Al-Qaeda's West Africa affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has evolved from a shadowy forest militia into a regional menace, analysts said.
As the group expands across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, exploiting collapsing governance and security vacuums, it has systematically destroyed schools, suppressed freedoms and replaced government structures with extremist rule.
While JNIM seeks to fuel its expansion by claiming to defend Islam, religious scholars insist that the group's ideology and actions represent a fundamental betrayal of the faith.
Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have turned Islam, "a religion of peace, compassion and coexistence, into a tool for terror, violence and power grabs," said religious scholar Mawlawi Mohiuddin Yaqubi, who is based in Mazar-e-Sharif.
"Islam does not permit the killing of innocent people," Yaqubi told Salaam Times.
"Wherever these groups spread death and horror in the name of religion, they are actually acting against it."
JNIM's recent offensive demonstrates its growing capabilities and territorial ambitions, as it transforms what began as isolated attacks into a coordinated campaign that now stretches from central and western Mali to Benin's borders.
The group attacked a military base in Djibo, Burkina Faso on May 10, killing more than 100 people and temporarily occupying the facility.
Just 13 days later, it overran a military base in Dioura, central Mali, killing 40 Malian soldiers in a coordinated assault.
"The group combines military violence with ideological propaganda," London-based security and global affairs analyst told Salaam Times.
"What’s truly alarming is that this expansion represents not just a security threat but a civilizational one, undermining the region’s social and cultural fabric."
The current situation in northern Burkina Faso and Mali reveals a deep political and social crisis, not just a security emergency, Belgium-based political analyst Ali Reza Esmati told Salaam Times.
JNIM has capitalized on these vulnerabilities by seizing, in addition to remote territories, crucial trade routes and strategic locations, Esmati said.
Distortion and betrayal
The situation demands coordinated international intervention, in partnership with the African Union, to prevent JNIM from becoming a trans-regional threat, former Balkh University professor Naqibullah Mohseni told Salaam Times.
He noted that al-Qaeda has a history of exploiting weak state institutions and porous borders to secure funding, weapons and recruits.
And he warned that without decisive action from neighboring countries and international organizations, West Africa risks becoming a major global terrorism hub.
"The group has now evolved into a complex regional network that collaborates with criminal gangs and traffickers," Esmati said.
The group's attempt to replace state authority with its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law distorts religious teachings and damages Islam's global reputation, religious scholars told Salaam Times.
