Burkina Faso’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has escalated his confrontation with influential Muslim scholars, declaring that “radical Islam” has no place in the country and warning that “the battle has begun” against those he accuses of promoting religious extremism. This widening rift marks a significant turning point for a military government that once relied on the tacit support of the country’s Sunni majority to bolster its legitimacy after seizing power in a 2022 coup.
Tensions reached a breaking point following the violent arrest of Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Ishaq Kindo, one of the country’s Sunni-Salafi scholars. Security forces reportedly stormed Kindo’s residence, injured several followers, and took the cleric to an undisclosed location. The arrest followed a sermon in which Kindo criticised a new government bill aimed at regulating religious freedoms.
In response to protests demanding Kindo’s release, the junta ordered the closure of Ouagadougou’s main Sunni mosque, citing risks of “public disorder”. Security forces used tear gas to disperse crowds, and about 100 of the imam’s supporters were detained and transferred to a military camp for what authorities termed “civic and citizenship training”.
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