CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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Mauritania |
VIOLENCE
The danger appeared where it was least expected, and the strangest thing was that it appeared under the label of Islam. In recent times, our country has seen some strange behaviour, foreign to our own people: attempts to indoctrinate our citizens, inciting young people to violence», said the Mauritanian Prime Minister Sheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khounala in a statement to the press on 18 May 2003. He attributes this behaviour to «extremist movements, that claim to be of Islam, but that act on orders from abroad», and that rely on «the natural inclination of the Mauritanian people to give a favourable welcome to anything that refers to the Islamic religion». Calling on Mauritanians to block the advance of these Islamic extremists, the Prime Minister ensured that Mauritania will lead an untiring fight against such groups that, invoking Sharia law (Islamic law), «sow disorder, destroy everything and kill innocent people». In fighting these movements, Mauritania is counting on all members of its population to «take responsibility for dealing with the treacherous actions of these movements, that jeopardise everything we have gained».For the first time, Mauritania has officially recognised the existence and the threat from Islamic terrorism,
while undertaking to combat the scourge with determination.
The authorities have made dozens of arrests of suspected Islamic activists«
The day after this statement, the security services toughened their stance against the Islamic underground groups, from which they had made a few arrests since 4 May, particularly among imams and well-known religious figures. After a month in prison, 33 of those arrested were charged by the public prosecutor of «plotting against the internal and external security of the State», and with «membership of illegal organisations».
Close on the heels of these arrests, several Islamic charitable organisations, including the United Arab Emirates Charity Office in Nouakchott, were closed down by the security services. In response to the call by the government, more than a thousand religious figures published a fatwa on 22 May, condemning «all forms of terrorism, and any other action that could cause the death of Muslims or non-Muslims». The state-owned media were also mobilised in support of the security services’ campaign, giving the public, freephone numbers from 19 May, to call if they had any suspicions. Radio Mauritanie repeated these numbers throughout the day. The judiciary also had a part to play in this fight. The Supreme Court authorised legal action against the Mayor of the town of Arafat, and two magistrates. On 29 May, the Arab weekly, Erraya, allied to the Islamic underground movements, was finally banned from publishing by the Ministry of the Interior, Posts and Telecommunications because of «subversion and intolerance».
Joining the war against terrorism
Many observers see this campaign as being designed for outside consumption, especially for the Americans. «The new world order, that makes the fight against terrorism one of its priorities, and the safest way to show sympathy with the USA, requires each Islamic country to review its policy and approach in the fight against religious extremism», believes Abou Oumar from the periodical Le Rénovateur, which believes that Mauritania should benefit from the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime and the global coalition against terrorism, to «neutralise an Islamic sphere of influence whose language is becoming ever more acid with regard to the USA, Israel and Muslim countries having close relations with the Hebrew state».
This obligation to join the new international order was demonstrated more explicitly, following the attacks in Riadh (Saudi Arabia) and Casablanca (Morocco), than for the one on 11 September which Mauritania condemned without referring to Islam. The transfer to Morocco of Messrs. Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar and Lemrabott Ould Mohamed Lemine, respectively Cabinet Secretary to the President of the Republic and the Minister of Islamic Specialisation and Culture, demonstrates this. Information indicating that some suicide bombers have «recently entered Morocco from a foreign country, where they were trained», encouraged Mauritania to cooperate with Morocco, with which it shares a long border that is difficult to control.
Mauritania actually wants to enter the international stage using the vehicle of the current problems, that are insoluble within national boundaries alone. In this respect, the future of Arab Maghreb, shaken by the Islamist wave since the start of the 90s, is a cause for concern. It also wants to comply with the wishes of the Arab Gulf states -– whose funds, whether unofficial (through charitable organisations) or official (through bilateral agreements) have been used for a long time to promote religious activities in the country — in fighting terrorism. As a junction between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritania may also be called upon to prevent the widespread Islamic movements and their followers becoming established in this part of the continent (Senegal, The Gambia, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Burkina Faso, etc.) or have assisted in linking these communities to the charitable organisations in the Muslim oil-producing countries. This geographical and cultural position may lead the United States to choose Mauritania as a base for the fight against terrorism in West Africa, the area of black Africa where Islam is most established.
Certainly, there is no proof yet that Al Qaida activists are present in Mauritania, but the country must demonstrate that it does not support such people. A report from the American Congress research department however, published on 10 September 2001, the day before the attacks, includes Mauritania in the list of 34 countries assumed to be sheltering cells belonging to this international terrorist network. Moreover, since 1999, the FBI has been monitoring the Mauritanian national, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, whom Mauritania extradited to the United States in November 2002, where he is accused of having recruited two of the pilots who attacked New York and Washington on 11 September 2001. Moreover, Abou Hafes, a character assumed to be very close to Ben Laden, holds Mauritanian nationality.
The state and Islam in Mauritania
Mauritania is a deeply Islamic republic. Islam has always been a determining factor in its social, political, cultural and economic life, and remains the primary frame of reference for Mauritanians. The first article of the Constitution of 20 July 1991 states: «Mauritania is an Islamic Republic, indivisible». And article 5 states that «Islam is the religion of the people and the State». This means that Mauritania is not a secular state, that every Mauritanian is Muslim and all State officials must be Muslim. If in the past, there were ministers with a mixture of faiths, since this Constitution was promulgated, no non-Muslim Mauritanian has held such a position of responsibility.
