![Young people collect plastic for recycling as a fuel tanker convoy passes amid fuel shortages in Bamako on December 9, 2025. JNIM attacked fuel tanker convoys traveling through Mali in early December, mainly targeting routes from Senegal and Ivory Coast, causing economic hardship for local communities. [AFP]](/cnmi_st/images/2025/12/29/53248-afp__20251213-739_416.webp)
The al-Qaeda–affiliated terrorist group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has been widely condemned for behavior described as anti-Islamic by religious scholars and the public.
For years, the group has carried out brutal killings and spread fear across Sahel countries.
Although the group links its actions to Islam, scholars say its conduct contradicts Islamic and humanitarian principles.
The organization's activities have included threats, violence and killings, which have caused fear, instability and widespread insecurity.
Many communities have been forcibly displaced and daily life has been disrupted by persistent violence and intimidation.
Saifuddin Muhammadi, a religious scholar in Kabul, condemned the group’s actions and rejected its religious claims.
"None of al-Qaeda's actions are connected to Islamic values and principles," he told Salaam Times.
"Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which presents itself as a defender of Islam, is in fact not a defender but an enemy of the sacred religion of Islam."
The group has never been able to justify its actions through authentic religious teachings, he said.
"This terrorist organization has never been able to justify its actions through verses of the Holy Kuran or the sayings of the Prophet of Islam, and it has distorted religious principles for its own interests," he said.
"Al-Qaeda and the groups it supports have for years deceived Islamic societies by misinterpreting religious principles and distorting Islamic values," he said.
Distortion of Islamic principles
JNIM was formed in 2017 through the merger of several al-Qaeda–linked groups in the Sahel.
Analysts describe it as one of the most extremist and oppressive al-Qaeda affiliates in the region.
They view the group as a terrorist organization that uses religion as a tool.
Muhammad Sadeq Akhundzada, a religious scholar in Herat, said al-Qaeda branches have fundamentally distorted Islam.
"In Islam, human life, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, is sacred, and killing innocent people is strictly forbidden," he said.
"God has said that whoever kills a person without that person having committed murder or corruption on earth is as if they have killed all of humanity," he added.
"Yet Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, contrary to these religious principles, has resorted to suicide attacks, the killing of civilians and indiscriminate assassinations."
Akhundzada said the group promotes constant violence under the label of jihad and Islamic values.
Losing credibility
Sayed Ashraf Sadaat, a civil society activist, said public awareness has weakened al-Qaeda's influence.
"With rising awareness and public literacy in Islamic societies, the lies and superstitions of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups have been exposed," he said.
"Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, the active al-Qaeda branch in Africa, deceived people for years with this approach, but now its deception and distorted principles have lost their credibility and value," he said.
