Chinguetti (2004)

Chinguetti, an ancient caravan town, once the starting point of the caravans to Mecca, surprised TARGET with special events:

There was Imam Abd Er-Rahim Haji (73), who wrote TARGET a fatwa in which he spontaneously declared the custom of female genital mutilation a sin after being persuaded by a doctor.

There was the mayor who declared Annette Weber and Rüdiger Nehberg honorary citizens of his community.

And there was the crowning glory of their stay in the desert: The two were allowed to stretch the fatwa of Grand Mufti Hamden Ould Tah in full on a five-meter banner in front of the ancient pilgrim mosque of Chinguetti!

The mosque is considered the seventh largest shrine in Islam. According to the imam and the mayor, not a single poster has ever been allowed to be hung on the sacred walls. For Annette and Rüdiger, this is a great vote of confidence in the TARGET strategy of using Islam to fight against mutilation.