BBC Africa Debate: Is Africa Under Threat From Islamist Militants?

The May edition of BBC Africa Debate will ask how big a threat is posed by the rise in Islamist militancy across the continent. Do conflicts in northern Mali and Somalia, hostage taking in Algeria, and frequent bombings in northern Nigeria present a major threat to stability and security across the continent? Is it fair to talk of a new "arc of instability" spreading across the region - and what is the potential risk to the rest of the world?

Presented by the BBC's Audrey Brown and Karen Allen, the debate will be broadcast on Friday 31 May. BBC Afrique will also host a debate in Dakar, discussing the same question for listeners in French.

The debates form part of a week-long special series from Monday 27 May across BBC Africa output. Islamist militancy in Africa will be explored by the BBC's flagship radio programme for Africa, BBC Focus on Africa, with special reports from Mali, Nigeria, Algeria, Somalia and Kenya.

The theme will also be discussed on the BBC's global breakfast radio show, Newsday, as well as the BBC Hausa, BBC Somali and BBC Swahili services' output. It will feature prominently on social media, including interactive Q&A sessions hosted on the BBC Africa Facebook page and using #bbcafricadebate on Twitter.

Producer of BBC Africa Debate, Charlotte Attwood, sets the context: "Radical Islamist groups have been stepping up attacks across Africa, and some see growing evidence of armed groups in the Sahel, east Africa and Nigeria working together towards international aims.

In Dakar, the BBC will ask if Africa is really becoming a training ground for Islamist militants and if these groups are setting their sights on international targets - or whether the threat is exaggerated; either by the West to legitimise intervention or by the groups themselves to raise their stature, or even by African governments to attract funds and legitimise oppression."

Audrey Brown and Karen Allen will speak with an expert panel and audience in Dakar, including regional security experts, Senegalese government and ECOWAS representatives, Senegal-based American and French diplomats, Islamic and Christian clerics, various African communities in Dakar and others.

Social-media audiences on Twitter #bbcafricadebate, @bbcafrica, on Facebook and Google+ on the BBCAfrica page will engage in conversations with an expert on the French colonial project in Africa and its impact on the practice of Islam in former French colonies; and with an expert on the Arab world.

This edition of BBC Africa Debate will be recorded on Thursday 30 May at 10am local time at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. It will be broadcast by BBC World Service at 19.00 GMT on Friday 31 May. The programme will be repeated on Sunday 2 June at 13.00 GMT. The debate will also be online at bbcafrica.com.

For more information and media invitations to the programme recording, please contact:
BBC Global News Communications [email protected]

Notes to editors:

The BBC attracts a weekly global audience of 239 million people to its international news services including BBC World Service, BBC World News television channel and bbc.com/news.

BBC World Service is an international multimedia broadcaster, delivering a wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV, online and via wireless handheld devices. It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 180 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. BBC World Service offers its multilingual radio content to partner FM stations around the world and has numerous partnerships supplying content to news websites, mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices as well as TV channels.

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