School Bells Banned in Somalian Town
Apr 17, 2010
Story Highlights
Somali officials ban bells because of connection to Christianity
Somalia's Islamist Al-Shabaab group has banned bells from schools and ordered students to wear conservative Muslim clothes.
Masked militants with loudspeakers ordered a ban on the ringing of school bells in Jowhar, a town 90 kilometers north of Mogadishu.
"They warned that anyone who ignores the orders will face severe punishment," Mohamed Nur, a resident in Jowhar, told Tiziano.
"We have banned the sound of the ringing of Christian churches," said Sheik Farah Kalar, a senior Al-Shabaab official, in Jowhar. "This will result in a good learning environment for Muslims."
A school principal in the southern farming village of Jowhar said that they have obeyed the orders because of the threat of violence. He accused Al-Shabaab of recruiting his students as soldiers.
"They do whatever they want to us. They take our students to fight on a daily basis," the principal said. "If this continues I don't think we will be able to continue to work here."
Al-Shabaab has been facing resistance in the region, a reaction to the group's restrictions on daily life, beheadings, and court-ordered amputations.
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Tags:
Africa, Arts, bells, christianity, Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen, Head teacher, islam, Islamism, Jowhar, Moga, Mogadishu, school, Somalia
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