In The Name of Allah The Almighty

Mauritania

 (28 November: National Day)

Dr Sajid Khakwani

drsajidkhakwani@gmail.com

officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is an Arab country in West Africa. The name of the country is derived from the Latin Mauretania, meaning "west," which corresponds to the Arab name of North Africa, Maghreb. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara  in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast. The Bafours, original inhabitants of Mauritania and the Western Sahara, were primarily agriculturalist, and among the first Saharan people to abandon their historically nomadic lifestyle. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire. With the gradual desiccation of the Sahara, they headed south. Successive waves of migration to West Africa included not only Central Saharans, but in 1076, Muslims attacked and conquered the ancient Ghana Empire. In the Middle Ages Mauritania was the cradle of the Almoravid movement, which spread Islam throughout the region and for a while controlled the Islamic part of Spain. Imperial France gradually absorbed the territories of present-day Mauritania from the Senegal river area and upwards, starting in the late 19th century. Mauritania left the Franco-African Community to become an independent nation in 28^th November 1960 and was admitted to the United Nations in 1961.

 In 1964 President Moktar Ould Daddah, originally installed by the French, formalized Mauritania as a one-party state with a new constitution, setting up an authoritarian presidential regime. Under this one-party constitution, Daddah was reelected in uncontested elections in 1966, 1971 and 1976. He was ousted in a bloodless coup on 10 July 1978, after bringing the country to near-collapse through a disastrous war. In 1981 slavery was legally abolished, making Mauritania the last country in the world to abolish slavery. The Parti Républicain Démocratique et Social (PRDS), formerly led by President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, dominated Mauritanian politics after the country's first multi-party elections in April 1992, following the approval by referendum of the current constitution in July 1991. President Taya won elections in 1992 and 1997. Political parties, illegal during the military period, were legalized again in 1991. By April 1992, as civilian rule returned, 16 major political parties had been recognized; 12 major political parties were active in 2004. Most opposition parties boycotted the first legislative election in 1992, and for nearly a decade the parliament was dominated by the PRDS. The opposition participated in municipal elections in January–February 1994, and in subsequent Senate elections in April 2004  and gained representation at the local level, as well as three seats in the Senate. On 3 August 2005, a military coup led by Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall ended Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya's twenty-one years of rule. Taking advantage of Taya's attendance at the funeral of Saudi King Fahd, the military, including members of the presidential guard, seized control of key points in the capital of Nouakchott. The coup proceeded without loss of life, and the officers, calling themselves the Military Council for Justice and Democracy took over the country.  

Mauritania's first fully democratic presidential election took place on 11 March 2007. The election effected the final transfer from military to civilian rule following the military coup in 2005. This was the first time that the president had been selected in a multi-candidate election in the country's post-independence history.  The head of the Presidential Guards took over the president's palace in Nouakchott on 6 August 2008.The coup was organized by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, former chief of staff of the Mauritanian army and head of the Presidential Guard, whom the president had just dismissed. Abdel Aziz had since the coup insisted on organizing new presidential elections to replace Abdallahi, but was forced to reschedule them due to internal and international opposition. In February 2011, the waves of the Arab Spring spread to Mauritania, where hundreds of people took to the streets of Nouakchott.

Mauritania has one of the lowest GDP rates in Africa, despite being rich in natural resources. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for almost 50% of total exports. With the current rises in metal prices, gold and copper mining companies are opening mines in the interior. The country's first deep water port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In March 1999, the government signed an agreement with a joint World Bank-International Monetary Fund mission on a $54 million enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF). The economic objectives have been set for 1999–2002,in the long run these institutions focus their attention on the reserves . Privatization remains one of the key issues. Mauritania is unlikely to meet ESAF's annual GDP growth objectives of 4%–5%. Oil was discovered in Mauritania in 2001. Mauritania has been described as a "desperately poor desert nation, which straddles the Arab and African worlds and is Africa's newest, if small-scale, oil producer. There may be additional oil reserves inland in the Taoudeni basin, although the harsh environment will make extraction expensive. While the public and private sectors depend on foreign sources such as development aid and the exportation of iron ore and fish, the vast majority of citizens engage in traditional subsistence agriculture.  A majority of the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood. The informal economic sector is increasing in importance. People do not expect much from the government and rarely pay taxes. Mauritania is one of the largest recipients of foreign aid in the world and is deeply in debt. Despite abundant livestock, one of the world's richest fishing zones, and a huge agriculture potential, the country is not self-sufficient in food and other basic necessities, it may be due to mismanagement that is resulted  of political un stability.

