• Alex Thurston

Many see Salafism as rigid and unbending, but in the Sahel, political conditions force its proponents to be smart and savvy.

• Terje Østebø

Salafism is across Ethiopia. While Saudi Arabia has played a role, Ethiopian Muslims themselves are playing a bigger one.

• Gregory Mann

Salafist fighters burn hundreds of rare manuscripts, some unique and centuries old, before leaving Timbuktu to French paratroopers.

• Gregory Mann

Last week’s assaults on the tombs of saints, scholars and prominent ancestors in Timbuktu punctuated a long, leaden moment in Mali's crisis.

• Emily Wood

Artists wanted to comment on the political struggles and religious undercurrents roughing up Tunisian society. Religious zealots, backed by the state, shut them down.

• Bukola Afolayan

Plays, operas, children's events, participatory performances by audiences, and even some “open society” speeches lit up the Tunisian capital in defiance of religious extremists.