INDEPENDENT ISLAMIC STATES

Western Sahara

Official Name Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Capital city   : Laayoune (Al Ayun)

Other Important Cities: Tuvat, Ebrar, Dakhla, Guelmim

Area: 266,000 km²

Population         : 568.000. 40% of the population is under 14 years of age. The population is increasing rapidly.

Ethnic Structure : It consists of Arabs and Berbers.  

Language: Arabic and Spanish are spoken.

Religion: Almost all of the people are Muslim.

Geographical Situation: There is Atlas Ocean in the west, Fas, Algeria in the north and Mauritania in the south.

Dry desert is dominant in the country where rocky and sandy surfaces cover a large area. While the south of the region consists of low plains, small mountains rise in the north-east.

There are almost no rivers. 0.02% of the land is suitable for agriculture.

The country has a hot and dry desert climate and the sea effect is seen on the coastline.

Form of Government: Western Sahara is a disputed country with an undetermined legal status of its territory and an unresolved question of sovereignty.

The government established by the Polisario Front in 1976 governs the country and has recognised itself as the sole representative of the people of Western Sahara. The Moroccan Government also wants to have a say in the territory of the country. In addition, the people of Western Sahara can participate in Moroccan elections.

History : The Islamisation of Western Sahara happened when the first Islamic armies under the command of Ukba b. Nafi' captured the lands up to Sakiyetul-Hamrâ during the conquest of Africa. The Islamic period in Western Sahara began in the VII century.

Phosphate mines in Western Sahara, which came under the control of Morocco in the 16th century, attracted the attention of colonial countries. Although the region first came under the sovereignty of the French, Spain later increased its influence here.

Morocco, Spain, Mauritania and Algeria tried to dominate Western Sahara. Meanwhile, an organisation called the Polisario Front was founded (1970), which would fight for the independence of Western Sahara.

Although the matter was brought to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, no result was obtained. Unable to gain anything from Western Sahara, Spain left the region to Morocco and Mauritania. Algeria, another influential country in the region, then decided to help the Polisario Front. When Mauritania failed against the Polisario guerrillas, Morocco invaded the whole of Western Sahara. However, the United Nations prevented this. Western Sahara was recognised by forty-five countries in the world and admitted to the Organisation of African Unity. Morocco recognised Western Sahara in 1976. Differences of opinion between the parties still continue.

Internal Problems: Mauritania's renunciation of its rights over Western Sahara in favour of the Polisario has expanded the Polisario Front's area of control.

Western Sahara is an unresolved issue and is still being discussed by the United Nations.

External Problems: Western Sahara is a disputed country where the legal status of its territory has not been determined and the question of sovereignty has not been resolved.

Islamic Life: All of the people are Muslims.

Economy:. Mining, animal husbandry and fishing are important livelihoods of the region. Handicrafts are another important activity. When travelling from El-Ayoun city in the north of Western Sahara to Dakhla in the south along the Atlantic coast, it is possible to come across numerous trucks carrying seafood, especially octopus, when approaching Boujdour city. Western Sahara is one of the world's most fish-producing regions with a coastline of 1,200 kilometres. Morocco is struggling with Western Sahara in terms of fisheries, despite the vastness of its coastline and economic area in the ocean.

According to Western Sahara Resource Watch, there are 11 large agricultural areas around the city.²⁰ The French fruit and vegetable production company "Idyl" produced cherry tomatoes in this region under the brand name "etoile du sud", meaning "southern star". According to the Western Sahara Resources Monitoring Organisation, these tomatoes, labelled "genuine Moroccan products", are exported to Europe via the Moroccan port of Agadir, 1,200 km from Dakhla.

   In the north, at the port operated by the Moroccan company l'Office chérifien des phosphates (OCP), one can see the feverish work of loading phosphate mines from the Bou Craa region, a hundred kilometres away, which are mined by the Moroccan company Phosphates de Boucraa and brought to the port by ²¹ another Moroccan company. These resources in Western Sahara, where the world's richest phosphate mines are located, are operated by Morocco under the colonial system. Morocco is the world's largest phosphate producer thanks to these resources.

