INDEPENDENT ISLAMIC STATES

Comoros

Official Name: Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros (KM)

Capital city; : Moroni

Area: 2,170 km²
Population        : 920,000 [1]

Average Human Lifespan: 62 years

Ethnicity: Bantus from the interior of Africa, Arabs from Uman, Hadramawt and Shiaz, Malays from Indonesia, Malagasy Malagasy and Indian Gujaratis migrated to these islands at different periods. Arabs constitute the most noble class among all the inhabitants and they are called 'ustaarabu' in Comorian language.

Language: Arabic (official), French (official), Comorian The inhabitants of the islands speak Comorian, a member of the Bantu language family, which is heavily influenced by Arabic and Sevahili. The reason for the widespread use of Sevahili is that the sultans used this language in their administrative affairs until the 20th century.

Religion: Sunni Muslims constitute 99% and adhere to the Shafi'i sect, Roman Catholics constitute 1%.

Geography: Common name for four islands off the coast of East Africa, north of Madagascar and at the entrance to the Mozambique strait. Ngazidja. Anjouan  and Moheli  form the independent Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros, while Mayotte is still part of France with a special status. The official name of the republic is al-Jumhûriyyetü'1-Kumu-ri'l-ittihâdiyyeti'l-Islâmiyya in Arabic, one of the two official languages used in the country. Arab sailors travelling in the Indian Ocean used to call this archipelago 'Jazâir al-kamer', meaning 'Kumur islands' or 'moon islands'. The Comoros islands remained a French colony between 1912 and 1974. After independence, it is one of the smallest states in Africa, with a total area of 1,862 km2 across the three islands,

     The vegetation is quite rich in the country where the temperature is between 23°C - 28°C. Agriculture is emphasised in Comoros, and cereals are the main crops grown. Especially for perfume production, plants such as vanilla, cloves and jasmine provide great income to the country. Tropical fruits such as coconut, banana, avocado, coffee, cocoa and mango are grown and mostly exported to France, the Netherlands and the USA. Rice and other foodstuffs, textiles, all kinds of transport vehicles and building materials are generally purchased from Kenya, Kuwait, France and Pakistan. Although transportation to the islands from abroad is mostly by air, transport between the islands is carried out by sea.

Mode of Government: Presidential Republic

History: The other sultans in Comoros were deposed by France on 25 July 1912 and the administration of the islands was attached to the Madagascar colony. During this period, the islands left to the management of companies became poorer and poorer. This situation of Comoros continued until 1946, when it was administratively and economically separated from Madagascar and directly connected to France. Saîd Muhammed Sheikh, who received higher education for the first time among the people of the islands, was sent to the French National Assembly in 1946 as a deputy to represent his country. Until 1970, Saîd Muhammed Sheikh, who led the political life in his country, founded the Green Party of Comoros and Saîd İbrahim, the son of the former sultan, founded the White Party of Comoros. In 1959, Saîd İbrahim was elected to the second parliamentary seat granted to Comoros and sent to the French National Assembly. While Madagascar gained its independence in 196O, Comoros was not granted this right. Among the independence movements that gained momentum in the 196Os, the Comorian Independence Movement, the Comorian Socialist Party and the Comorian People's League for Democracy, established with the support of the Soviet Union in Dârüs-selâm, the capital of Tanzania, were effective.

On 22 December 1974, a referendum was held in Ngazidja. In Anjouan and Moheli, 95% of the population voted in favour of independence. France recognised this decision on 6 July 1975. Ahmed Abdullah, who served as a senator representing Comoros in the French Senate between 1958 and 1970 and was known as the richest man in the Indian Ocean islands, was elected as the first president because he was known to be close to Paris and supported the independence struggles. On 3 August 1975, Ali Soilih, supported by Gilbert Bourgeau, a French mercenary nicknamed Bob Denard, staged a coup d'état and appointed Saîd Muhammad Jawhar as the head of state. However, after he was elected president on 2 January 1976, Ali Soilih launched a series of revolutions and declared war on tradition. Bob Denard, who took the name Said Mustafa Mvvvadju, ostensibly as a Muslim, never ceased to have political and economic ambitions over Komoriar. Komoriar became a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1976. Exiled Ahmed Abdullah staged a coup with Bob Denard and his European mercenaries to regain power. On 13 May 1978, President Ali Soilih was arrested and killed on 29 May. Ahmed Abdullah returned to Comoros and was greeted with great enthusiasm. Bob Denard's second coup was not accepted by the Organisation of African Unity and Comoros was suspended from the organisation for about a year. On 1 October, a referendum changed the name of the state to the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros, while Ahmed Abdullah, who was re-elected president on 23 October, adopted a repressive rule. Although he was re-elected in September 1984 for a six-year term, the reactions against him gradually increased; he survived the coups on 14 February 1981, 8 March 1985 and 30 November 1987. In the meantime, France, disturbed by the coup attempts of Bob Denard in other African countries, especially in Comoriar, brought him to court in 1987. Taking advantage of this, Ahmed Abdullah tried to get rid of him, but he failed and was killed on 26 November 1989. He was temporarily replaced by Said Muhammad Jawhar, and in 1990 he was elected as the head of state in the first election held. In 1993 the country became a member of the Arab League. When Sa'id Mohamed Jawhar was overthrown in a coup d'état in 1995, Sa'id Ibrahim's son Sa'id Ali Kamal and his main rival in the 1990 elections, Mohamed Taqi Abd al-Karîm, temporarily assumed the presidency together. However, in the elections held in the same year, Muhammad Taqi Abd al-Karīm became the head of state. On 3 August 1997 Anjouan and on 11 August 1997 Moheli declared independence from the federal state, which was not recognised by the international community. In 1998, upon the death of Mohammed Taqi, Mohammed Tâceddin b. Saîd was temporarily appointed as the head of state, but Colonel Azali Assouma-ni staged a coup d'état in 1999 and became the head of state. On 7 January 2002, the independence attempts between the islands were ended and unity was restored.

