Sidi Yahya isn't the only historical site to be tampered with or even demolished by these men. Ansar Dine is a group of Muslims in charge of all of this destruction. Their name, meaning defender of the faith, makes it clear what their intentions are. Their main cause is to preach the strict form of Islam, advocating such things as a total ban on alcohol, the flogging of adulterers and the imposition of Shariah, or Islamic law. Two years ago, the islamist group of Ansar Dine set off on a campaign to stop anything that could be an example of western influence. This Included the religious tolerance that the Northern part of Mali so dutifully practices. Going after these monuments was another way of attempting to banish any part of Timbuktu that ever accepted broad minded Islamic teaching.
As a result to these violent outbursts, many Malians took refuge in neighbouring areas like Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso. Though they were welcomed, this also triggers a refugee crisis along its unstable borders, causing small outbursts and chaos.
It is said that "there is absolutely no order in the north of Mali” (Mark, 2012) and considering that there is no authority and the territory is so vast it is also "very worrying for Mauritania, and worrying for the entire region” (Mark, 2012). The french and Malian troops have been able to keep peace within the country, and reach an agreement with the Islamist group. This has helped to not cause further outbreak, but the damage from their many outbreak in the past has left a scar on Northern Malian
people that will not be easily healed.
Along with the worry of violence and danger within Timbuktu, as I touched on above, there is another very important issue on the line. That is the safety of Northern Mali's history and culture. Mali has always been a hub for trading of many types. The Islamic religion was brought into Northern Mali through this trading during the fourteenth century. Before this the religion was based around a group of spirits.
Roughly two years ago on an early Monday morning, many men, women, and children of Mali knelt at the foot of Sidi Yahya in silent prayer. This mosque is one of the oldest in Northern Mali;; it has been standing for over a century. Yet to the dismay of many citizens, this particular morning brought bad luck upon this historical building. A handful of men riding in two trucks, carrying shovels and wearing turbans, arrived at the Sidi Yahya Mosque at sunrise. These men took to the mosque, and after forty minutes of slashing, smashing and splitting, the symbolic door guarding the opening to the mosque had been completely disabled. This door was purposely targeted because there is a superstition, not accepted by the Islamic religion, that once this door is disabled, the world will come to an end. The muslims do not share this belief, and therefore wanted to get rid of this so called myth altogether. It affected the city of Timbuktu greatly, as one citizen Mr. Baba solemnly states: "“The door was on the ground. It has been there for more than a century. The entire city of Timbuktu is shocked” (Nossiter, 2012).
Tomb in Timbuktu