Somalia: Radio music banned

15 Apr 2010

Radio stations in southern and central Somalia stopped playing music and jingles on Tuesday (13 April 2010) under a ban ordered by Islamist insurgent group Hizbul Islam. The rebels announced the ban earlier this month claiming songs are un-Islamic.

Only two radio stations in the capital Mogadishu - one run by the government and another funded by the United Nations and based in Kenya - have defied the order. The other broadcasters have reportedly started airing sounds of recorded gunfire, croaking frogs and crowing cockerels to fill the music slots.

Last Friday Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab banned Somali radio stations from retransmitting broadcasts from the Washington-based news service Voice of America and the BBC's Somali language service, claiming they were spreading anti-Muslim propaganda.

Source: Panos London

Panos London promotes the participation of poor and marginalised people in national and international development debates through media and communication projects. It is part of the worldwide Panos Network of independent institutes working to ensure that information is used more effectively to foster debate, pluralism and democracy.

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