297 items

• "Dieu a dit que l'arrangement est mieux que la shari'a" : autour du mariage civil au Burkina Faso
• "Les catholiques sont l'élite!" : représentations de l'espace politique par une minorité religieuse au Burkina Faso
  L'Église catholique occupe une position privilégiée dans l'espace religieux burkinabé. Ayant très tôt investi l'espace public du pays, elle constitue un acteur incontournable dans le paysage socio-politique du pays comme l'attestent son implication dans les domaines de l'éducation et de la santé et son positionnement comme médiateur lors de périodes de crise. Reposant sur une enquête de terrain menée auprès de membres de la communauté catholique (membres du clergé, religieux et laïcs), cet article étudie la façon dont les catholiques burkinabé se représentent en tant que communauté religieuse dans l'espace politique du pays. Il révèle qu'au Burkina Faso, les catholiques se représentent comme une minorité religieuse dominante sur le plan politique en raison de leur implication sans commune mesure dans l'appareil d'État. L'article montre aussi que les catholiques burkinabé voient leur position dominante être menacée, d'une part, par la concurrence des protestants et, d'autre part, par la montée de l'islamisme.
• "Political" Islam in Senegal and Burkina Faso: Contrasting Approaches to Mobilization since the 1990s
  This article compares the strategies devised by two Salafi-oriented Islamic associations, the Senegal's Jamaatou Ibadou Rahmane (JIR) and the Burkina Faso's Mouvement Sunnite (MS). Drawing on extensive field research conducted between 2002 and 2013, it shows that both organizations have been engaged since the 1970s in a similar legitimacy-building process, using contrasting strategies. The JIR intends to build a more constructive relationship with the State and the brotherhoods, while still continuing to cast a critical eye on these two groups. In Burkina Faso, recurring leadership crises and violent incidents has sapped a great deal of the MS's energy. It therefore has to regain visibility and legitimacy by maintaining a certain distance from political debates. The comparison shows that political Islam has entered in both countries a transitional phase that took into account the emergence and perhaps even the consolidation of a cultural and religious form of citizenship.
• A Course Correction for the Sahel Stabilisation Strategy
  Since 2013, when it sent troops to Mali, France has led international efforts to root out Islamist militancy from the Sahel. Yet the jihadist threat has grown. Paris and its partners should reorient their military-centred approach toward helping improve governance in the region.
• 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.
• A review of 60 years of scholarship on religions in Burkina Faso
  The article, in a chronological manner, presents the academic literature from the initial studies on religions in Burkina Faso in the late 1950s to the present and according to the different subjects covered. The first part dis-cusses the classical works of anthropology of religion, the second part deals with historians' publications on pro-cesses of Islamisation and Christianisation in Burkina Faso. Finally, a third part analyses the publications that focus on religious diversity and contemporary religion as well as the comparative studies of Burkina Faso with other countries in the sub-region. The last part addresses the issue of radicalisation and its reception in research in religions in Burkina Faso. The common thread that runs through the different parts is the emphasis on the interactions between the political and religious situation of the country, researchers' interests and global interest in relations between Muslims and Christians. By way of conclusion, the article proposes a set of questions and initial interpretations that constitute opportunities for further research and new paths of exploration.
• 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.
• Acteurs religieux et la gestion de la pandémie à Covid 19 au Burkina Faso
  Malgré la modernisation, l’Afrique et particulièrement le Burkina Faso reste une société à dominance rurale ancrée sur des valeurs traditionnelles et religieuses. Ces valeurs sociales mettent l’accent sur les valeurs communautaires où le groupe prime sur l’individu. Quant à la religion, au Burkina Faso, les différentes communautés religieuses ne vivent pas simplement côte à côte mais vivent ensemble. Les leaders de ces différentes communautés religieuses sont bien imprégnés de ce qui se passe au sein de la société car étant en contact permanent avec la population. S’intéresser aux comportements des religieux dans la crise à Covid 19 revête un intérêt particulier. En effet, eu égard à leur rôle stratégique au sein de la société, ils constituent des partenaires clés pour les autorités dans la mise en œuvre des politiques publiques surtout celles sanitaires. Cette étude a analysé la contribution et l’implication des acteurs religieux à la prévention de la covid 19 au Burkina Faso. Cette analyse s’est fondée sur des entretiens directs avec des personnes clés, la recherche documentaire et elle a permis de tirer des conclusions et formulé des recommandations.
