Mogadishu, Aug. 4, 2006 – Islamic leaders in a town just outside the capital have banned "immoral and offensive" films, an official said today, increasing the reach of the strict form of Islam practiced by fundamentalist who have seized control of southern Somalia.

Outdoor theaters using digital projectors have become a popular form of entertainment in Somalia, but officials from the Supreme Islamic Courts Council have shut down many of them for showing films they have deemed immoral. The council has consolidated power over most of southern Somalia in recent months.

"Immoral and offensive films cannot be screened in cinemas," said Abdullah Jama Siyad, an official in Afgoye, 30 km northwest of Mogadishu. "We shall censor all films before they are viewed in cinemas."

The Islamic council is a coalition of local Islamic courts, each of which controls a specific area and can decide how to best interpret Islamic law. Others courts have banned movie viewing all together and some shut down theaters that showed broadcasts of international soccer's World Cup.

The council has established courts in most of southern Somalia, challenging the official, internationally backed government that controls only the central town of Baidoa, 240 km northwest of Mogadishu.

The government showed growing signs of imminent collapse yesterday after another Cabinet minister and two junior ministers resigned, bringing to 39 the number of defections over Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's handling of the standoff with the Islamic Council.

Source: AP

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