Religious fundamentalism and its zealous followers are failing to find their desired echo within Mauritanian civil society, which is proving to be increasingly deaf and sealed off to them.

Political leaders and heads of associations have recently decided to move against what they see as a "radical and obscurantist ideological movement." Human rights organizations support the leaders in this new mass movement, which is firmly committed to blocking the invasive advance of the Salafist movement in the country of the former Almoravid dynasty.

"We oppose fundamentalism, and we completely reject the idea. This trend is widespread in Mauritania, within parties and in other segments of society," said Ms. Boutrika, who was responsible for a gathering discussing the protection of democracy and human rights in Mauritania.

In this country, which has one foot in the Arab Maghreb and another in the Sahel, religious intolerance began to disproportionately spread in all segments of society. This creates concerns at all levels, hence this initiative to shrink the contours of this intolerance. Two forms of Salafism are threatening society, finding fertile ground in places of worship. The mosques in Mauritania are frequented by faithful people who do not usually have the required level of education and experience to cope with such an invasion. They leave zawiyas (assemblies or groups), where knowledge is limited to the teaching of Islamic law. Thus, the Salafist preachers of the Maliki or Wahhabi schools are finding the desired echo of their doctrine among these faithful people.