Islamic preachers in Burkina Faso rally against social media hate

Nearly 250 imams and Islamic preachers joined a national awareness session against online hate speech Saturday and Sunday, following a surge in extremist violence in Burkina Faso. 

At the workshop hosted by Burkina Faso’s Federation of Islamic Associations (FAIB), attendees were handed a guide on public speaking for preachers which forbids the use of Islamic discourse to disturb stability, including insulting and violent rhetoric, RFI reported.  

”We encourage Muslim youth to use social media responsibly and are committed to strengthening the ongoing training of imams and preachers on digital issues and religious communication”, the federation said on Facebook following the workshop.

Failure to comply with the new code of conduct online may result in disciplinary or even criminal sanctions: including a ban of up to two years from preaching, RFI reported.

In October, a video emerged of a preacher urging his supporters to attack members of another Muslim congregation. The incident made FAIB sound the alarm on the ”emergence of dangerous deviations in religious discourse", according to RFI.

The growing number of social media users in Africa is a "double-edged sword", according to a UNDP report, due to its utility for violent actors to “market extremist ideas and spread terror to different audiences around the world”.

Social media platforms can facilitate radicalisation by promoting content with emotional appeal that taps into the grievances of users and reinforces their frustrations, according to the report. 

The proliferation of religious hate speech online is concerning amid a surge in violent extremism in Burkina Faso. Terrorism-related deaths in the Sahel region have soared past 6,000 for three consecutive years, making up more than half of all global fatalities, said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed in January.

In this time, Burkina Faso has seen a 68% increase in terrorism fatalities, making it the leading country in the world for terrorism deaths, according to UN figures.