Islamisation in the country: Although the narrations about the history of the spread of Islam here are different, according to the widespread belief among the locals, two Comoros went to Medina during the caliphate of Hz Osman (r.a.) and learnt Islam; they preached Islam on their return. There is no doubt that Arab sailors also spread Islam to these islands, which they frequented from the VI1Ith century onwards. It is widely rumoured that Islam started to spread from Anjouan for the first time.

     The strongest element that binds the people of Comoros, which is located at the crossroads of different cultures, is the religion of Islam. Currently, all children in the country are sent to Qur'anic schools between the ages of four and six before primary school. The most widespread sect in Comoros is the Shâzeliyya, but there are also members of the Qadiriyya, Rifâiyya, Ticâniyya and Aleviyya. Muhammad b. Ahmed, who was initiated into the Qadiri sect through Sheikh Üveys b. Muhammad, who came to Zengibar from Barave in Somalia, spread this sect in the Comoros. The Shāzeliyya sect became widespread in the region through Abū'1-Leys Abdullah b. Saīd, known as Sheikh Abdullah Dervish, who came to Zangibar from Muscat at the end of the nineteenth century. Saīd Muhammad b. Saīd Ahmad al-Ma'rūf from Comoros, who had first joined the Qādirī order, joined the Shāzeliyya order in Zangibar, where he went for education, and then travelled to Palestine. Upon his return, he spread Shāzeliyya in Comoros. His tomb in Moroni is still an important place of pilgrimage. However, the spread of the Qādiriyya and Shāzeliyya sects coincided with the 1930s. For centuries, people had been solving all kinds of legal issues related to religious matters by referring to Shafi'i scholar al-Nawawī's Minhâcü't-tâlibîn. The French colonial administrators, who were unaware of the French translation of this work by the Dutch Van den Berg (1884), resolved religious issues by resorting to the French translations of Khalīl b. Ishaq al-Jundfn's al-Muhtasar, one of the important books of the Mālikī madhhab, despite the opposition of the people who were Shāfi'ī until they obtained this translation in 1920. On 17 May 1961, with a decision of the Commoriar Representative Assembly, all the laws of the colonial period were cancelled and replaced by laws based on Islamic principles.[2]

Currency: CFR

National Income per Capita: 1,420 USD

Transport: Roads: 880 km ; Port: Fomboni, Moroni, Moutsamoudou;

Airfields: 4

Health: Access to clean water is at a high level throughout the island country. With a high rate of 90.1 per cent, the majority of the population can benefit from clean water sources. Only 35.8 per cent of the population can benefit from fully equipped health services, while 64.2 per cent of the population can receive health services under primitive conditions. Comoros has not released any data on AIDS, which is highly prevalent throughout the African continent.^[6]

Education: Eight years of compulsory schooling is compulsory throughout the country, and two years of compulsory Quran education is provided to children in pre-school education. The rate of literacy in the population aged 15 and over in Comoros is 77.8% according to 2015 estimated data. This rate is 81.8 per cent for men and 73.7 per cent for women.

Climate: tropical maritime climate prevails; November to May is the rainy season.
Land structure: Volcanic islands, the interior varies from steep rocks to low hills.
Land Use: Soils suitable for agriculture: 35.87%
Population Growth Rate: 2.87%
Nation: Comoros
Local Full Name: Republique Federale Islamique des Comores
Administrative Divisions: 3 islands; Grande Comore (Njazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Moheli (Mwali); 4 municipalities; Domoni, Fomboni, Moroni, and Moutsamoudou
Constitution: 20 October 1996
Legal System: French and Islamic law combined.
International Organisations and Institutions: ACCT, ACP (African - Caribbean - Pacific Countries), AfDB (African Development Bank). OIC Organisation of Islamic Cooperation[3].

Economic Overview: Comoros is one of the poorest countries in the world. The agricultural sector, including hunting and forestry, is the main sector in the economy. The country imports foodstuffs, especially rice. The government is making plans and projects for the development of the country by increasing educational and technical opportunities, commercial and industrial initiatives, developing the health sector, diversifying exports, developing tourism.
    Since the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros is among the poor countries of the world   it receives assistance from countries such as France, Kuwait. It receives aid from states such as Saudi Arabia, Uman, United Arab Emirates.

Industry: Tourism, perfumes, textiles, furniture, jewellery, building materials, soft drinks
Electricity production: 19 million kWh (2004)
Electricity consumption: 17.67 million kWh (2004)
Agricultural products: vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, dried and fresh coconuts, bananas, cassava
Export products: vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume essences, dried coconuts
Export partners: France 26.9%, Singapore 16.3%, Japan 14.6%, Germany 13.2%, USA 5.6%, Netherlands 5% (2005)
Import products: Rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, cement, transport equipment
Import partners: France 19.2%, Kenya 18.2%, UAE 8.5%, South Africa 6.3%, Pakistan 5.6%, Belgium 4% (2005)

[1]   www.ticaret.gov.tr(October2021 Ework)

[2]   Islamic World, Ahmet Kavas.

[3]     oic-oci.org