, including the capital Mogadishu, is ruled by or is allied to the Union of Islamic Courts, which has enforced strict sharia law on these regions it controls. This has led to a crackdown on crime and even a return to public executions. Many Somalis express qualified support for the Islamists, who offer stability of sorts compared to the previous war-torn decade and a half, when quarrelling warlords laid waste to much of the country. However, some have expressed concerns that the Islamists, thanks to their religious extremism, risk taking Somalia down the Afghan path: Afghanistan's Taliban brutally enforced a very strict interpretation of Islam, complete with public executions, amputations and oppression of women. A ban on television seems the least of Somalia's worries compared to these horrors, but many in the international community fear that the World Cup ban is the tip of the iceberg. In June, The Times reported on how Islamists had banned dancing to pop music - and how Somalis feared questioning their new rulers risked a death sentence.
The Taliban, too, rose as a "pure" religious alternative to internal chaos: Up to their decision to offer Osama Bin Laden's al Qaeda a sanctuary and training ground, the international community was happy to leave them alone. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, one of the Islamic court leaders, has already been accused of links to terrorism, though he denies this. However, he will be aware that he is being watched closely.
In any case, the relative calm Islamist rule offers Somalia's southern region could be short-lived: It's neighbour, Ethiopia, sees the new regime as a threat; the north must be brought under control; and the Islamists themselves appear divided.
In a review of the situation in The Economist last week reported that the Supreme Council declared "football is not against Islam." It's not clear if the majority of southern Somalis want to go from the frying pan of the warlords to the fire of Taliban style Islam.
There are reportedly moderates in the Council, and the US has indicated it will be willing to speak with them - though not Sheikh Aweys.
It could be argued, then, that last night's killers were not obeying the official policy of southern Somalia's new rulers - it is only to be hoped that the moderates have more clout than their extremist fellow travellers.
