DAKAR: Senegal's President Macky Sall on Monday called for African countries to promote a "tolerant Islam" and share intelligence to combat jihadist groups across the continent.

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"We must develop a philosophical and theological discourse, training imams with a sense of a tolerant Islam," he said, speaking at the Dakar International Form on Peace and Security in the Senegalese capital.

"We cannot allow them to impose another form of religion" with practices that "do not correspond to our traditions or our conceptions of Islam", he said.

"We must have the courage to fight this excessive form" of Islam, Sall added.

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The president's remarks echoed those made by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian who also called for the promotion of moderate interpretations of Islam, and for Islamist propaganda over social media to be fought.

Sall also pushed for better intelligence sharing between the countries of the Sahel in an effort to combat regional militant groups.

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