TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A Tunisian university dean says a group of people armed with swords and knives entered his school and threatened staff after they refused to enroll students wearing Islamic face veils. Moncef Ben Abdeljelil of Sousse University's school of humanities said on Jawhara FM radio that four people entered the school Thursday, threatening to cut his throat.
Abdeljelil said that after an initial panic, students and professors persuaded the four to leave peacefully. Abdeljelil said the incident occurred after he refused enrollment to two students wearing the niqab, an Islamic face veil covering all but the eyes. He said he respects students' religious convictions but that the veil goes against the "civic rules" of the university. Such incidents are rare in the moderate Muslim country.
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