Islam as such however, has never been a factor that could divide Mauritanians into extremist or moderate Muslims. In this context, the observation by the Mauritanian thinker, Sheikh Mohamed Salem Ould Abdel Wedoud, is heartening: «The term Islamic Republic of Mauritania means just that, while the religious authorities in Nouakchott boast that this Mauritanian state is the first in the world to bear this name from birth». Is this pride the source of the extremism seen among religious leaders in the last few years? Or is it state control of religion that has led to the present situation?
In 1991, religious extremism was hardly seen in Mauritania. The authorities had however refused categorically to legalise an Islamic-based political party: the Oumma, otherwise known as the Muslim Nation. The principal ideas of this party included the fight against infidel powers, injustice and corruption, on the basis of Sharia Law, and the rejection of putschist powers. The representatives legitimised their actions by declaring that «Oumma has no links with foreign countries, nor any tribal, regional or ethnic base».
This justification was easy to understand in the period after the Gulf War, when Mauritania officially supported Saddam Hussein’s regime. This position cost it a partial suspension in aid from the Gulf monarchies, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In explaining the Mauritainian position with regard to the religious movements, Moussa Ould Hamed from the weekly Le Calame comments «like the other Arab powers, the Mauritanian government believes that religious movements constitute a danger to internal stability, and they must therefore be nipped in the bud before they manage to gain a firm root among the population. This approach, beloved of the Bush administration, has been applied to the letter by the Ould Taya authorities for more than ten years».
Organisation of religious activities
Religious activities within the state system are organised via the Ministry for Islamic Development and Culture, and the Secretariat for Combating Illiteracy and for Primary Education. These institutions allow the state to keep control over the Islamic world, which it unhesitatingly uses for political ends, especially when elections are due when the religious leaders are asked to mobilise the electors for the party in power. But when circumstances demand it, the government does not hesitate to come down hard on Islamic groups, brandishing the slogan «guaranteeing State security» and shouting conspiracy. Mauritania also formed an Islamic High Council, by virtue of the 1991 Constitution. Its five members meet at the request of the President of the Republic, to formulate their opinion on a question he has asked them to discuss. This is in fact a consultative body that is entirely subordinate to the presidency of the Republic. While the marabouts and imams teach, or lead prayers, the Mufti, a position that does not exist in Mauritania, announces fatwas (legal opinions on particular issues).
Of the many mosques across the country, those with official status are subsidised by the state, which also appoints their imams. The State particularly monitors the mosques in Nouakchott (the capital) and those in Nouadhibou (the economic capital on the Atlantic coast, not far from the border with Morocco). Besides, most of those arrested in May were detained in these two towns, where poverty makes the people much more receptive to the message of the religious leaders.
Until recently, no-one in Mauritania worried about the source of the foreign funds that assisted in promoting the Islamic activity in the country. All these gifts were welcome, since they served Islam, the religion of the State. Some donors, certainly, left their mark, by building remarkable mosques in Nouakchott. In this context, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Qatar each bestowed a mosque in the Mauritanian capital, bearing their name. While the source of the funding for terrorist networks is still unknown, intriguing the authorities since 11 September 2001, that for funding architectural Islamisation is less so. Country people, shopkeepers, émigrés living in the Gulf monarchies and the oil-producing Muslim states have always invested in mosque-building openly and publicly.
The teaching of Islam
Mauritania appears to have taken preventive measures against radical Islam, trying to keep control over the training centres and the mosques. This is seen by the attempt to recover the mahadras (Koranic schools, once informal) that were in the hands of the marabouts. All mahadras have to obtain a certificate of approval and can then apply for a subsidy from the State. While not making them part of the state education system, the public supervisory body closely monitors the mahadras even though it is not too concerned about what is discussed in them. In an effort to contain Islamic movements, the Mauritanian government has even established a professional integration centre for those leaving the mahadras. Funded by the Islamic Development Bank, it opened its doors in January 1994. In this centre, students accustomed to listening to interpretations of the Quran and the Sunna of the prophet, now learn engineering, joinery, building work, electrical and mechanical engineering, etc. «One way of weaning them off religious fanaticism», a Mauritanian journalist comments ironically.
Higher education in Islamic studies is provided by the Institute for Higher Islamic Studies and Research (ISERI), some of whose staff were among those arrested. Although run by the Mauritanian government, the ISERI was set up with Saudi money. It trains public officials for religious functions, magistrates, moral, civic and religious education teachers, preachers, and so on. Alongside ISERI, there is the Saudi Institute for Islamic Studies in Mauritania. This establishment is funded entirely with Saudi Arabian money and takes students from black Africa (Senegalese, Gambians, Guineans, Nigerians, etc.) and even those from the countries of the Maghreb.
Everyone is now asking how such a situation could have arisen, in a country like Mauritania where most of its people are concerned only with day-to-day survival. «The Islamists rely on the spirit of openness among our people, and their natural predisposition to give a warm welcome to anything relating to the Islamic religion», answers the Mauritanian Prime Minister. After the failed coup attempt on 8 June 2003, questions are also asked as to how the government of Maaouya Oud Sid’Ahmed Taya will be able to conduct this war, if he has to assuage the anger of one section of his army, while confronting the Islamic threat.