Islamic Court in Somalia Degrees "Pray Five Times a Day or Lose Your Head"

Associated Press reported today that an Islamic court in Bulo Burto (a southern Somalia town about 124 miles northwest of the capital, Mogadishu) has decreed that, starting three days from now, residents of the town who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded. Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, the chairman of the town's Islamic court, told AP by phone, that those who do not follow this edict "will definitely be beheaded according to Islamic law. As Muslims, we should practice Islam fully, not in part, and that is what our religion enjoins us to do."

The decision is not binding on courts in other towns, but it does provide a glimpse into the type of Islam that is being forced upon the people of Somalia by the Council Islamic Courts who are seeking to wrest control of the entire country. There is still a degree of confusion as Islamic law is being applied in the country. As AP noted, the Islamic courts have made varying interpretations, some applying a more strict and radical version of Islamic law than others. As a result of such disparate variations, residents in the capital of Mogadishu complained, forcing the Council of Islamic Courts officials in October to set up an appeals court with better-educated judges.

Of course, such rulings as in Bulo Bruto do not take into account those who are not Muslims. Christians in Somalia are an endangered minority. Please remember them in prayer during these uncertain days.