Somalia’s al-Shabaab group has banned ‘Samosas’ after ruling the popular snacks are ‘offensive’ and too Christian.
Militant Islamist fighters last week used vehicles mounted with loudspeakers to announce the bizarre ruling across the regions of the war-torn country it controls. The extremist group has offered no official explanation for the ban on the triangular snacks, which are commonly cooked up and served across the Horn of Africa.
‘Offensive’: The Samosa is said to upset militant Islamists due to a supposed resemblance to the symbol of the Christian Holy Trinity. The bizarre ban comes just days after militants linked to al Qaeda in Somalia refused to let some aid workers into the country as tens of thousands suffered in the nation’s massive famine.
Aid groups including the UN Food Programme say they were not given permission by militants to provide aid in the country, where it has been warned that 800,000 children could die from starvation.
Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper reported that residents of the Somali town of Afgoye, 20 miles south of the capital Mogadishu, had confirmed the Samosa ban had been imposed. The fried snacks, usually filled with spicy meat or vegetables, have been served for centuries in the East African country and is also popular in South Asia, especially Pakistan and India.
But the newspaper said locals believed al-Shabaab leaders had decided the triangular shape was not compatible with their strict version of Islam. The unexpected move means Somalis could now expect to be punished if caught cooking, buying or eating Samosas, known locally as sambusas. The ban is the latest in a string of authoritarian rulings introduced by al-Shabaab, a violent Islamist organisation linked to al Qaeda and classified by several countries as a terrorist group.
Samosa banned
