Syrian Jihadist Group ISIS Takes Over Schools, Flogs Girls For Not Wearing Burqas…

Syrian Jihadist Group ISIS Takes Over Schools, Flogs Girls For Not Wearing Burqas…

Via Al-Shorfa:

Syrian residents living under the rule of the al-Qaeda-inspired “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) in al-Raqa suffer “daily oppression” and “crackdown on freedoms”.
With these words Mohammed al-Hallaq described the way he feels living under the rule of al-Qaeda-inspired ISIL in al-Raqa.
Other al-Raqa residents told Al-Shorfa they are barely able to provide daily bread for their families and that ISIL elements are imposing a strict lifestyle on residents which impacts all aspects of life, including education.
Al-Hallaq, a geography and history teacher, told Al-Shorfa that the educated who remain in al-Raqa fear the consequences of the control ISIL is exercising over the education system in the province.
“Some public schools opened their doors under the direct supervision or management of ISIL, and they use ISIL curricula, such as the Islamic School for Outstanding Students, whose students are selected from among the children of mujahideen, muhajireen and supporters, and whose staff of teachers and administrators are known for their full and complete adherence to religion,” he said.
“ISIL did not stop at taking control of school administrations,” he said. “It also conducts near-daily surprise inspections at schools, in particular at girls’ schools, in which women-staffed inspection teams enter school campuses to ensure the girls are dressed in Islamic clothing.”
Girls found in violation of the dress code are often punished with a flogging, a punishment also applied to school administrators for failing to monitor the dress code, al-Hallaq added.
ISIL’s “education committee” closely monitors all teachers working at schools in al-Raqa city and its countryside, arresting any teacher who does not conform to its educational and ideological agendas, he said.
On more than one occasion, al-Hallaq said, he himself has been interrogated about his views.
He also was asked to submit suggestions and comments on modifications to the curricula related to the Crusades and other historical and geographical information to match ISIL views, with special focus on Islamic conquests and the importance of the application of sharia, al-Hallaq added.
The shortfall in teachers, as many of them fled to other areas of the country or left Syria altogether, has thinned the teaching ranks, he said, necessitating the employment of a number of retired teachers.
Keep reading…