          Mauritania’s population is composed of several ethnic groups. The most recent estimate of the population is 2.5 million. Because population growth in the black African communities in the south is much higher, white Arab-Berbers have become a minority. According to the latest estimates of ethnic distribution, the Haratin community accounts for 40 to 45 percent of the total population, while the white Arab-Berbers account for 25 percent and black Africans 30 percent. The country is nearly 100% Muslim, most of whom are Sunnis. Mauritania is an Islamic republic whose basic law is the sharia, and the flag (green with a yellow crescent and stars) symbolizes Islam. Mauritanians believe that they have a mission to promote Islam and Islamic values throughout black Africa, and most symbols are linked to Islam. People eat together in groups from a large bowl or calabash, using the right hand according to Islamic values. People eat first and then drink cold water or sour milk mixed with cold water, juice from the hibiscus flower, or baobab juice. After lunch and dinner, it is customary to drink small glasses of green tea with sugar and mint. The tea is served by younger persons. The diet consists mostly of meat, millet, rice, fish, and sweet potatoes and potatoes. The main meal is lunch among black Africans, whereas Arab-Berbers have the main meal in the evening. Breakfast consists of milk and cereal with French bread and butter. People use a lot of oil in cooking and sugar in drinks. Eating almost always takes place at home. It is not acceptable to eat with or in the presence of one's in-laws, and eating with the left hand is forbidden.

 The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nouakchott, founded in 1965, serves the 4,500 Catholics in Mauritania. French is widely used in media and among educated classes. Modern Standard Arabic is also an official language.  Other local languages are also being spoken in the tribal areas.  Zenaga, a Berber language, was once spoken throughout much of Mauritania, but today it is almost totally replaced by Hassaniya. Only a tiny group of about 200 to 300 speakers of the Zenaga language may be left. Life expectancy at birth was 61.14 years (2011 estimate). Per capita expenditure on health was 43 US$ (PPP) in 2004. Public expenditure was 2% of the GDP in 2004 and private 0.9% of the GDP in 2004. In the early 21st century there were 11 physicians per 100,000 people. Infant mortality is 60.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 estimate). Since 1999, all teaching in the first year of primary school is in Literary Arabic; French, however, is introduced in the second year, and is used to teach all scientific courses. The use of English and the Weldiya dialect is increasing. The country has the University of Nouakchott and other institutions of higher education, but most highly-educated Mauritanians have studied outside the country. Public expenditure on education was at 10.1% of 2000–2007 government expenditure.

          Traditionally, individuals could not own land, which was owned collectively by the community. The head of the clan or community was responsible for the allocation and leasing of communal land. In a society organized according to hierarchical caste, land was controlled by the aristocracy, and the lower classes rented, borrowed, or worked the land according to a sharecropping system. Dress style, comportment, and speech are dictated by the climate and ethnic heritage. Putting on one's best clothing is important in black African communities to express one's social status. Women decorate themselves with gold, silver, and amber to display their wealth and change clothes several times during a party. People in the higher castes to tend to be quiet and generous toward those below them, whereas the lower castes tend to be talkative, outgoing, and "greedy," with less concern about shame. Generally people are kind and hospitable to foreigners.

 Mauritania is an Islamic republic with a highly centralized government in which power is vested in the executive president as head of state, aided by a prime minister who acts as the head of government and a council of ministers. Since 1992, direct presidential elections have been scheduled every six years. Universal suffrage occurs at age eighteen years. The legal system is derived from Islamic sharia law and modern Western law. The legislative branch includes a bicameral legislature consisting of the fifty-six-seat Senate elected by municipal mayors for six-year terms and a seventy-nine-seat National Assembly elected by popular vote for five-year terms. The judicial branch has lower courts, appeals courts, and a supreme court. Administratively, the country is divided into twelve regions. A multiparty system functioned from independence until 1965, followed by a one-party civilian regime that was overthrown by the army in 1978. Between 1978 and 1991, the country was ruled by decree, with no citizen participation. With the end of the Cold War and after Mauritania's alliance with Iraq in the Gulf War, the government was forced to transform the military committee into a political party.

The people of Mauritania are Muslims and too poor so they are hunted easily by black mailing of “civilized” world. Human rights violation & Al-Qaida are very common weapons of secularism against any disliking nation specially Muslim world. As Mauritania is in the extreme west of Africa so the secular media, exploiting a lady mishap in a Muslim country but expressing no ample reaction on hundreds killed and injured girls in Palestine, how will highlight any anti human activity happened in Mauritania. It is needed at all to establish a common news network  of Muslim countries to counter the ill propaganda against Muslims and to invest the best Muslim human resource as well. In this way Muslims will joint with the lost black world, of course great Bilali World like Mauritania.