With failed military coups, the rise of a new rebel movement and recent arrests of Islamist leaders, Mauritania seems increasingly unstable. The Islamist Challenge in Mauritania: Threat or Scapegoat? ,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the complex ties between political instability and Islamism in the country. This paper highlights President Ould Taya's attempt to discredit the opposition by denouncing and banning parties as terrorist groups. "The ...