Mohammed al-Shafiri....COME ON DOWN!!!

BBC News is reporting that a quiz contest was held in Somalia during the month of Ramadan. The top prize? A rifle, two grenades, an anti-tank landmine, a computer, and $1,000 in office supplies. The winners, from the Farjano district of the port city of Kismayo where the contest was held, were all young men. Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?

The contest, sponsored by the al-Shabab militant Islamic group, tested the knowledge of these young men on topics such as the Koran and Somali geography. They gotta know where they're going on their next Sharia-law-imposing mission, right? Can't have them wandering the desert with no one to convert.

A representative for al-Shabab said that the quiz was intended to keep young men from wasting their time and instead focus on defending their territory. Heaven forbid they actually enjoy their childhood. They blow up so fast! And why were they given such great prizes for their hard work?

"The reason the young men were rewarded with weapons is to encourage them to participate in the ongoing holy war against the enemies of Allah in Somalia," AFP news agency quoted al-Shabab's Sheikh Abdullahi Alhaq as saying at Friday's prize-giving ceremony.

No need to worry about the losers of the quiz feeling bad. Their consolation prizes for their hard work were AK-47's and ammo. Hey...everyone's a winner.

Al-Shabab and other Islamist rebels accused of having links to al-Qaeda dominate much of southern and central Somalia, where they have imposed strict Sharia law.

Where is the outrage on the part of the international community? Amnesty International and the United Nations are eerily silent. They'll whine like a set of bad brakes over kids helping their families by working, but why no uproar about this? These boys in Somalia are being indoctrinated and used by radical Muslims to do their dirty work. That seems like a far cry from some kid weaving rugs in India. I forgot. This is the "religion of peace" we're talking about. It's different.

I have no problem with young, responsible kids receiving rifles as presents. In the past few years, Noah has gotten a few to hunt with. THAT, in our eyes, is not only a necessity but tradition. In years past, young men (and more recently young girls) have received hunting rifles to encourage the tradition of self-sufficiency through hunting. The difference between this and al-Shabab? My kid isn't going on a mission to kill as many non-Chrisitans as possible.

The perpetuation of using kids to do the "grunt work" within the radical Muslim community needs to stop. If these nutjobs believe in their mission so much, why aren't they doing the work themselves? Or, at the very least, sending their OWN children to commit these heinous acts? It's every bit exploitation of children as using children around the world to satisfy the sexual perversion of some sick freaks.

Sorry, but if I got a 11-year-old jihadi or gang banger pointing a gun at me, I'm firing first. Then I'm going to reload and wait for those who used innocent children as a pawn in their real-life game of Risk.