tens of thousands of boys are chained, beaten, and ill-treated in islamic schools in sudan, according to a secret investigation conducted by the bbc arabic channel.
these religious schools, which number about thirty thousand, and known as ‘khilwas’ (sudan’s islamic schools), are spread all over sudan, specialize in teaching male children to read, write and memorize the quran.
the television investigation, which was carried out over about year-and-a-half, included terrifying pictures inside 23 of these schools, as the bbc found systematic abuse in many of them, in which children, some not exceeding five years old, were chained and beaten by religious men – men who keep a watchful eye and monitor these schools.
one of the students reported to the channel’s undercover correspondent that the officials tied six or seven of them together with chains and forced them to run, and when they fell they beat them with whips, forced them to get up and run again.
the investigation report was published in all international and arab media outlets, including sudan and no one has protested against this heinous crime, but as soon as french president macron allegedly insulted islam and muslims, people in thousands of angry protesters poured onto the streets of khartoum.
what happened in the islamic schools of sudan happened was harsher and more ugly than it was in islamic schools in nigeria, dedicated to academic and morally weakness, and no demonstrations took place in protest against the insult to the dignity of these innocent children who fell into the hands of clerics without conscience or morals.
a few days ago, tariq ramadan (grandson of hassan al banna, who in 1928 founded the muslim brotherhood in egypt) was charged of rape for the fifth time. ramadan is considered the most important representative and preacher of the brotherhood in europe.
this coincided with a court verdict issued in kuwait against the head of a kuwaiti charity institution, who was found guilty of embezzling the funds of the institution. on the other hand, two kuwaiti lawyers filed a case against the head of an international charity, accusing him of stealing funds from donations of an islamic country.
all this was preceded by the discovery of the theft of money in societies controlled by those belonging to extremist religious islamic parties, run by senior members of the two sects, and i personally suffered great financial losses as a result of their crimes.
corruption has also affected almost all governmental religious institutions, including the moderation center and the qur’an printing authority, which after all the confusion and the scandals that revolved around them remains without work other than paying millions of dinars in salaries to their employees who have not succeeded until today, perhaps in printing one copy of the quran.
the purpose of all this talk is not to expose anyone or attack religious movements, for most of the parties opposing them are not less corrupt than them, but in order to show that we are all human beings and do mistakes.
it is dangerous to impose an aura of semi-sanctity and to consider them honest and should not be subjected to doubts or accusations, just because those who sport long beards or clerics, and they represent sanctity in the creed as if doubts about their biography will affect the religion and this is not true.
corruption is seen in religious establishments, and in various religions, and in any place and time without exception. the stories of thieving rulers in islamic history are the best evidence, and all of this did not prevent the religion from spreading and thousands embracing it.