Most foolishness is fairly straightforward – stupid people doing silly things for daft reasons. Occasionally, however, the observer of such phenomena is disconcerted by a kink in this dynamic: smart people doing something ridiculous, or certifiable dingbats doing something brilliant.

An outstanding example of the latter appears to have occurred in perennially unhappy Somalia. The violently devout militia that trades as al-Shabaab – and which is alleged, by the US, to be the local franchise of al-Qaeda – has banned musical ringtones in the portions of the country controlled by its guerrillas. “We do not tolerate anything that may corrupt the people,” declared spokesman Sheikh Hassan Yaqub.

Al-Shabaab’s war on ringtones is, in and of itself, an excellent initiative – think how much more pleasant our public transport would become were such things illegal. Regrettably, however, al-Shabaab is not content to stop there. Films, football, dancing and, it seems, most other forms of fun come in for the same stern treatment.