Mauritania: Blasphemy Case Raises Islamist Ire
| Publisher | Jamestown Foundation |
| Author | Alexander Sehmer |
| Publication Date | 10 November 2017 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 21 |
| Cite as | Jamestown Foundation, Mauritania: Blasphemy Case Raises Islamist Ire, 10 November 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 21, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a0d677a4.html [accessed 3 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Link to original story on Jamestown website
Mauritania's efforts to curtail Islamist extremism have seen success in recent years, but protesters calling for a blogger to be put to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed show that tensions continue to simmer.
The blogger in question, Mohamed Ould Mkhaitir, was arrested back in 2013 after he posted an article on Facebook in which he invoked the Prophet in a post critical of the country's caste system (Entalfa, December 17, 2014; Agoravox, December 31, 2014). He was put on trial for blasphemy in 2014 and sentenced to death, though Mkhaitir was able to press his case through a series of appeals (PressAfrik, November 8). On November 9, a court reduced his sentence to a two-year jail term, meaning he will now be allowed to go free (News 24, November 9).
Mkhaitir's trials have repeatedly drawn conservative crowds (New Arab, November 16, 2016). His return to court this month prompted protests once again from Mauritania's Islamists in the capital of Nouakchott and in the city of Nouadhibou, were the case was begin heard.
Picked up by Western rights groups, Mkhaitir's case has received some international attention, but it has also polarized groups inside Mauritania — liberals who publicly supported the blogger have reportedly received death threats from groups claiming to be "protectors" of the Prophet's name (Entalfa, June 11, 2014).
Despite the anger of the country's conservatives, however, Mauritania has moved away from the Islamist violence that dogged it between 2005 and 2011, when it faced repeated attacks by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Since then, concerted efforts at home and a greater engagement with its neighbors and the West in the battle against Islamist terrorism in the Sahel region have made a significant impact.
The threat from violent Islamists remains. At least 55 Mauritanian jihadists are fighting with AQIM, according to sources quoted in the State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism 2016. Mauritanian authorities have also in the past rounded up suspected Islamic State supporters inside the country (AllAfrica, October 15, 2014).
Last month, Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, the al-Qaeda alliance in neighboring Mali, released a 25-minute video showing men confessing to spying for the Mauritanian intelligence service (SITE, October 9).
Mauritania's efforts to tackle extremism have paid off, but the protests around Mkhaitir's trial are a reminder of a continued potential threat.
