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Rabat – Police in the northern Moroccan city of Tangier have reacted to public outrage after a video went viral of an imam beating children in a Quran school.
A statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) said that police arrested the 44-year-old imam on Tuesday for exposing children to acts of deliberate violence.
The video shows the man in a traditional black outfit holding a long stick and beating children violently.
DGSN said the man was arrested following the spread of a video on social networks, with the footage showing the imam of a mosque located in the Bab Taza district in Tangier using violence against children who attend traditional education classes.
The graphic footage documented a man in his twenties assisting the imam by carrying children and holding their feet tight while the imam beat them. The practice is called “falakah” in Arabic and it was traditionally used as a form of punishment if a child failed to do their homework.
Police have put the suspect in custody pending further investigation into the case.
The video created debates and sparked outrage among Moroccan internet users, with many strongly condemning the use of violence in school.
Several videos have gone viral recently showing similar acts of violent beating at traditional Quran schools.
In 2019, a video went viral on social media of a Quran teacher beating one of his students.
Morocco criminalized the use of physical violence and insults against students in 1999.
In notice n° 807/99, made public on September 23, 1999, Ismail El Alaoui, then Minister of National Education, urged teachers to “avoid using any form of physical or psychological violence against pupils.”
