INDEPENDENT ISLAMIC STATES

Mali

Official Name: Republic of Mali (ML)

Capital city   : Bamako

Important Cities: Secû, Mopti, Sikasso, Gao, Kayes, Kutiala and Tinbuku.

Area: 1.240.190 Km²

Population        :  20.200.000

Average Human Lifespan: 47

Ethnicity: 95% of the population of the Republic of Mali is made up of black people who live a sedentary life and subsist on farming. Whites, who make up around 5% of the country's population, continue to live nomadic lives despite the dry years.

Language: French (official), Bambara 80%, some African dialects.

Religion: Muslim 90%, local faiths 9%, Christian 1%

Geographical Situation: The territory of the country has a simple appearance in terms of surface forms. The wide desert area covered with dunes in the north is a continuation of the Great Sahara. The most striking surface shape in the northern part of the country is the hilly area called Ifora Edrân near the Algerian border. In the southern parts of Mali, the plains developing around the Niger River are dominant.

     Mali's climate is characterised by two seasons, dry and rainy. It rains abundantly between July-September in the north and April-October in the south. The 'harmatan' wind coming from Sahara creates a hot or mild weather depending on the season. While 1300-1500 mm of rain falls annually in the south, especially in the Sikasso region, this amount decreases to 200-700 millimetres in the Sahel region. The most important river of the country is the Niger River, which originates in Guinea and flows into the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria, which the Malians call Coliba (Djoliba), covering a distance of 1500 kilometres from the southwest to the northeast of Mali. There are two large lakes in the country, Debo and Faguibine. The Senegal River, which originates from Futa Calon in Guinea, flows through Mali for 700 kilometres and reaches the Atlantic Ocean outside the borders of this country. In terms of vegetation, the southern part of the country and the banks of the long rivers are covered with savannas. Steppes lie in the centre of the southern part. As you move towards the north, the steppes turn into a desert appearance.

Mode of Government: Presidential Republic
Political Parties: Although a multi-party system was desired, it could not be established.

History: At the Pan-African Conference of Black African Peoples held in Accra, Ghana, in 1958, it was announced that the Mali Federation would be established, comprising the four countries of Dahomey (Benin), Burkina Faso, Senegal and French Sudan (Mali). In 1959, the colonial administration of French West Africa was abolished and replaced by the Mali Federation. However, although Dahomey and Upper Volta, which had joined this federation, withdrew in a short time, Senegal and French Sudan, which were part of the African Federation Party, decided to continue the union. These two countries had 6/7 of the federation's territory. On 20 June 196O, the Federation of Mali declared its independence and Senegal decided to withdraw from the federation two months later as a result of administrative and economic disputes. Thus, landlocked Mali remained completely inland. Modibo Keita, who came from a Malinke ethnic family in Bamako, was the first founder of the independent state of Mali, which was proclaimed on 22 September 1960 and established a socialist-oriented government. In July 1961, the Mali Franc was established as the national currency of the country. Mali left French influence in 1962 and approached the Soviet Union. Western countries, which opposed many of the reforms it attempted, suspended their loans to this country. The people could not get used to the state monopoly in a short time and first economic, then social and political crises emerged. On 19 November 1968, Moussa Traore, a thirty-two-year-old lieutenant, staged a military coup. After ten years of military rule, the country suffered a major economic collapse. Political parties were banned and the socialist tendency was abandoned. The country became a member of the OIC in 1969. The 1974 constitution provided for a national assembly and a single party. Between November 1974 and January 1975 Mali fought two border disputes with its southern neighbour Burkina Faso. The first congress of l'Union Democratique du Peuple Malien (L'UDPM) was held on 31 March 1979 and the one-party era resumed on 19 November 1979. Moussa Traore won the election held in the same year and became the head of state. Thus, the second republic period began. The country joined the West African Monetary Union in 1981 and received aid from the World Bank and the International Monetary Union. Following a non-aligned foreign policy, Mali was again involved in a border dispute with Burkina Faso in 1984, which was settled peacefully by the International Court of La Haye in 1986. Malians increasingly favoured a multi-party system. In 1991, demonstrations broke out in the country's major cities, particularly in Bamako, and Moussa Traore deployed the army to suppress them. Twenty-three years of rule ended with a military coup d'état by Colonel Amadou Toumani Toure on 26 March 1991, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Amadou Toumani Toure, who established an interim committee on 30 March to govern the country, decided on 29 July 1991 to draft a new constitution and to adopt a multi-party system.

