Islamist in Somalia already acting like the Taliban

AP/CNN:

Islamic militiamen who have seized control of the capital fired guns in the air and cut electricity to makeshift cinemas to prevent Somalis from watching the World Cup, witnesses said, and some enraged residents were planning to hold a protest Sunday.

The Islamic Courts Union broke up gatherings to watch the soccer matches on Saturday, witnesses said. A strict interpretation of Islamic law often bans Western films and television as immoral.

"As soon as the Islamists took over the security of our city, we thought we would get freedom. But now they have been preventing us from watching the World Cup," said Adam Hashi-Ali, a teenager in Mogadishu.

The unrest came as the Islamic militia's leader said he does not want to impose a Taliban-style government, a significant shift from his earlier calls for a strict Islamic republic.

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic Courts Union, also denied U.S. claims that the group shields terrorists in the troubled and impoverished Horn of Africa.

"American concerns are based on misconception," the 41-year-old leader said Saturday. "Islamic courts do not harbor foreign terrorists." He added: "We do not want to impose sharia law. We will accept the views of the Somali people."

...

Unless they happen to want to watch the World Cup, then their views do not matter. This is a telling sign about this group. They are already acting like a regime that will be very unpopular.

Update: Gateway Pundit has more on the violant reaction to the ban on watching soccer in Somalia, including pictures.

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