A group of young Somali musicians in exile is challenging the hardline al-Shabaab Islamists by recording anti-al-Shabaab songs set to hip-hop and rap. The al-Shabaab Islamists control large swathes of their homeland.

Their songs are recorded in Nairobi and find their way into Somalia on pirated CDs, on the radio or via internet, to the anger of the Shebab.

27-year-old Shino Abdullahi, head of the group Waayaha Cusub (New Era in the Somali language) says: "We're good Muslims. We pray five times a day. We go to the mosque, we fast. But we don't steal and we don't kill”, referring to abuses he says al-Shabaab is guilty of.

Al-Shabaab has imposed their own radical version of Islamic law, including dress regulations and public mutilations, on the parts of the country they control.

Message
Exiled in Kenya since childhood, the 10 musicians of Waayaha Cusub hope to be able to fight against the Islamist influence and get a humanist message through to the youth of their country.

The group was set up in 2004 and quickly caused a sensation both by attacking Somalia's warlords in its songs and by having women dance on stage in its clips.

For the past several months their attacks have centered on al-Shabaab, whom they have attacked in six songs and a DVD.

"You are supporters of Satan. You don't know what Sharia law is, nor even the five pillars of Islam," read the lyrics of the song "Terrorists".

The group invite their fans in Somalia to copy their CDs and distribute them.

"Some people in Somalia follow our music on Youtube. Others download it onto their mobiles," said Abdullahi.

Risky
Both activities are high-risk, particularly since al-Shabaab in April banned music on all of Mogadishu's radio stations.

21-year-old student in Mogadishu Udbi Hassan says: "My brother sent me a CD player and two Waayaha Cusub albums from Nairobi but I can't use it in public. If they see you with something like that they punish you”.

For security reasons the group make only the briefest of forays into their headquarters in Eastleigh, Nairobi's Somali quarter. They give appointments elsewhere in town, peeking out of a window whenever a car draws up outside.

"We're proud of showing that al-Shabaab is not untouchable, that you can criticise them and still stay alive," he said with a little smile.

source: AFP