Références (Bénin)

Academic Article

(Auto)biographie d'une conversion à l'islam : regards croisés sur une histoire de changement religieux dans le Bénin contemporain

This article recounts the conversion to Islam of El Hadj Akan Charif Vissoh, born in Benin to a Mahi (Fon) family following the traditional vodun cults and Catholicism. Co-written by the convert himself, later imam of Allada’s central mosque, and the chronicler of his conversion, it presents a life history, a conversion narrative, a "reformist" speech for the defense of converts to Islam in Southern Benin as well as a historical cum-anthropological analysis of this multilayered discourse. In a comparative perspective, the article also sheds light on the experiences of other converts to Islam in XXth century southern Ghana and southern Côte-d’Ivoire. The conclusion revisits the debates on religious conversion in Africa and beyond.

Academic Article

A Beninese Imam's Controversial 2019 Election Campaign: Muslim Leadership and Political Engagement in a Minority Context

In Benin, the general furor surrounding the 2019 legislative elections held without opposition parties caused many to overlook the fact that Ibrahim Ousmane, a wellknown imam from Cotonou, was ultimately elected to the National Assembly. His decision to run in the elections had sparked intense debates over political participation, the criteria used to select the community’s “legitimate” representatives, and, more broadly, the nature of Islamic religious authority in a minority context. In this article, I use the controversy that erupted in 2019 as a starting point for exploring disputes within Benin’s Muslim community and the dilemmas of Muslim minority politics. These disputes center on how its members can engage with national politics to promote their collective interests and maintain their political autonomy from the state. The crisis can also be understood in terms of a “generational” struggle for religious authority, in a context where there are competing sources of legitimacy.

Academic Article

A Muslim Minority and the Use of Media: Charismatic Aesthetics of the Ahmadiyya in West Africa

The minority status of the Ahmadiyya is linked to the doctrine of this movement, described by some as heterodox, by others as non-Islamic, but also in connection to their minority demographics, whether in Burkina Faso, the country under scrutiny here, or within the overall Muslim population. The article examines the special case of the Ahmadiyya to answer general issues regarding the transnational expansion of Muslim minorities and their use of media in the struggle for recognition and participation in national public spheres. The description of the iconographic aesthetics of this Muslim missionary minority, in particular the use of the portraits of the charismatic leaders, is used to analyse the challenges of its self-representation towards the Muslim majority worldwide. The analysis of Ahmadiyya's iconographic discourse highlights that the charismatic aesthetics makes individuals sense the power of the caliphate in their intimacy. It also emphasises the tensions related to their mediatised selfrepresentation.

Report

Acteurs religieux et politiques au Bénin, vers quelle tendance post-covid-19 ?

Effectuée dans le cadre d'un partenariat entre OSIWA et Timbuktu Institute African Center for Peace Studies, l’étude exploratoire sur les acteurs religieux face à la pandémie de COVID-19 en Afrique de l’Ouest vise à identifier les ressorts de la collaboration entre l’État et la religion dans la gestion des crises sanitaires de grande ampleur. Au Bénin, cette étude se justifie par le rôle fédérateur des énergies et des croyances que joue la religion, qui lui permet dans certaines circonstances d’élargir sa sphère d’influence, voire d’empiéter sur des plates-bandes qu’on croirait réservées à l’État. La religion au Bénin, qu’elle soit importée ou endogène, tisse et entretient des liens étroits avec le sommet de l’État, tout en tenant en haleine des milliers de fidèles. Ainsi, en contribuant aux côtés de l’État à faire prospérer les politiques publiques ou en contestant des décisions qui contrecarreraient la liberté de culte, les acteurs religieux constituent sans doute une force sociale avec laquelle il faut compter lorsque viennent les heures difficiles de prise en charge de situations sécuritaires ou sanitaires menaçant la vie de milliers de citoyens.

Chapter

Affirmations féminines islamiques dans les villes du Sud Bénin

Report

An Assessment of the Experiences and Vulnerabilities of Pastoralists and At-Risk Groups in the Atakora Department of Benin

Elva Community Engagement is proud to share its latest research: An Assessment of the Experiences and Vulnerabilities of Pastoralists and At-Risk Groups in the Atakora Department of Benin. This research was conducted under USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives’ Coastal West Africa Regional Initiative program. It brings together findings from over 190 key informant interviews and 270 focus group participants in northwest Benin, that examined the vulnerabilities of particular groups as they experience violent extremist organization (VEO) influence. Building on Elva’s previous research in Coastal West Africa and the Sahel, this report illustrates how violent extremism in Benin is now increasingly homegrown. The West Africa al-Qaeda alliance, known as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has deployed a dynamic recruitment and influence strategy in northwest Benin. The research found that pastoralists, unemployed youth, and migrants, figured prominently among the groups in the Atakora department that are at-risk of being targeted by VEO recruitment efforts. VEO propaganda is deliberately leveraging the local discontent created by Benin’s recent policy reforms to modernize its agro-pastoral industry and conserve the fragile ecosystem of the Park W-Arly-Pendjari complex. Economic development policies that seek to formalize crucial sectors of the economy like commercial agriculture and livestock production, in some cases unintentionally impact livelihoods of some of the most vulnerable groups. These reforms can increase competition over already scarce resources, and sometimes can exacerbate intercommunal tensions and escalate into violence. Increased local tensions are creating more opportunities for non-state actors, particularly VEOs, to exploit vulnerabilities, through circulating dis-/misinformation and the provision of alternative economic livelihoods. Nonetheless, the war against VEOs is by no means lost. Now is the time for thoughtful adaptation of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) responses in Atakora, and this research identified several recommendations that were tailored to the local context, based on needs identified in the primary research.

