LAGOS: Mali's militants, who have claimed to be fighting in the name of Islam for the past few months, are not representative of the faith, said the country's Religious Affairs Minister Yacouba Traore, who was speaking at an international conference in Senegal. He argued that the militants were attempting to create a region of “lawlessness where organized crime would continue to thrive.” The Islamist militants have destroyed numerous historical sites in recent months and have caused massive unrest, violence and have been responsible for mounting deaths as the continued violence wracks the West African country. Traore said the militants were terrorists perpetrating rape, drug trafficking, killings and destruction of historical and state symbols. “The war is a war on terrorism and organized crime,” he said. Traore said activities of the rebels had nothing to do with religion, and that the international campaign in Mali was not a war on Islam, saying more than 95 percent of Mali's population comprises Muslims. “They [militants] committed criminal acts under the guise of Islam. What they were doing was trying to create a region of lawlessness where they would continue to perpetrate their criminal activities,” he said. “Mali is more than 95 percent Muslim, so this war is not a crusade against Islam. It is a war to recover the territories from terrorists–to protect the territorial integrity of Mali and end the criminal activities taking place in those areas.” BN
