Ansar al-Sharia (Mauritania)

Ansar Al-Sharia fi Bilad Shinqit (أنصار الشريعة في بلاد شنقيط), better known as Ansar al-Sharia in Mauritania was a small radical Islamist group that operated in Mauritania.

Background
The Mauritanian Ansar al-Sharia was established by Islamists jailed in the Dar Naïm central prison on 11 February 2013. Ahmed Salem Ould al-Hassan, one of the group's founders, described its purpose as combating secularists, implementing Sharia, and reinstating the position of Islamic scholars within the nation. The group was said to have been influenced by the founding and activities of Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia).

At the time of its founding, it was joined by some Imams from extremist mosques and a very few Mauritanian Islamist politicians.