Report

AQIM's Imperial Playbook: Understanding al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb's Expansion into West Africa

In 2021, the United Nations noted the newfound threats of the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), a branch of al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), that extended into Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast, stretching farther yet into Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Had an observer in 2006 had this information presented to them, they might have scarcely believed it. That year, in which AQIM was formed, the group was a thoroughly North African organization and based primarily in Algeria. Fast forward 15 years, how did AQIM end up nearly 1,300 miles away, now posing immediate threats in the states of littoral West Africa? Relying on a combination of primary source jihadi propaganda and historical research, this report argues that over the past 30 years, al-Qa`ida and its branches and allies in North and West Africa have followed what this report calls “al- Qa`ida's Imperial Playbook,” as they have sought to expand their areas of influence southward. Al-Qa`ida's “playbook,” this report shows, is composed of five fundamental tactics: befriending or creating militant groups operating in the midst of conflict; integrating themselves into communities where those militants exist; exploiting grievances of those communities to gain sympathy; addressing internal or external dissent either passively or aggressively; and looking toward new theaters once their base is solidified. Al-Qa`ida has subsequently utilized this playbook to expand southward from its Algeria base in five distinct historical periods: from 1992- 1998; 1998-2006; 2006-2012; 2013-2017; and 2017-present. The report concludes that al-Qa`ida and its affiliates in northern and western Africa are likely to continue to use this playbook as they continue their contemporary expansion into West Africa.

Report

Beneath the Apparent State of Affairs: Stability in Ghana and Benin

The Potential for Radicalization and Political Violence in West Africa Crises in the Sahel (from Mali to southern Tunisia and Libya) and the regionalization of Boko Haram’s activities as far as the Lake Chad basin (Niger, Cameroon and Chad) are some of today’s worrying signals related to West African stability. The question of a potential broadening of this ‘arc of crisis’ to stable countries in the region, including Benin and Ghana, motivated research in the field conducted by the Clingendael Institute. In Accra and Tamale in Ghana, and in Cotonou and Porto-Novo in Benin, the research team looked into religious, historic, political and societal dynamics that may constitute elements of future (in)stability. New religious “ideologies” (Christian evangelism and/or Sunni revivalism), mixed with economic frustrations, have deeply impacted the traditional balance and make long‑term stability a challenge for most of the countries in the region, from Mali to the Horn of Africa. In this report Clingendael explores the specific ways the Ghanaian and Beninese actors are dealing with politics, identity and societal stress. We also identify the influence of external actors, from both the region and beyond, and potential spill over of nearby conflicts. Conclusion Clingendael comes to the conclusion that several issues, like border porosity, absence of a regional strategic approach to counter terrorism, youth frustration towards the elder’s political and economic monopoly, rural and urban disparities and rampant illiteracy are some of the regional aggravating factors that are conducive to the spread of extremist ideology and dividing behaviours. Our report can be considered as an early warning. What is urgently needed is early action.

Chapter

Benin

Northern and southern Benin (formerly Dahomey), which lie in different economic and cultural areas, have been traversed since early times by merchants and by the alfas (a local term for Islamic scholar) who accompanied them and introduced Islam. Islam arrived in the north beginning in the tenth/sixteenth century, or at the end of the eighth/fourteenth, but was not established permanently along the coast until the nineteenth century. Muslim merchants from the north are first mentioned, in 1116/1704, by the Chevalier des …

Report

Bénin - Togo : le combat contre les groupes armés ne peut en rien justifier les violations des droits humains

Les autorités du Bénin et du Togo doivent veiller à ce que les droits humains soient respectés dans le cadre de la lutte contre les groupes armés, a déclaré Amnesty International le 27 juillet alors que des informations font état d’arrestations et détentions arbitraires et de violations des droits à la liberté de réunion pacifique et d’expression, et alors que le président Emmanuel Macron effectue une visite au Bénin les 27 et 28 juillet 2022.

