Mauritania, along with Morocco, illegally annexed the territory of Western Sahara in 1976, with Mauritania taking the lower one-third. After several military losses to the Polisario, Mauritania retreated in 1979 and their claims were taken by Morocco. Mauritania's economic weakness has since made it a negligible player in the territorial dispute. dispute. communal violence that broke out in 1989 (the "1989 Events"), but has since subsided. The tension between these Moor and the non-Moor visions remains a feature of the political dialogue. A significant number from both groups, however, seek a more diverse, pluralistic society.

Politics

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After independence in 1960, President Moktar Ould Daddah, originally installed by the French, formalized Mauri- tania into a one-party state in 1964 with a new constitution, which set up an authoritarian presidential regime. Daddah's own Parti du Peuple Mauritanian (PPM) became the ruling organization. The president justified this decision on the grounds that he considered Mauritania ill-prepared for Western-style multi-party democracy. Under this one-party constitution, Daddah was reelected in uncontested elections in 1966, 1971 and 1976. Daddah was ousted in a bloodless coup on July 10, 1978.

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A committee of military officers governed Mauritania from July 1978 to April 1992. A referendum approved the current constitution in July 1991.

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The government bureaucracy is comprised of traditional ministries, special agencies, and para-statal companies. The Ministry of Interior spearheads a system of regional governors and prefects modeled on the French system of local administration. Under this system, Mauritania is divided into 13 regions (wilaya), including the capital district, Nouakchott. Control is tightly concentrated in the executive branch of the central government, but a series of national and municipal elections since 1992 have produced some limited decentralization.

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Politics in Mauritania have always been heavily influenced by personalities, with any leader's ability to exercise political power dependent upon control over resources; perceived ability or integrity; and tribal, ethnic, family, and personal considerations. Conflict between White Moor, Black Moor, and non-Moor ethnic groups, centering on language, land tenure, and other issues, continues to be the dominant challenge to national unity.

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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. Most opposition parties boycotted the first legislative election in 1992, and the parliament was dominated by the PRDS.

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Demographics

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Mauritania has a population of 4 million people. The local population is divided into three main ethnic tiers: Bidhan or Moors, Haratin, and West Africans. The Bidhan speak Hassaniya Arabic and are primarily of Arab-Berber origin. The Haratin are descendants of former slaves and also speak Arabic. The remaining ethnic groups are of West African descent, including the Niger-Congo-speaking Halpulaar (Fulbe), Soninke, Bambara, and Wolof.

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Religion

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The majority of Mauritanians are Sunni Muslims, that adhere to the Maliki rite, one of the four Sunni schools of law. Since independence in 1960, Mauritania has been an Islamic republic. The Constitutional Charter of 1985 declares Islam the state religion and Sharia the law of the land. Islam first spread southward into West Africa, including Mauritania, with the movement of Muslim traders and craftsmen and later with the founders of Islamic brother- hoods. Although the brotherhoods (Sufism and tariqa) played a role in the early expansion of Islam, it was not until the 19th century that these religious orders assumed importance when they attempted to make religion a force for expanding identities and loyalties beyond the limits of kinship.

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The relative peace brought to the area by French administration and the growing resentment of colonial rule contributed to the rapid rise in the power and influence of the brotherhoods. In recent decades, these orders have opposed tribalism and have been an indispensable element in the growth of nationalist sentiment.

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In the 1980s, two brotherhoods (tariqa), the Qadiriyyah and the Tijaniyyah, accounted for nearly all the brother- hood membership in Mauritania. The Qadiriyyah and Tijaniyyah were essentially parallel “ways,” differing primarily in their methods of reciting the litanies. Their Islamic doctrines and their religious obligations were basically similar. Two smaller brotherhoods also existed—the Shadhiliyyah, centered in Boumdeït in Tagant Region, and the Goudfiya, found in the regions of Tagant, Adrar, Hodh ech Chargui, and Hodh el Gharbi.

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As Islam spread westward and southward in Africa, various elements of indigenous religious systems became absorbed into and then altered strictly Islamic beliefs. For example, the Islamic tradition includes provisions for a variety of spirits and supernatural beings, as long as Allah is still recognized as the only God. Muslims in Mauritania believe in various lesser spirits apparently transformed from pre-Islamic faiths into Islamic spirits. Mauritanian Muslims, however, do not emphasize the Islamic concepts of the eternal soul and of reward or punishment in an afterlife.

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Languages

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Arabic is the official and national language of Mauritania. The local spoken variety, known as Hassaniya, contains many Berber words and significantly differs from the Modern Standard Arabic that is used for official communica- tion. There are four national languages. Hassaniya is a mixture of Arabic and Berber and is the language of the white Maurs and the Haratin. Pulaar (Fulani) is spoken on the Atlantic coast and across the sahel-savannah zone. Soninke (Sarakolle) is spoken on the borders with Mali and Senegal. Wolof is widely spoken. Bambara is spoken in the southeast.

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At independence, French became the official language and, in 1965, the Arab-Berber regime made Arabic compulsory in primary and secondary education. This resulted in ethnic confrontation over the national language. The clashes intensified until 1999, when Colonel Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya decided to resurrect French and downgrade Arabic. Black Africans' determination to resist Arabization resulted in the official recognition of Fulani, Soninke, and Wolof as national languages in 1980 and the creation of a national institute to teach those languages in public schools.
 

Education

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Education is based on a combination of three overlapping philosophies: indigenous, Islamic, and Western. In the first system, the objective is to prepare the young to be useful members of the local community. Education is thus inward-oriented and functional and is provided by parents, elder siblings, peers, and specialized traditional teachers. The key values are belief in God, honor, respect, and service to the community, generosity, hospitality, endurance, and patience. Islamic teaching prepares Muslims to serve Allah and the community of believers by learning the Koran and practicing the five pillars of Islam.

The most important qualities in a “good” child are respect and service to the parents and the community, truthful- ness, learning, prayer, and politeness. Parents believe that children are what they inherit and learn from their parents. If they are of good character, her children will be good.

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Higher education: Before independence, there were few schools and illiteracy was close to 100 percent. Sons of the Black aristocracy were sent to a special school established by the French in Senegal. After power was transferred to the Arab-Berbers, the new rulers built schools in their areas and neglected the south.

Economy

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Mauritania and Madagascar are the only two countries in the world not to use decimal-based currency. The basic unit of currency, the ouguiya, is comprised of five khoums. The Sahara region is developing a modern economy centered on the exploitation of copper and iron-ore resources. It receives technical assistance and capital invest- ment from abroad.

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The Chinguetti oil reserves, discovered in 2001, are estimated to contain about 120 million barrels of oil. At the end of December 2005, authorities estimated that in 2006 the oil profits would be 47 billion ouguiyas (US$180 million) and represent a quarter of the state budget. This discovery puts Mauritania more substantially on the world eco- nomic map. Before the discovery, fishing and agriculture made up almost 33 percent of the gross national product,  mining 25 percent, and public administration about 15 percent.