Islamisation in the country: Although Islam had spread into Africa as early as the VII century, it first gained influence in Mali during the Gāne empire with the help of Arab and Berber Muslims from present-day Morocco and Mauritania. In the northern and eastern parts of the country, it spread mainly through the Mor and Tawāriks, a Sahrawi tribe. Thanks to the Sultanate of Mali between the XIII-XVth centuries, the Sultanate of Songay in the 15th-16th centuries, and the Pashaate of Tinbuktu established by the Sa'dids in 1591, Mali established close relations with many parts of the Islamic world from Andalusia to Arabia. On the one hand, Malians entered the madrasas in the Maghreb countries, al-Azhar in Egypt and joined the circles of knowledge in the holy lands, especially during the pilgrimage, while Muslim scholars of Arab and Berber origin went to scientific centres such as Tinbuktu, Gao, Arwān and Jannānah to teach religious sciences. As in the past, the Ulema class maintained its dominant position in the religious and political life of the Malians until the 20th century. In the 16th century, the Algerian Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Karīm al-Megilī began to spread Kādirīism in Bilād al-Sūdan; with the initiation of the Kuntī family in the north of the country into this sect, the Bakkāiyya branch emerged in the 17th century and the Mukhtāriyya branch at the end of the 18th century. The Tijāniyya sect, founded in North Africa by another Algerian, Sayyid Ahmad al-Tijānī, spread rapidly in the Maghrib countries as well as in West Africa during the 19th century. Al-Hāj 'Umar's initiation during his journey to Hijaz and his efforts to spread this sect upon his return were effective in this. Especially when Sharīf Hamāhullah's resistance against the occupation resonated not only in Mali but also in neighbouring countries, the Tijānīs who followed him separated from those who submitted to the French presence in the region and formed the Hamāliyya branch. During the French colonial period, in order to break the influence of the Marabus belonging to both sects in the region, the Qur'anic schools where they taught were closely monitored and their travelling opportunities were restricted. In order to prevent the Malians from being affected by the movements against colonialism in the Islamic world, their pilgrimages were cancelled. The French opened two madrasas in Genne and Tinbüktü to provide religious education to the children of the notables who gave up the struggle against them. Despite all kinds of pressure, the people of Mali continued to provide religious education to their children in the traditional way, and the Genne Madrasa was soon closed due to lack of interest. Attempts to open private madrasas, which started in Segu in the 1940s, spread throughout the country. In the 1950s, with the return of students who completed their higher education in these countries, as well as the financial support of Arab countries, there were fierce debates between those representing the traditional understanding of Islam and the new generation; they started to worship in different mosques, especially in Bamako. Especially those representing the new Islamic understanding are accused of being Wahhabis. The Association Malienne Pour l'Unité et le Progrés de l'Islam (AMUPI) is the official religious organisation that started its activities in 1980 with the support of the state. Throughout the country, mosques and madrasahs are in the hands of individuals or organisations run by certain families, and officials are selected from family members or from those from whom they provide their livelihood. In January 2002, with the support of the government, the Higher Islamic Council of Mali was established to represent all communities before the official institutions of the state. In order to be effective in the last presidential elections, Islamic organisations came together to form a union (CAIM) and demanded that all candidates show the necessary interest in them. While there was only one cathedral in the capital Bamako in the beginning, hundreds of churches were built throughout the country in the 1990s. Although Muslims act cautiously against Christianisation activities, some of them are able to convert as a result of special opportunities given to them.[1]

Economy: Mali's national income is around two billion dollars, with a per capita income of 983 dollars. Cotton is the primary export product and ranks second after Côte d'Ivoire with an annual production of 200,000 tonnes in the south of the Sahara. Millet, rice, vegetables and maize are also produced. Mali is one of the countries with the highest number of livestock in West Africa and the number of animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys and camels is around 40 million. Some 200 fish species have been identified in the Niger, Bani and Senegal rivers; fishing is one of the oldest livelihoods of the country. The industry, which is mostly located around the capital Bamako, is mostly orientated towards the food and textile sectors. Salt, historically one of the region's biggest commodities, is now mined at Taoudenni, while phosphate, magnesium and oil have been found at Tilemsi. While gold has traditionally provided a livelihood for thousands of people searching for it, French and American companies operate the industrial gold mines. Mali, one of the leading countries in terms of historical richness among the countries south of the Sahara, is visited by many tourists.

Agricultural products: Cotton, millet, rice, maize, vegetables, sheep, goats
Currency: African franc (CFA)

National Income per Capita: 983 USD[2]

Export Products: Cotton 50%, gold, livestock.
Export Partners: Italy 18%, Thailand 15%, Germany 7%, Portugal 4%
Import Products: Machinery and equipment, construction materials, petroleum, foodstuffs, textiles.
Import Partners: Côte d'Ivoire 19%, France 19%, Senegal 4%, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg Economic Union) 3%.
Industry: Consumer and food products, construction, phosphate and gold mining.
Energy: Electricity production: 445 million kWh (1999)
Electricity consumption: 413.9 million kWh (1999)
Transport: Railways: 729 km; Highways: 15,100 km; Waterways: 1,815 km
Ports: Koulikoro; Airports: 27

Education: Literacy rate, population aged 15 and over: 31 per cent.

Natural resources: Gold, phosphate, kaolin, salt, limestone, uranium, hydro energy.

International Organisations and Institutions: OIC[3], ACCT, ACP (African - Caribbean - Pacific Countries), AfDB, CC (Customs Cooperation Council).

[1]   Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV.

[2]   www.ticaret.gov.tr(October-2021 Access)

[3]   www.oic-oci.org