It’s no wonder that courts in the Americas have refused to acknowledge any substantive difference between religion and spirituality, concluding that spiritual programs are so much like religions that it would violate their rights to force people to attend them (as with Alcoholics Anonymous, for example). Muslims have very wonderful and enjoyable customs and traditions in their religion. Karbala became a defining moral story for Shias, and Sunni caliphs worried that the Shia Imams-the descendants of Husayn who were seen as the legitimate leaders of Muslims (Sunnis use the term “imam” for the men who lead prayers in mosques)-would use this massacre to capture public imagination and topple monarchs. The conflict between JNIM and ISGS is likely to continue, and while local deconfliction efforts between JNIM and ISGS may be possible, the extent of fighting between the groups signals that they are not likely to resume coordination in the manner seen prior to summer 2019. JNIM has also sought connections with the Burkina Faso-based Ansaroul Islam. The hamsa may be commonly seen in the form of a painting, or as a piece of jewelry such as hamsa bracelets.

There are at least five examples of operational coordination between JNIM and ISGS, dating back to November 2017. For example, while ISGS claimed the May 2019 ambush in Tongo Tongo, Niger, that left multiple Nigerien and U.S. JNIM is not a single organization but a coalition of multiple independent Salafi-jihadist groups with their own histories and identities, including Ansar Dine, Katibat Macina, al-Mourabitoun, and the Sahara branch of AQIM. JNIM’s creation ostensibly represented the transcendence of local ethno-social barriers in favor of transnational jihad, with multiple ethnic representatives present at the group’s founding uniting under a singular jihadist banner. JNIM’s structure has been compared to a “business association,” offering the image of JNIM as unitary while masking the local dynamics that propel JNIM’s constituent groups. The first four months of 2019 saw a monthly average of 32 violent events attributed to JNIM in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger compared with 41 average monthly events over the same period in 2020 and 59 in 2021-representing a 43 and 84 percent increase over 2019 levels, respectively. According to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), groups affiliated with JNIM regularly target civilian self-defense militias in both Burkina Faso and Mali, including targeted kidnappings of militia leaders.

Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims-JNIM) is a coalition of Salafi-jihadist insurgent groups operating in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa. Formed in 2017, JNIM has expanded its operating territory across West Africa while waging a sustained campaign of violence against civilians, local security forces, international militaries, and UN peacekeepers. Katibat Macina divides its territory into administrative units, each called a markaz (center), with a military leader, a shura advisory council, and a sharia qadi (judge). The leader of each markaz serves on Katibat Macina’s central shura council, which is led by Amadou Kouffa, and senior commanders receive reports on the actions taken within each markaz. While this leadership structure exists in principle, the cohesiveness of Katibat Macina’s hierarchy is likely dictated by factors like local conflict conditions and the bureaucratic choices of individual leaders. Katibat Macina’s name, for example, is a rhetorical callback to the Macina Empire, a historical Peul jihad state located in modern-day Mali.

JNIM is an al Qaeda-affiliated Salafi-jihadist insurgent organization that seeks to replace established state authority with a conservative interpretation of Islamic law. In some JNIM-controlled areas of central Mali, the organization has demanded that civilians accept jihadist governance, relocate to non-jihadist zones, or face violence. Additionally, Kouffa has attempted to recruit broader swaths of the regional Peul community, including by speaking Fulfulde in one 2018 video to call for “Peul in every place, in Senegal, in Mali, in Niger . God.” While Katibat Macina is not exclusively a Peul entity, Kouffa has found success nesting a majority Peul group within the JNIM structure and weaponizing local grievances for broader Salafi-jihadist ends. The Hierophant card encourages seeking guidance from experienced mentors and prioritizing traditional financial institutions, emphasizing the importance of education, learning, and hard work for career and financial success. Additionally, JNIM orchestrated a twin assault in Nassoumbou and Baraboulé, Burkina Faso, against military positions in September 2019, claiming the attack was a message for heads of state who were gathered in Ouagadougou for an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) summit.