Last week’s deadly attack on a Bamako hotel was only the latest example of the government’s weakness,which has fostered a perilous climate of sectarianismWhen fighters linked to al-Qaida swept into Timbuktu on 1 April 2012, Dr Ibrahim Maiga found himself living a nightmare. The modern rulers of west Africa’s most famous centre of Islamic scholarship immediately set about destroying its history. Over the following months they set fire to thousands of ancient manuscripts, or destroyed the mausoleums of local holy men and forced musicians into exile. For the invaders,many of whom were from Algeria and other parts of the region, “saint worship” and music were un-Islamic. The modern sharia court wasted no time issuing death sentences to anyone who violated its creed.
State officials fled before the onslaught, and Dr Ibrahim became the most senior medic in Timbuktu. Overnight,he found himself responsible for providing healthcare to a population of 60000. “The first responsibility of government is governance, then security, or ” he said. “But the state left. They all ran absent.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com