INDEPENDENT ISLAMIC STATES

Burkina Faso

Official Name: Republic of Burkina Faso (BF)

Capital    : Ouagadougou

Important Cities: Boucle du Mouhoun (Dédougou), Cascades (Banfora),Centre (Ouagadougou), Centre-Est (Tenkodogo), Centre-Nord (Kaya), Centre-Ouest (Koudougou), Centre-Sud (Manga), Est (Fada N'gourma), Hauts-Bassins (Bobo Dioulasso), Nord (Ouahigouya), Plateau-Central (Ziniaré), Sahel (Dori), Sud-Ouest (Gaoua)

Area: 274,200 km²

Population        : 22,147,000[1]

Ethnicity: Mossi 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani.

Language: French (official language)

Religion: Muslim 50%, local beliefs 40%, Christian 10%.

Geography: Generally unproductive land is divided by river valleys such as Black Volta, Comue and Leraba. Since the north and north-east of the country is under the influence of the desert, sandy regions lie in bands and rocky hills are located between these sand bands. The plateau descending towards the south is cut by river valleys. The infertility of the land, which is covered with granite rocks in places, is largely due to the flooding of the rivers.

     The climate in the northern part of the country, which is close to the coastal region, is under the influence of the desert. In the central region, tropical Sudan and Guinea climate prevail in the south. Drought adversely affects the lives of people living in rural areas. Most of the country is covered with grasses and bushes that flourish during the rainy season.

Although the country is not poor in terms of rivers, they are not utilised sufficiently either for transport or for irrigation of agricultural areas. The Red Volta, Black Volta and White Volta rivers, which irrigate the central and southern regions, form the Volta River in Ghana after leaving the borders of the country. The rivers irrigating the eastern region join the Niger River. Some of the rivers in the central and western regions, which cause floods by showing irregularities in the rainy season, dry up during the long dry and hot seasons, while others disappear in swamps.

Mode of Government: Presidential Republic

History: The economic and administrative policies followed by the colonial administration left the people in a difficult situation and some of them had to migrate to neighbouring countries. The African Democratic Union, which was founded in 1946 after political organisation was allowed in the country, played an important role in the political history of the country. In 1956, the Haute-Volta section of this party was renamed the United Democratic Party and then transformed into the Volta Democratic Union by Ouezzin Coulibaly and Maurice Yameogo. In 1957 O. Coulibaly became vice-president and later president of the governing council.

     It declared its independence on 5 August 1960. Meanwhile, Maurice Yameogo, who had succeeded O. Coulibaly upon his death in 1958, won the 1959 elections and was re-elected president. With the broad powers granted by the new constitution adopted in November 1960, President Yameogo banned all parties other than his own and silenced his political rivals. However, public and economic distress led to growing dissatisfaction and eventually to a revolt by labour and the army against Yameogo's rule.     

    On 3 January 1966, General Sangoule Lamizana seized power in a coup d'état and declared himself head of state. The military government took some measures to overcome the economic distress in the country and allowed the establishment of political parties after three years. Although the Democratic Union of Volta won the elections held after the adoption of the new constitution in 1970, the military's influence in the administration continued and Lamizana was elected president. Following conflicts in the administration and within the ruling party, President Lamizana dissolved the parliament, banned political activities and monopolised the government. Lamizana was re-elected to the presidency in 1977, but was overthrown by a bloodless military coup d'état carried out by Colonel Saye Zerbo in November 1980 as a result of the continuing unrest. The military government established by Zerbo suspended the constitution and banned all political activities in the country. Shortly afterwards, the labour unions, which had supported the coup, withdrew their support due to the policy pursued by the administration, and serious disturbances emerged in the country. Although President Zerbo returned to the constitutional regime, he could not prevent Jean Baptiste Uedraogo's coup in 1982. However, Uedraogo was overthrown in August 1983 by Captain Thomas Sankara, who was known to be pro-Libyan. When Sankara seized power, he established a council called the National Revolutionary Council, reorganised the administration of the country and tried to reduce the influence of local notables. He intimidated the opposition by putting former political leaders on trial in the popular courts he established in various parts of the country. Meanwhile, relations with France and Western European countries deteriorated, while rapprochement with Libya and the Soviet Union began. President Sankara changed the name of his country to Burkina Faso on the first anniversary of the revolution as a symbol of the political and social changes he had brought about in the country, and thus the name Upper Volta was abandoned. A series of innovations were made, especially in the fields of law and education. Relations with France, which had deteriorated, began to improve after the Socialist Party came to power in that country. Seeking to improve relations with the Soviet Union, Sankara visited Moscow in 1986.[2]

External Problems: In 1985, war broke out with Mali over a border dispute. It also wanted to establish a political integration with its neighbours, but its attempts did not yield positive results.

