Arson at Moroccan High School: Over 200 Philosophy Books Destroyed in Library Fire

An unusual and surprising event at the Al Khawarizmi high school last weekend. More than 200 books on science, philosophy and literature, and portraits of renowned philosophers - such as Averroes, Emmanuel Kant, Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre - hanging on the walls of the school library were burned by fire. "The intrusion must have occurred on Saturday or Sunday night when the establishment was empty," recounts TelQuel Redouane Bouimtghane, the professor in charge of this library, which helps students strengthen their level of knowledge and instruction.

"A single Arabic book was spared, and it bore the title ’Sadr al islam’ (’The Origins of Islam’)," he noted after resuming his duties on Tuesday, December 14. Part of the damaged fencing and the ashes of the burned books and other portraits were found on the outskirts of the school grounds by the security guards.

Is this an act directed against Professor Bouimtghane? "I have no enmity with anyone, nor any hatred for any ideology whatsoever. [...] I have no reason to think it was an act directed against me," he says, noting that "historically, the rural center of Talsint has never been known to harbor one of the obscurantist currents". He also assures that his relationship with his students is "very normal".

Alerted, the gendarmerie elements went to the scene. They found fingerprints that "turned out to be those of minors," says Redouane Bouimtghane. The investigation continues to identify the perpetrators of this act of vandalism.