SHARIA IN TIMBUKTU…AN UPDATE
http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/timbuktu-s-schools-open-but-under
-sharia-code-1-2280581
Timbuktu’s schools open – but under sharia code
Schools have reopened in Timbuktu for the first time since an Islamic
faction last month seized control of the fabled tourist outpost, where they
are now working to impose sharia law.
Thousands of residents, including the majority of the city’s Christian
population, fled the city in early April, when disparate rebel factions
invaded the northern half of Mali and declared independence.
Although the rebels initially claimed they were fighting for a separate
ethnic-Tuareg homeland, it soon became clear that an Islamic faction had the
upper hand in Timbuktu. They have since attempted to impose the strict
Islamic code, including the banning of alcohol.
Mahmoud Djitteye, a member of the school district in Timbuktu, yesterday
said schools had reopened with the blessing of Ansar Dine, the Islamic
faction whose fighters are garrisoned at Timbuktu’s main military camp.
Alpha Cisse, the father of a pupil, said the Islamists are separating the
sexes, with boys and girls alternating between morning and afternoon
classes. Certain subjects had also disappeared from the curriculum.
“We’re being told certain subjects will be forbidden, like the teaching of
philosophy and certain modules in biology, like the teaching of evolution,”
said Mr Cisse.
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