The Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Date of Independence: November 28, 1960 Capital: Nouakchott Languages: Arabic, French Ethnic Groups: Fulani, Wolof, Berber, Moor Major Religion: Islam Currency: Ouguiya Population: 3.1 million (2005) Main Exports: Fish and fish products, iron ore, gold

A largely desert country, Mauritania forms a geographic and cultural link between Arab North Africa and black sub-Saharan Africa. El Djouf, or the Empty Quarter, is a vast northeastern desert of large dunes merging into the Sahara Desert. Rainfall is scarce and oases are the main sources of the water needed to cultivate dates and millet in the harsh Saharan climate. Mauritania’s population was overwhelmingly nomadic until severe droughts in the 1970s and 1980s caused massive migration to urban centers.

Mauritania features considerable ethnic diversity. The population is generally divided into two groups, the blacks to the south and the Moors to the north. The major black African groups are the Fulani and the Wolof, who predominantly farm and raise livestock. The Moors are a mix of Arab/Berber stock descendents of the Arab and Berber tribes that migrated south upon the desertification of the Sahara region.

In the early Middle Ages Islamic warrior monks, or the Almoravid, used Mauritania as the center from which to spread Islam throughout the region. The Almoravid were greatly responsible for the decline of the ancient Ghana empire. As Islam gained influence and more Arabs migrated to the area, it forced the southward movement of the Berbers, who had arrived at the beginning of the eighth century and completely uprooted the region’s original black inhabitants, the Soninke. In the seventeenth century the Arabs, primarily of Yemeni stock, came to completely dominate the country. The Bani Hassan, as the Arab settlers were known, established a social caste structure that continues to cause tension today. At the top of that structure sat the Arab warrior groups, followed by the Berber groups and finally the black Africans, who served primarily as slaves to the Arab groups. Mauritania only officially banned slavery in 1981.

Tensions between Moors and blacks characterized the country’s struggle for independence from France. Pro-Arab elements sought unity with Morocco, who briefly tried to annex the country. However, black Mauritanians feared the consequences of Arab dominance and fought to oppose it. Their numbers had begun to grow under French colonial rule, when the descendants of those indigenous people who had been expelled hundreds of years ago began to slowly return. The Moors reacted to this growth by increasing the pressure to “arabize” many aspects of daily life. Tensions between the two groups came to a head in 1989, during the “1989 events.” Thousands of black Mauritanians were expelled from the country, and the military was purged. To address the situation, in 1991 a new constitution approved by referendum declared Mauritania to be an “Islamic, African, and Arab republic.” However, conflict among the groups continues to be a challenge to national unity.

Sources:

The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, available at : http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mr.html

Country Profile: Guinea, BBC News, available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/791083.stm

Mauritania, MSN Encarta, available at: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571203/Mauritania.html

Mauritania, Wikipedia, available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania