I’m Steve Ember.
Muslim customs in Libya have also been in the news recently. Most people in that country are Sunni Muslims.
Recently, Libya’s top religious official, the Grand Mufti, declared that all women teachers must cover their faces when teaching young men. Sheikh Sadik Al-Ghariani did not say that unrelated men and women should never be in the same room together. But, he said the best idea would be to separate men and women at schools and universities.
His comments angered activists. One woman, named Nareen, says the Grand Mufti’s ideas take the country backwards.
“Well, I’m very upset. I think it’s, it’s a huge step back. It’s very sad to see that this is the way our education system is going. That they’re looking back into segregating women and men and children.”
Sheikh Sadik Al-Ghariani served as grand mufti when Moammar Gadhafi was Libya’s leader. Rebels re-appointed him to keep the position after Mr. Gadhafi was killed.
Traditionally, the Grand Mufti’s decisions do not have the force of law. But, they can shape government policies. And reformers like Nareen are worried that the Grand Mufti is helping make Libya more conservative.
“It’s a long-term political agenda, yes, of course. Because if you start with the education … When you want to change a nation you target education because you’re breeding the future generations. And so you target education because that then will… that’s when you are ingraining what the future will be. So by them targeting the schools, they’re sowing the seeds of the future they want.”
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25