• Action sociale et espace public : l'Église catholique et les associations musulmanes à Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) (1983-2010)
  Depuis 1983, des problèmes économiques récurrents ont amené le gouvernement burkinabé à solliciter l'aide de divers acteurs dans l'arène du développement. Impliqués à maints degrés dans les secteurs de l'éducation et de la santé, les religieux catholiques et musulmans poursuivent leurs actions à Ouagadougou avec plusieurs objectifs de nature humanitaire, prosélyte, socio-économique et politique. Ces visées permettent d'observer la capacité ou non d'agency de ces groupes religieux et de mesurer leurs dynamiques dans l'espace public. L'enseignement secondaire et les établissements de soins de santé confessionnelle nous permettent aussi d'appréhender la complexité des enjeux et des relations avec l'État. L'implication sociale des religieux influence le pouvoir de négociation qu'ils disposent au sein de l'espace public vis-à-vis de l'élite politique. Toutefois, chaque confession tire profit de ses activités différemment : l'Église catholique étant avantagée par une position établie dans l'action sociale, alors que les associations islamiques tentent de faire reconnaître davantage leur implication auprès du gouvernement.
• Ahmadiyya and Development Aid in West Africa
• Al-Hajj Marhaba Saganogho (1891-1981) : la quête de positionnement d'un lettré musulman à Bobo-Dioulasso
• Ansaroul Islam and the Growing Terrorist Insurgency in Burkina Faso
  Since last year, jihadi attacks in northern Burkina Faso have been steadily on the rise. These have largely been attributable to a newly established but understudied jihadi group, Ansaroul Islam, which has its roots in the ongoing insurgency in Mali and is linked to al-Qa`ida's network in the Sahel. Its budding insurgency greatly threatens the security of Burkina Faso and neighboring countries. State responses to the violence have been heavy-handed, which only furthers the cause of Ansaroul Islam.
• Assessing Violent Extremism: The case of Burkina Faso
• Autonomie politique et diffusion de normes morales dans l'espace public burkinabè : l'exemple d'une juridiction musulmane de proximité
• Autour de mosquées à Ouagadougou et à Dakar : lieux de sociabilité et reconfiguration des communautés musulmanes
• Between God, Sankara, and Good Governance: Meanings of Moralization among Religious Youth in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
• Burkina Faso : un terreau pour la propagation du conflit malien?
  Ce rapport établit d'une part une comparaison et une interconnexion entre l'évolution du conflit au Mali à la suite des Accords de paix de Bamako, signés en 2015, et la propagation des dynamiques conflictuelles au Burkina Faso. Il présente d'autre part les enjeux sociaux, économiques et politiques propres au Burkina Faso et contribuant au délitement de la situation sécuritaire de ce pays. Ce rapport présente l'accumulation de griefs et de frustrations, subis et exprimés par les populations agro-pastorales des régions burkinabè du Sahel et de l'Est, comme le principal moteur de la rupture avec les représentations de l'autorité étatique. Cette rupture constitue le point d'ancrage au Burkina Faso pour les groupes armés transnationaux et les protagonistes du conflit malien. L'instrumentalisation des conflits locaux préexistants, qu'ils soient issus de la restriction sur l'accès aux ressources naturelles ou des luttes locales sur la distribution du pouvoir, permet alors aux groupes armés l'implantation de petites katibas, des cellules de combattants, et d'étendre le conflit armé au territoire burkinabè. Le climat d'insécurité croissant conjugué au retrait de l'autorité étatique dans les régions burkinabè du Sahel et de l'Est a créé en retour un vide régalien comblé par les réseaux criminels transnationaux et le banditisme sur lesquels s'appuient les groupes armés pour étendre leur influence et leur contrôle territorial. Ce rapport présentera ces enjeux en revenant dans un premier temps sur la propagation des violences au Burkina Faso, puis sur la rupture marquée entre les régions victimes de l'insécurité et le centre de l'État, avant d'ouvrir une réflexion sur la stigmatisation ethnique et le risque d'une généralisation des violences communautaires.
