Mauritanian Police Raid Mosques Seeking Terrorists

According to a report today from Reuters, police in Nouakchott, the capital of the west African country of Mauritania, have searched at least ten mosques. They seized religious texts, prayer recordings made by imams, and in one case have arrested the resident muezzin. Since last month, police have arrested a number of Islamic activists and opposition leaders, charging that they are cooperating with an Algerian-based group allied with Al Qaeda. Mauritania is officially an Islamic republic, but it bans any political party based solely on religion.