Islamic leaders in Somalia tighten control over athletes
27 November 2006
by Shafici Mohyaddin Abokar, Somali Sports Press Association
In Somalia, the Islamic rulers have decreed that no sports team or individual athlete can leave the country without a letter of permission from the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). This also applies to the national football team that was told by clerics to “defeat Catholic Ethiopia” or not return home from a tournament for East and Central African Football Associations.
Somalia
's Islamic courts which emerged with an unexpected power early this year gave the orders to the national foot ball team before it set off for the tournament that takes place in Addis Ababa from 25 November to 10 December.
During a well organized ceremony at Global Hotel, Islamist delegates spoke to the national team members and asked them to come back home with pleasure and victory
"Listen to me well. I stress that we want you to defeat the Catholic Ethiopia, "the enemy of Islam" other wise you will not return home" said Sheik Nur Shuuriye Hussein, one of the Islamic clerics present at the ceremony.
The Somali national team is not expected to play against Ethiopia, because Somalia is in Group C with Rwanda, Uganda and Sudan, while Ethiopia is in Group A with Tanzania ,Malawi and Djibouti. But that did not stop the sheik.
"If it happens that you meet with Ethiopia and the team defeats you, we want you to box and destroy their players before going out of the stadium" the sheik said once again to the players who were very nervous and surprised at his speech.
Some players said afterwards that the speech from the sheik was irregular and that all players from every nation in the world were their colleagues.
Islamists say athletes must have permission to leave
Meanwhile Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union issued a decree which bans the departure of any sports team or individual without having a letter of permission letter from the ICU which currently controls most of south-central Somalia.
"We also displayed the decree to MogadishuAirport administrators and asked them to hold back any sports individual or team without a permission letter from the Islamic courts" said Sheik Ali Hassan Ali, former national player and once secretary general of Somali Basketball Federation who has now turned into a cleric.
Copies of the decree has been given to Somalia’s national Olympic committee, all national federations and associations including the Somali Sports Press Association to avoid that anyone leaves home without knowing about the decree.
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