Bombers coopt the 'symbol' of Mogadishu's National Theater
Mogadishu's National Theater has been used as a symbol in Somali politics and the western press, but others used it as a symbol of their own during Wednesday's bombing, writes a guest blogger.
Mogadishu's National Theater has been used as a symbol in Somali politics and the western press, but others used it as a symbol of their own during Wednesday's bombing, writes a guest blogger.
鈥� A version of this post ran on the author's blog, www.sahelblog.wordpress.com. The views expressed are the author's own.
Maybe Mogadishu is in the early stages of a renaissance. Maybe Somalia is still a very dangerous and unpredictable place, whose would-be government is still a mess mostly propped up by regional and international powers. Maybe both. The point about the theater is, though, that if you 鈥� as a government or a news outlet 鈥� want to use a symbol in making your political argument, then others might decide to use that same symbol in making their (very different) political argument.
Here is a roundup of references to the theater in the weeks leading up to yesterday's attack:
Tuesday, March 20 (Reuters):
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Wednesday, April 4 (New York Times):
Wednesday, April 4 (AP):
Only fifteen days elapsed between the re-opening and the bombing [of the National Theater]. What does the theater symbolize now? The fragility of the Somali government鈥檚 claims to progress, I would say.
鈥� Alex Thurston is a PhD student studying Islam in Africa at Northwestern University and blogs at Sahel Blog.
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