      Morocco exported a total of 1.5 million tonnes of phosphate from Western Sahara in 2017, generating approximately $142 million. Western Sahara's unrivalled richness in fisheries, agriculture and mineral resources has contributed greatly to Morocco's economic growth. On the other hand, French oil company Total announced in 2014 that it was conducting oil exploration activities in Western Sahara.²⁴

     There is not enough rainfall in the region. Soils are not suitable for agriculture. Food products needed by the population are usually imported.

The country's trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government.

Currency: Moroccan Dirham

History : The Islamisation of Western Sahara happened when the first Islamic armies under the command of Ukba b. Nafi' captured the lands up to Sakiyetul Hamrâ during the conquest of Africa. The Islamic period in Western Sahara began in the VIIth century.

15. The Spanish and Portuguese, who had been a threat between Sâkıyetül-Hamrâ and Senegal since the 16th century, were repulsed by the Sa'dîs ruling in Morocco in the 16th century. With the help of the Ottomans, the Saʿdīs conquered the region at the end of the Battle of Wādilmehāzin in 1578, and during the reign of Ahmad al-Mansūr (1578-1603), they took Tuvat and Edrar and reached Tinbuktu (1591). In the seventeenth century, the region, including Western Sahara, came under the rule of the Philalids and was annexed to Morocco.
16. At the beginning of the XVII century, France and Spain's interest in Western Sahara began after Tuvat, which was located here, became the subject of scientific research by French geographers. The discovery that the region was rich in minerals led to the emergence of colonialist ideas. Upon this, Moroccan sultans carried out activities to warn the people of the region. In his letter dated 7 August 1884, Hassan I sent to the people of Tuvat, he touched upon the real intentions of the French and asked them to be careful, to elect their own representatives, to be attached to the governor of Tafilāt and to take their place in the Moroccan administration. Since the people living in the region belonged to the Senūsī and Derkāvī sects, they were sensitive to foreign intervention and remained loyal to the Moroccan sultan. For this reason, the French
17. They could not penetrate the region until the end of the century. Even if they wanted to appoint a governor here, claiming that Morocco had withdrawn from the region with the 1845 treaty, they were not successful. During the later struggles, the French occupied Aynisâlih, one of the important centres of Western Sahara (1900) and killed the prominent people who resisted. In the same year, the French occupied Tuvat and divided the Western Sahara into three administrative regions and subordinated them to the French general in Algeria. In 1901, according to the protocol signed between Morocco and France, French influence in the region was accepted and this situation was reinforced with a second protocol signed in 1902.

     Spain founded the city of al-Uyûn in Sâkıyetül-Hamrâ and started to operate the phosphate mines here. The sending of troops as well as technical personnel from other European communities for the exploitation of the mines formed part of the invasion movement directed to the region. The struggles with the Spaniards continued after the independence of Morocco and finally, on 7 April 1956, part of Western Sahara passed to Morocco.[1]

During this period, efforts were made to increase the European population in the region under Spanish rule. The number of foreigners, mostly Spaniards, increased from 5267 in 1959 to 42,000 in the 1970s. In order to settle this new population, the natives were forced to migrate to cities such as Agādīr, Tanta, Terfaye and Rabat. There was also a massacre in al-Uyūn in 1970 in an attempt to eradicate the indigenous population, and some of the inhabitants fled the area under pressure.

Recent History: The government established by the Polisario Front in 1976 governs the country and has established itself as the sole representative of the people of Western Sahara. The Moroccan Government also wants to have a say in the territory of the country. In addition, the people of Western Sahara can participate in Moroccan elections. Mauritania's renunciation of its rights over Western Sahara in favour of the Polisario has expanded the Polisario Front's area of dominance.

