<\/a>Hundreds of protesters threw stones and chanted anti-government slogans in Mauritania’s capital after local media reported that Qurans were desecrated in a mosque.<\/p>\nA young man was killed during the protests after apparently\u00a0being hit by an exploding tear-gas canister, a hospital source said.<\/p>\n
A local government source confirmed the death but said the circumstances and cause were yet to be clarified, according to AFP news agency.<\/p>\n
The violence began after four people dressed in turbans were reported to have driven to a mosque in the north of Nouakchott and taken copies of the Quran to destroy.<\/p>\n
Local media reported that on Sunday night four people entered a mosque in the Teyaret neighbourhood and tore up Qurans and threw them on the floor. It was not immediately clear who was behind that attack or what their motive was.<\/p>\n
One of them “took four copies of the Quran which he shredded before throwing them in the toilet,” the local imam said.<\/p>\n
Police fended off a large crowd bound for the presidential palace shortly after midnight,according to Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n
Communications Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould Maham called for protesters to return home at a news conference on Monday.<\/p>\n
The country operates Islamic law courts but the death penalty has not been applied for blasphemy since the 1980s.<\/p>\n
A young Muslim is facing a possible death sentence after being convicted in January of apostasy and jailed for having written an article criticising the Prophet Muhammad.<\/p>\n
In February a man was arrested and sent for psychiatric evaluation after urinating on a Quran in northern Mauritania.<\/p>\n
President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who has been an ally of the west in its battle against al-Qaeda in the poor and unstable Sahel region, is up for re-election in June.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: Aljazeera<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hundreds of protesters threw stones and chanted anti-government slogans in Mauritania’s capital after local media reported that Qurans were desecrated in a mosque. A young man was killed during the protests after apparently\u00a0being hit by an exploding tear-gas canister, a hospital source said. A local government source confirmed the death but said the circumstances and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[14],"yoast_head":"\n
Protests in Mauritania over Quran desecration - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n