Report

Benin must target the illicit activities that enable violent extremism

Authorities should consult communities on how to break the ties between smugglers, hunters and violent extremist groups.

blog post

Benin's Approach to Fighting Jihadists Is Fueling the Cycle of Violence

Since 2021, the government of Benin has been battling a violent jihadist insurgency in the north of the country, fueled by a complex mix of political marginalization, religious ideology and long-simmering intercommunal conflicts. Unfortunately, in doing so, it is repeating the same tragic mistakes made over the past decade by its West African neighbors, Mali and Burkina Faso.

book review

Brégand (Denise). Commerce caravanier et relations sociales au Bénin. Les Wangara du Borgou

book review

Bregand Denise, 1999 - Commerce caravanier et relations sociales au Bénin. Les Wangara du Borgou

book review

Brégand, Denise. -- Commerce caravanier et relations sociales au Bénin. Les Wangara du Borgou. Paris-Montréal, L'Harmattan, 1998, 272 p., cartes, bibl. (« Sociétés africaines et diaspora »).

Report

Can Benin protect itself from terrorism in the region?

Surrounded by countries grappling with violent extremism, Benin needs to reduce its vulnerabilities at community level.

Thesis

Causes et gestion des conflits au sein des institutions religieuses : le cas de l'UIB

Academic Article

Circulation dans les "communautés" musulmanes plurielles du Bénin : catégorisations, auto-identifications

Cet article interroge les catégories employées pour caractériser l’islam à partir d’enquêtes anthropologiques au Bénin, en s’intéressant particulièrement à la catégorie « réformiste » et à sa variante « fondamentaliste ». Comment « les autres », autres musulmans, non-musulmans et chercheurs, catégorisent-ils ces croyants et militants de la « réislamisation » et comment ces acteurs s’auto-identifient-ils ? Sur le terrain, les classifications ne sont pas aussi tranchées ; dans le brouillage des catégories qui caractérise le champ de l’islam, des passerelles existent entre les différents courants, et certains croyants passent d’un mouvement à l’autre, à la recherche du groupe qui réponde à leurs désirs de religion et de sociabilité.

Report

Civilian-state security cooperation in Benin and Togo: a double-edged sword

Civilians can help defeat violent extremists, but their continued support depends on authorities guaranteeing their safety.

Thesis

Coastal Islam: Religion and Identity among Minority Muslims in the French Colonial City of Porto-Novo, 1889-1939

This study challenges commonly held notions that Islam in colonial societies was a monolithic religion and that Muslims universally self-identified as one population or umma. Instead I suggest that in colonial Porto Novo, religion was not the only defining or unifying feature of one's identity, but rather one element within a complex social structure more firmly centered on ethnic, commercial, and economic lines. Furthermore, the role of France in its colonies was complicated by the secularity of the public sphere which did not fall in line with policies that specifically targeted Muslim populations. These policies affected Porto Novan Muslims in French West Africa who were put under surveillance. In the high colonial era, the French administration readied itself for a larger pan-Islamic threat and fearing destabilization in its African territories. Yet, during this era, the Muslim populations of Porto Novo were synonymous with the merchant middle class. Thus, French colonial administrators had to contend with the fact that those on whom they relied to bolster the colonial economy were the same people they mistrusted and put under surveillance for practicing Islam. This same group of Muslims was also part of a wider Yoruba ethnic identity in addition to these economic and religious categories. Furthermore, French perceptions of the inter-ethnic divisions within the Muslim communities -those between the privileged Brazilian returnee group and the Yoruba- further complicated the way colonial society evolved in Porto Novo. I argue that through interactions with differing ethnic and religious African communities and the French colonial state and despite their minority status, Porto Novan Muslims significantly contributed to the modernization of their society. Through the histories of these marginalized populations, this dissertation explores how the interactions of minority populations of a shared faith negotiated their position in society through their reliance on a variety of identifying categories.

Academic Article

Cohabitations et concurrences religieuses dans le Golfe de Guinée : le Sud-Bénin, entre vodun, islam et christianismes

This text explore the forms of a religious pluralism abounding in South-Benin and its manifestations in an urban and frontier area crossed by many cultural influences. The contacts between vodun, Islam and Christianity are bound to the urban development for the last three centuries. In the last few decades, one attends a phenomenal flourishing of new churches in the urban area, dominated in number by the prophetic and Pentecostal movements. The absence of a political instrumentalisation of the religious identities is not doubtless alone to explain the durable and peaceful cohabitation between churches. The civil peace constitutes well the main economic resource of the Benin and politicians are used to protect it.

Book

Commerce caravanier et relations sociales au Bénin : les Wangara du Borgou

Le Borgou a été très tôt traversé par les pistes du commerce ouest-africain de longue distance. A partir des histoires de famille de commerçants et des traditions orales des griots confrontées aux sources écrites concernant l'Afrique occidentale, l'auteur retrace les migrations des Wangara, marchands de l'or, du sel, de la kola et des esclaves, et la manière dont s'est construite leur identité collective.

Report

Containing Militancy in West Africa's Park W

Insurgents have established bases in an important nature reserve spanning parts of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. They pose a growing danger to local ecosystems and people living around the park. The three countries need to collaborate more closely to keep the threat at bay.