Syria's new authorities are using Islamic teachings to train a fledgling police force, a move officers say aims to instill a sense of morality as they race to fill a security vacuum after dismantling ousted president Bashar Assad's notoriously corrupt and brutal security forces.
Police they brought into Damascus from their former rebel enclave in the northwestern region of Idlib are asking applicants about their beliefs and focusing on Islamic sharia law in the brief training they offer recruits, according to five senior officers and application forms.
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