tagged w/ Islamic Court Union
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Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel goes behind the scenes of the episode "American Jihadi" and shares the story of how he and Omar Hammami, a young man who now fights as part of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab, crossed paths in Somalia back in 2006. Christof also explains how he canvassed small town Daphne, Alabama, searching for anyone who would speak to him about the story--and ended up meeting Omar's best friend, Bernie Culveyhouse.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Wednesdays at 10/9c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel goes behind the scenes of the episode... more
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Correspondent Christof Putzel tweeted live commentary during the East Coast premiere of "American Jihadi."
+ @KajLarsen and I arrived in Mogadishu before the airport opened by hitching a ride from Nairobi on a World Food Program plane.
+ I was surprised to learn that a lot of people we met in Daphne had never heard of Omar Hammami. [Watch Christof's behind the scenes commentary.]
+ I hopped around bars + restaurants in Daphne for 3 days before I finally met someone who remembered Omar.
+ I hooked up with Bernie after meeting a waiter at a restaurant who had run into him at a Wal-Mart a few weeks earlier.
+ Omar had a reputation in Model UN of only choosing Muslim countries (such as Pakistan and Indonesia) to represent.
+ McMeans also included Omar’s name on tests she would give to her students, comparing Omar to Richard Reid, “the shoe bomber.”
+ Omar Hammami goes by the name Abu Mansour Al-Amriki. Al-Amriki means “the American.” [Watch a video about Omar's messages posted to internet forums.]
+ Bernie’s friends were disappointed that he’d found a new friend and was no longer interested in smoking pot and skipping school.
+ After 9/11, Omar condemned the terror attacks.
+ Omar and Bernie spent all their time studying Islam, sparking other Muslims in the community to mock them, nicknaming them “the Dixies.”
+ Since there were so few pictures of Omar we relied heavily on a few pictures of him we found in a Daphne High School yearbook.
+ Canada has one of the largest Somali populations in the West, with the census reporting 37,785 people claiming Somali descent.
+ I was surprised when after this interview the owner called me asking permission to sell bootleg copies of Mogadishu Madness in his store.
+ One of the best parts about hanging out with Bernie in Toronto was that he knew all the best Somali spots to eat!
+ Andrea Elliott wrote an excellent profile on Omar in the New York Times.
+ Sadiyo is an incredibly charming woman and we were honored that she granted us her first on-camera interview.
+ Sharon serves up a mean key-lime pie. While we were filming in Daphne, a Muslim gentleman from Toronto who Sharon had met online flew down to meet her and propose.
+ In Mogadishu Madness, you can see our first encounter with guys from Al Shabaab back when they were the military wing of the ICU.
+ Omar’s first hip hop track, “First Stop Addis,” can be heard in its entirety here: http://tinyurl.com/27gbl7c
+ In April, Omar released another video with Al Shabaab entitled, “Festival for the Children of the Martyrs.” [Watch an extended version of one of Omar's recruiting videos.]
+ Almost nobody in Toronto’s Somali community was willing to talk on camera about the men who allegedly left to join Al Shabaab.
+ Shirwa Ahmed earned the unique distinction of becoming the first American suicide bomber.
+ We were with Bernie and Sadiyo when news broke that one of the missing men was killed in Somalia fighting with Al Shabaab. [Watch a video about Al-Shabaab recruiting Westerners.]
+ Moe spent six months fighting alongside Al Shabaab in Somalia. He is starting an organization entitled Generation Islam dedicated to radicalizing young Muslims.
Watch a trailer for "American Jihadi" after the jump.Correspondent Christof Putzel tweeted live commentary during the East Coast premiere... more
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This week, most Somalian radio stations abruptly stopped playing music or international news programs.
According to the New York Times:
At least 14 radio stations...stopped broadcasting music on Tuesday, heeding an ultimatum by an Islamist insurgent group to stop playing songs or face "serious consequences." ...
The insurgent group, Hizbul Islam, issued its ultimatum 10 days ago and set Tuesday as the deadline to comply, saying that music was “un-Islamic.” In other parts of the country, insurgents have taken over or shut down some radio stations. Last week, the Shabab, the country’s most powerful insurgent group, said it was banning foreign programs like those broadcast by the BBC and Voice of America, calling them Western propaganda that violated Islam.
I interviewed the leader of Hizbul-Islam, Sheikh Hassan Aweys, back in 2006 when Kaj and I were in Somalia shooting "Mogadishu Madness" for Vanguard.
Back then he was the spiritual leader of the Islamic Court Union. In the piece, we covered his earlier attempts at helping the ICU implement Sharia law and the reaction from the Somali community when he did so.
We captured exclusive footage of the uneasy peace that prevailed, albeit briefly, and interviewed other Islamist leaders who held the city, exposing the stated goals and fears of people the U.S. government branded as terrorists.
Shortly after we returned to the U.S. to show viewers what we had seen, Ethiopian troops, backed by U.S. forces, invaded Somalia and drove the Islamists into hiding. The country returned to a state of war. In retrospect, was the U.S. justified in backing Ethiopia to invade Somalia so they could overthrow the Islamic government that Aweys had helped establish?
Things certainly got a whole lot worse. As a journalist, of course I cringe at the idea of banning a free press. But if 20 years of fighting has taught us anything, its that its time to start thinking outside the box when it comes to bringing stability to Somalia.
I wonder if Aweys would grant us an interview today or if we’d be banned along with the rest of the press. Certainly makes me look at this whole radio ban differently.This week, most Somalian radio stations abruptly stopped playing music or... more
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Vanguard correspondents Christof Putzel and Kaj Larsen first ventured to
Somalia in the summer of 2006 during a brief period of fragile stability.
They discovered that peace reigned in the capital for a few weeks after 15
years of bloody civil war in what the world labeled a failed state.
Shortly after they left the country, however, Ethiopian forces backed by US
air power invaded Somalia to drive the ruling Islamic Court Union out of the
capital, Mogadishu. Somalia plunged back into war.
Threatened by renewed violence and devastating poverty, countless Somalis
once again fled their homes in search of peace and security. Tens of
thousands try to escape in small boats across the dangerous Gulf of Aden. As
Christof and Kaj found on a return to the region, many don't make it, and
those who do face an uncertain future in the vast, alien desert of Yemen.
Vanguard is Current TV's award-winning documentary series. Whether it's half a world away or in our own backyard, Vanguard goes there to bring you stories about the most important issues of our time. Led by reporters Laura Ling, Christof Putzel, Mariana van Zeller, Adam Yamaguchi and Kaj Larsen, Vanguard airs on Wednesday at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific and can be found online at current.com/vanguard.Vanguard correspondents Christof Putzel and Kaj Larsen first ventured to
Somalia in... more
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Kaj
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added this
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2 years ago
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