Mario Cruz gained rare access to the dark side of many Koranic schools in Senegal, known as daaras, and captured disturbing but stunning photographs of the lives of young boys subjected to slave-like conditions. The book Talibes Modern Day Slaves documents an alarming social condition for at least 50,000 young boys in Senegal aged between five and 15.

Koranic boarding schools in Senegal, known as daaras, traditionally give children between the ages of five and fifteen a religious education and teach them Arabic. But the schools are highly unregulated, and conditions in many are poor, with near-starving children living in overcrowded, unsanitary circumstances. The pupils, or talibés, are beaten and sometimes kept in chains for hours on end. Some are the victims of child-trafficking. Talibés are frequently made to beg on the streets for up to eight or nine hours a day, giving all they collect to their marabout (teacher).

The first picture is about a young talibé who is bound by chains in an isolation area of a daara in Touba, Senegal, May 2015. In this daara the youngest talibés are shackled by their ankles to stop them from running away. These children can stay like that for days, weeks, even months until they gain the marabout’s trust.

Click here to see more stories and photos: http://farabaleweekly.com/2017/01/03/talibes-mordern-day-slaves-a-photography-series-by-mario-cruz-that-will-break-your-heart/

No offense intended, but why is this synonymous with Islam? It's the same in the Northern part of Nigeria...the almajiris.