Flogging Women In Mali

"The problem, of course, is not unique to the Maghreb. In West Africa, northern Mali became Al Qaedastan in 2012, with ruling jihadist groups like Ansar Dine (Protectors of the Faith) destroying centuries-old Muslim holy sites in Timbuktu yet provoking nowhere near the global Muslim outrage as Terry Jones’s pathetic attempts at Qur’an burning.  The young militants reportedly screamed, “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) while descending on the remains of Sufi saints. In October 2012, reports surfaced at the United Nations that Islamist groups were “compiling lists of unmarried mothers,” suggesting that these women were at risk of stoning or flogging. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, herself of Muslim heritage, denounced the actions of Ansar Dine as possible war crimes. 9 A Malian academic calls his country the “testing ground” of Al Qaeda’s strategy for the region. 10 Until French, African, and Malian troops intervened in January 2013, Afghan, Pakistani, and Algerian jihadis reportedly flocked to this safe haven while the international community watched. Meanwhile, unarmed sectors of the local populace protested regularly, receiving little international attention."
(Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories From The Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism. Karima Bennoune)