Chérif Ousmane Madani Haïdara

Sheikh Chérif Ousmane Madani Haïdara is a religious figure in Mali. He is also the current vice-president of the High Islamic Council in Mali headed by Sheikh Mahmoud Dicko. He is a follower of the Maliki school in Islam and celebrated Maouloud (Birth of the Prophet Muhammad) in contrast to more militant Sunni salafists.

In 1991, Haïdara established the Sufi based Islamic movement Ansar Dine (in French Ançardine or Ançar ed-Dine). The movement is strong in Southern Mali and later on in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and centers of Malian diaspora internationally.

Haïdara's Ansar Dine should not be confused with the more recent and extremely militant Islamic Ansar Dine in Mali led by Iyad Ag Ghaly.