Islamism in the country: In 1958 the Islamic Community of Uagadugu and the Islamic Cultural Council in Bobo-Diulasso were founded. The Uagadugu Islamic Community was renamed the Upper Volta Islamic Community in 1962 and expanded at the national level. The Islamic Community, which was born with basic objectives such as adherence to the Qur'an, strengthening Islamic brotherhood, coming together for Friday prayers, contributing to national unity and development, endeavoured to develop the community and spread Islam. In 1964, 500 delegates representing eighty-three regions and approximately 55,000 members attended the general congress. During these years there were 771 mosques and eleven Qur'anic schools affiliated to the community. The first Cultural Council of the Islamic Youth was convened in Uagadugu in 1972 with the aim of engaging young people in more Islamic service. Efforts were made to make Arabic the cultural language of the country, to teach Muslims Islamic rules concerning marriage and funeral ceremonies, to develop reliable radio programmes and to raise the level of education in Qur'an courses.

     Despite various difficulties, Muslims in Burkina Faso are in a well-organised unity and solidarity, especially since the country gained its independence. Compared to other countries in West Africa, it can be said that Muslims here are in a better situation in terms of organisation. As in the neighbouring countries, all of them belong to the Mālikī sect. Kâdiriyye and Ticâniyye sects also have an important place among them.

Economy: Burkina Faso is an agricultural country and a significant part of economic activities are carried out in this field. Although 43% of the national income is obtained from agriculture, agriculture, which is under the influence of natural conditions, has not been developed and modernised; for this reason, productivity is very low. The administration is working to increase the production of maize, millet, potato, rice, flax and sesame. To this end, the Thomas Sankara administration has nationalised land and doubled the budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector. In recent years, some small plants for processing flax, sugar cane and peanuts have been established with loans from the European Development Fund. On the other hand, the construction of canals, dykes, ponds and dams for irrigation of the agricultural areas in the south, which were initiated with the loans provided by international financial institutions and the Islamic Development Bank, is continuing.

Livestock breeding is carried out in the pastures in the north of the country. Although it is not rich in terms of underground resources, it has manganese deposits in Tam-bao, phosphate in Tileusi, gold in Poura, antimony in Mafalou, silver and zinc deposits near Ku-dugu. In 1984, a company was established to operate the gold mine with the participation of the Islamic Development Bank, the European Investment Bank and the government. In order to benefit from the rich manganese deposits in Tambao near the Mali border, the railway is planned to be extended to this region. Some mines have been concessioned to foreign companies due to the lack of knowledge, technology and capital to exploit the underground wealth. Dams have been built on the White Volta and Black Volta rivers.

Agricultural products: Peanuts, sesame, cotton, maize, rice, livestock.
Currency: African Franc (CFA)

National Income per Capita: USD 886[3]

Export Products: Cotton, animal products, gold.
Export Partners: China 39.8%, Singapore 13.1%, Thailand 5.9%, Ghana 5.4%, Taiwan 4.6%.
Import Products: Machinery, foodstuffs, petrol.
Industry: Cotton lint, soft drinks, agricultural products, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold
Energy: Electricity generation: 400 million kWh (2004)
Transportation: Railways: 622 km; Roads: 15,272 km, Airports: 34

Education: The literacy rate is 21.8 per cent. There is no common national culture, but a cultural diversity emerged when religious and local differences were added to ethnic differences. The traditional animist culture of the Mosis has left its mark on Burkina Faso culture in general. The Muslim population is under the influence of Islam and traditional cultures. There are great differences between rural areas and cities in terms of mentality and cultural structure.

Education is compulsory and free of charge and primary education starts at the age of seven. There are 1758 primary education institutions in the country. After six years of primary education, the first period of secondary education is four years and the second period is three years. There are 125 secondary schools offering general and vocational education. The number of students attending the University of Uagadugu was 3869. Although the government allocates 20 per cent of the budget to raise the level of education and training in the country, this amount is not sufficient.

International Organisations to which it is a Member: OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), FAO, ILO, ISO, WHO[4]

[1]  www. ticaret.gov.tr (Accessed April-2022)

[2]   Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV.

[3]   www.ticaret.gov.tr (Accessed April -2022)

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