     Since Spain wanted Western Sahara to become an independent state, it established an organisation consisting of forty members under the name of General Sahara Society on 11 May 1967. Thus, it would be easy to keep Western Sahara away from Moroccan influence and to intervene in the political, military and economic life of the new state to be established. On the other hand, an organisation called Polisario Front (Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Sakiet el-Hamray Rio de Oro) was established in order to fight against the Spanish administration and to obtain the independence of Western Sahara (1970). This organisation played an important role in the developments related to Western Sahara. Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria, who claimed rights over Western Sahara, came together in 1970 and adopted a resolution demanding the colonial forces to leave the region. Later, King Hassan II of Morocco appealed to the United Nations in 1974 and the matter was referred to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In The Hague, the issues of which state owned the region at the time the Spaniards arrived in Western Sahara and the legal connections between Western Sahara and Morocco and Mauritania were discussed. Morocco claimed that it had historical rights over the region. Spain, on the other hand, argued that they had established sovereignty in the region by making agreements with the local rulers and that they had consolidated their situation with the treaty they made with the French in 1904. As the lawsuit was inconclusive, Hassan II decided to annex Western Sahara to Morocco after negotiations with the elders of his country. Morocco and Mauritania did not accept Spain's proposal to establish an independent government in the region. Hassan II, who obtained a ruling from his own courts that Western Sahara belonged to Morocco and announced it to the world, started a mass demonstration movement called "green march" (al-mesîret al-hadrâ') towards the city of al-Uyûn in Western Sahara with 350.000 people on 6 November 1975. Spain agreed to withdraw from Western Sahara and leave the region to Morocco and Mauritania in a treaty signed in Madrid on 14 November 1975, after its counter-attempts at the UN proved fruitless. However, Algeria, the third neighbour of the region, opposed this treaty and declared that it would support the Polisario Front for the independence of Western Sahara and would intervene militarily. In the face of this situation, Moroccan troops occupied the region and settled in the city of al-Uyoun (11 December 1975).[2]

     The Polisario established a government-in-exile in Algeria under the name of the Sahara Arab Democratic Republic (Sahara Arab Democratic Républic) (27 February 1976), during which there were some defections from the region to Algeria. Western Sahara was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in a treaty signed in April 1976. Accordingly, the northern parts of the region and the phosphate mines were left to Morocco and the southern part to Mauritania. After Mauritania's failure against the Polisario guerrillas, Morocco assumed the task of protecting the whole region. Algeria's recognition of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic led to a complete deterioration of its relations with Morocco. Upon Mauritania's request, France also made air interventions in support of Morocco. After the change of government in Mauritania in 1978, Mauritania-Polisario relations began to soften and in 1980 Mauritania gave up its rights in Western Sahara in favour of Polisario. Morocco then planned to occupy the territories in Western Sahara, which had fallen under Polisario control, but the intervention of the UN prevented this, and in 1981 Western Sahara was recognised by forty-five countries and then admitted to the Organisation of African Unity. However, Morocco opposed this and, upon the resumption of hostilities, turned to the United States for military assistance (1982). In 1983, at the African Union meeting in Adisababa, it was decided to hold a referendum in Western Sahara, but it was not implemented. In 1986, the Polisario Front claimed Western Sahara and began to fight against foreign powers on land and sea. In February 1987, there were clashes between Moroccan forces and Polisario forces and an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Mohamed Abdel Aziz, who was in Algeria at the time. In June 1987, the UN agreed to send a special delegation to Morocco, Algeria and Congo to investigate the holding of a referendum in Western Sahara and also requested the Moroccan army to cease its activities in Western Sahara. In July 1987, Hassan II announced that he would welcome the results of the referendum, taking into account Morocco's application to join the European Community. However, Polisario demanded that the UN or the African Union take control of the region.

     Morocco's re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Algeria on 16 May 1988, twelve years after Morocco broke off diplomatic relations with Algeria in 1976 upon its recognition of the Arab Democratic Republic of Sahara, gave hope for the solution of the Western Sahara problem. After establishing diplomatic relations, Morocco and Algeria agreed to resolve the issue by popular vote, which gave hope for the future of Western Sahara. Although King Hassan II of Morocco met with a three-person delegation of Polisario officials on 4-5 January 1989, the Moroccan-Polisario talks could not be sustained. On the other hand, after the development of Moroccan-Algerian relations, the UN Secretary General was interested in the solution of the issue. The Secretary-General travelled to the region in June 1989 to hold talks with the parties concerned after the referendum proposal was conditionally accepted by Morocco and the Polisario. The issue of a UN-supervised referendum is still under discussion and differences of opinion persist between the parties.[3]

[1] Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV.

[2]Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV

[3]Encyclopaedia of Islam, TDV