• Burkina Faso Crisis Continues to Spiral
  Following two military coups d’état in 2022, militant Islamist groups in Burkina Faso have moved to encircle Ouagadougou leaving a trail of unprecedented violence in their wake.
• Burkina Faso's Alarming Escalation of Jihadist Violence
  Attacks on the Burkina Faso army headquarters and the French Embassy on 2 March 2018 were better organised, involved heavier weapons and were more sustained than anything seen so far in Burkina Faso. In this Q&A, our West Africa Program Director Rinaldo Depagne says the jihadist assault further exposes worrying weakness in the Burkinabé security forces.
• Burkina Faso, Islam and Politics in
• Burkina Faso: Armed Islamists Kill, Rape Civilians
  Army, Militia Respond with Summary Executions, Enforced Disappearances.
• Burkina Faso: Preserving the Religious Balance
  In a troubled region, Burkina Faso is a rare example of religious​ diversity and​ tolerance​.​ But a perceived discrepancy between a significant number of Muslims and their low level of public representation has created tensions. To safeguard Burkina's model of peaceful coexistence, the government must address this sensitive issue through careful reforms, particularly in the education system.​
• Burkina Faso: State and Religious Authority in Turbulent Times
  For most of its modern history, Burkina Faso avoided intervening in the religious sphere. According to its constitution, Burkina Faso is a secular state that protects religious freedom, and individuals can choose and change their religion freely. While its Christian minority dominated the state system and government, nonintervention by a largely Christian administration helped preserve a delicate sociopolitical balance and avoid Muslim-Christian antagonism. As a result, the state has largely avoided imposing institutional restrictions, such as registration requirements for places of worship, state licensing of preachers, or imposing state control of religious schools or curricula. This gave religious institutions and movements widespread freedoms to operate. Part of the state's relaxed attitude toward religious regulation stemmed from the fact that until fairly recently, secular actors were the most potent threat to governmental authority. In the cities, civil society organizations and trade unions often defied state authority and overthrew governments. In rural areas, chiefs and local authorities positioned themselves as alternative power centers to the central government. The prevalence of secular opposition meant that the state paid less attention to challengers from the religious sphere.
• Burkina Faso: gestione dei conflitti e dialogo islamo-cristiano
  
  Il volume descrive le pratiche di dialogo e gestione dei conflitti nella regione saheliana del Burkina Faso, dove l'Union Fraternelle des Croyants, una ONG multi-confessionale, ha avviato una collaborazione proficua tra le comunità musulmane e cattoliche per promuovere lo sviluppo del territorio. E' delineato un quadro della variegata società burkinabè attraverso la sua storia, la sua composizione etnica e religiosa, un'analisi delle problematiche in atto e dei metodi di gestione del conflitto a disposizione dei cittadini. Il Burkina Faso può infatti rappresentare un esempio positivo di coabitazione pacifica tra etnie e religioni, nonostante le sue difficili condizioni climatiche ed economiche.
• CONSTRUCTING A MUSLIM PUBLIC SPHERE IN BURKINA FASO - La construction d'une sphère publique musulmane en Afrique de l'Ouest. By Frédérick Madore. Laval, Canada: Presses de l'Université Laval, 2016. Pp. viii + 208. $29.95, paperback (ISBN: 978-2-7637-2811-7)