Somali Quiz Winners Get Anti-Tank Mines, Guns, Office Supplies

Oct. 19 Shaaficiyah Media

Contestants in Somali a quiz that included questions about the Koran and Somali geography were awarded AK-47 rifles, anti-tank mines and office supplies as prizes, an official from the Islamist al-Shabaab militia said. .

“We have decided to encourage our Muslim teenagers to learn more about weapons in order to participate in the ongoing battles against Allah’s enemy in Somalia,” Sheikh Abdul Hak, a leader of al-Shabaab, said in remarks broadcast on Kismayo-based Radio Andalus on Oct. 17. The prizes included hand grenades and office supplies such as laptop computers, he said.

Hak was speaking at a prize-giving ceremony for winners of the quiz, which took place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The contest, which was sponsored by al-Shabaab, was open to participants younger than 25.

Somalia’s government is facing attacks from two Islamist groups that have taken over much of a country that hasn’t had a functioning central government for 18 years.

shaaficiyah Media