December 12, 2006

'Jihad Tax' Imposed by African Taliban in Somalia

Three very related stories. First, the Islamic Courts Union (dubbed the African Taliban by me) has imposed a jihad tax. No goat will go untaxed in the effort to defeat the crusader infidels! Seriously. They are actually taxing goats to pay for jihad.

Second, the Islamic State of Iraq (the al Qaeda umbrella group which presents itself as a shadow government) has praised the ICU in a recent communique. But remember, the ICU claims it has not ties to terrorism. Right.

Last, and most disheartening, news reports indicate that the anti-ICU forces of the Somali government have been surrounded. Next stop, Ethiopia.

AKI:

Islamists who control Somalia's capital Mogadishu say they have begun collecting taxes to raise money to fund a holy war against foreign troops in the Horn of Africa country.

Announcing the tax collection campaign, the UIC has specified the levies it willl charge on livestock: a goat trader will pay 5,000 Somali shillings (7 US cents) while a cow trader will pay 10,000 (14 US cents) and a camel trader will pay 20,000 (1.05 US dollars). It was not immedialtely clear what other businesses based in the capital would be charged.

SITE:

The Ministry of Information, the official spokesman of the Islamic State of Iraq, issued a message yesterday, Saturday, December 9, 2006, praising the victories of the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia. In the same language used for statements on Iraq, the group asks Allah to help the “brothers in the Islamic courts” resist the apostate government forces and establish an Islamic state. The group states, “We call upon Allah to enable the brothers there to break the spine of the apostates and their allies, and to establish the Islamic state on the land of Somalia, which Allah has glorified by jihad.”

Calling attention to Dinsor, a town in southwest Somalia, the message praises the victory there of the Islamic Courts Union over Baidoa-based government forces and their Ethiopian supporters.

Thousands of Islamic militants today surrounded the only town Somalia’s government controls, the prime minister said.

It came as a top Islamic official promised to attack within a week unless troops from neighbouring Ethiopia leave the country.