Mauritania: Student accused of blasphemy

BBC News reported on 27 July 2023 that a nineteen year old female high-school student was arrested on 18 July and charged with blasphemy over an exam paper she submitted. The BBC states: “The official announcement of the arrest comes after the country's religious authorities decreed that people found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad should face the death penalty.” According to Barrons reporting on 27 July 2023, the student’s examiner made the accusation on social media, but posted an illegible picture of the exam paper in question. The family of the young woman have already issued a statement asking for forgiveness, while stating that she is “mentally ill”.

World Watch Research analyst Michael Bosch comments: “The case remains somewhat of a mystery since the authorities have not revealed what the student actually wrote. However, it has been reported she belongs to the Haratin ethnic group, the Mauritanians who are descendants of slaves and are the most marginalized group in Mauritania (Minority Rights Group International, accessed 28 July 2023). Interestingly, there was a blogger who was sentenced to death in 2014 for writing an article against the continuing forms of slavery and discrimination in Mauritania and was accused of blasphemy . He was released in 2019 following an appeal and after making a public apology (BBC News, 30 July 2019). It is unlikely that the student will face the death penalty, especially since the case has now received international attention. However, Mauritanian society is very unforgiving towards such accusations. In previous cases, the accused were forced to relocate outside the country following their release, but they were men. The student’s gender might make relocation more difficult and vulnerable to attacks by Islamic extremists.”

Michael Bosch concludes: “Although we do not know what the student wrote, her case is another example of how there is virtually no place at all for those with religious views that differ from those of orthodox Islam in Mauritania. For Mauritian Christians from a Muslim background, it will serve as another warning not to be open about their faith.”