IT WAS too much of a coincidence for the members of “No to Freemasonry and Homosexuality”, a coalition of religious groups. Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, Rihanna, a pop star, and several hundred African Freemasons were all due to visit Senegal around the same time this month. The group decided that sinister forces must be at work, no doubt plotting against the country.

Every year dozens of Masonic lodges from across Africa come together to discuss the issues of the day. This year, for their 26th shindig, the Freemasons booked a plush hotel in Dakar, Senegal’s capital. On the agenda were worthy topics such as education, freedom, governance and economic development. But the hotel, rattled by the conspiracy-minded protesters and worried about violence, cancelled the event.

Still, the brouhaha has shone a light on how Freemasonry, a secretive movement that originated in 16th-century European guilds, has taken root on a continent where finger snaps and fist bumps are more common than secret handshakes and rolled-up trouser legs. David Harrison, a researcher of Masonic history, says the movement spread from European countries to their African colonies when settlers set up lodges.

After independence some Africans continued to practise Freemasonry, but many were driven underground. Masons say that theirs is a fraternal order of men who believe in a creator (the Great Architect) and do good works. But because this is a secret society, they are widely viewed with suspicion; in Africa, because of their association with former colonial masters, perhaps even more so. Alexandre Cleven, a former grand master of the Regular Grand Lodge of Belgium, says the way Freemasons are treated in different countries is an “excellent barometer of human freedom”. He estimates that there are 10,000 African Freemasons (out of about 3m worldwide). Lodges can be found in Ghana, South Africa, Liberia and various parts of Francophone Africa.

After taking on the Freemasons, the protesters in Dakar turned on Rihanna, who was to share a stage with Mr Macron and Macky Sall, Senegal’s president. Mr Sall did not back down. The event was a success, extracting pledges from donors of more than $2.3bn for children’s education. Some might be well spent on teaching the virtues of tolerance.