In the West, we’re told that only greasy Islamophobes believe that Islamic law forbids music. These guys didn’t get the memo. Note that HornAfrik was one of the radio stations that defied al-Shabaab’s earlier demand that all stations stop playing music. “Islamist militants raid 2 independent radio stations in Mogadishu,” from CNN, September 19:
(CNN) — Armed Islamist militants raided and looted two radio stations in Somalia’s beleaguered capital this weekend, according to statements issued Sunday by the government’s Ministry of Information and a Somali journalists’ group.
HornAfrik and Global Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) were raided by al-Shabaab and Hibzul al-Islam, respectively.
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said in a statement that al-Shabaab militants entered the HornAfrik station late Saturday, chasing away journalists and destroying cassettes and CDs, both in HornAfrik and in its sister broadcasting house, Capital Voice.
Witnesses said transmitters and computers were removed, along with the rest of the station’s equipment.
HornAfrik was launched in the late 1990s and was the first independent broadcaster in Mogadishu. Both a radio and television station, HornAfrik is located near Mogadishu’s Bakara market. The area is controlled by al-Shabaab and has been the site of much fighting between Islamists and Somali government forces.
Al-Shabaab, which has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda, controls much of southern Somalia and portions of Mogadishu. It follows the strict Saudi Arabian-inspired Wahabi interpretation of Islam, rather than the Sufi Islam of many Somalis.
GBC was raided by militant group Hizbul al-Islam. The station is located in the Heliwa district of northeast Mogadishu. A journalist at the station said the raid was preceded by a letter of notification demanding that the station be handed over to the group. […]
The weekend’s raids bring the number of radio stations seized by militants in Mogadishu this year to five. Less than a month ago, al-Shabaab militants seized another privately-owned Mogadishu station, Radio Holy Quran (IQK), according to NUSOJ. The group said IQK also received a letter from the militants before the raid.
Earlier this year, al-Shabaab and Hizbul al-Islam ordered radio stations in the Somali capital to stop playing music. HornAfrik was one of three stations that defied that ban….