Ethno-religious violence in Islamic Mali

[Milagros]

Ethno-religious violence in Islamic Mali

Background: Mali is 90% Muslim, the ethnic Manding are in the majority.^[1]

... Mandinka by ethnicity. King Keita (1210-1260 A.D) introduced Islam in the Malian Empire, and by the turn of the 13th century, Mali was one of the first African states (South of the Sahara) to embrace Islam.
King Keita was later succeeded by his grand nephew Mansa Musa (1312-1337). King Musa was a devout Mandingo Muslim, and it was under his rule that Mali became the first country in Africa to make Islam a state religion. He built several mosques as well as Islamic universities and converted public officials as well as members of his own Mandinka tribe to Muslims. In the decades that followed, Mali turned out to be known as "Mandinka Islamic Empire."^[2][3]

The "Tuareg" is a nickname given them by the Arabs and means „ deserted by God“. ... They were suppressed without mercy and persecuted. have been ^[4]

From a 2008 report:

The Tuareg are a mainly nomadic people who live in the semi-arid Sahel, ... Thus, Mali is ruled by other ethnic groups like the Bambara, Mandingo, and Peul. .... Political and social oppression tore the social fabric of Tuareg society to shreds.^[5]

From a 2012 report: Ever since the end of the colonial era, Tuareg leaders have claimed that they were oppressed and marginalized by the various national governments.^[6]

Ethno-Religious cleansing campaign in Mali, Africa, 2012:
Following a March 2012 coup, "Christians were driven out of northern Mali by Islamist." Ethnic Tuareg rebels, including Islamist movement Ansar Dine were driving out the Christians in such areas as Gao and Timbuktu.^[7] It came as the Tuareg and Islamist militants, extremists linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), took over a vast area in the desert north. Both Islamic organizations, "Ansar Dine and AQIM are recruiting children in a bid to boost their forces."^[8]

1. ^ "Mali People." http://www.factrover.com/people/Mali_people.html
2. ^ Arthur B. Dennis, 'Why Mandingoes in Liberia are Labeled "Foreigners," TLC Africa Magazine. http://www.tlcafrica.com/article_mandingo.htm
3. ^ Frank Sherman, "Liberia: The Land, Its People, History and Culture," (Godfrey Mwakikagile, Jan 31, 2010, 350 pp.), p. 245. http://books.google.com/books?id=1lstRzSWEcUC&pg=PA245&lpg=PA245
4. ^ Tuareg, Enmigraw TuaregHelp.ch. http://www.tuareghelp.ch/en/enmigraw/tuareg_nomaden.html
5. ^ Justice Africa, 'working for peace and rights in Africa.' INTERNSHIP RESEARCH PAPER. Nomadic Conflict in Mali. Kadiatou Kourouma, September 2008. http://www.justiceafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/kourouma-k-nomadic-conflict-mali.doc
6. ^ Corey Flintoff, "Mali's Rebellion Stirs Fear Of Wider Saharan Conflict." NPR, April 4, 2012. http://www.npr.org/2012/04/04/149985662/malis-rebellion-stirs-fear-of-wider-saharan-conflict
7. ^ "Christians driven out of northern Mali by Islamist." BarnabasFund, April 23, 2012. http://www.barnabasfund.org/Christians-driven-out-of-northern-Mali-by-Islamist-rebels.html
8. ^ "Mali post-coup leader threatens 'total war' on rebels." AFP, FRANCE 24, Apr 13, 2012.http://www.france24.com/en/20120413-mali-post-coup-leader-threatens-total-war-rebels

[Milagros]

Journalist explains the Tuareg rebellion against African rule in Mali and Niger from the 1960s to the mid-1990s, as a natural resentment of racist-supremacy.

Femi Awoniyi, "Fulani Oligarchy and the death of Bola Ige. NigerDeltaCongress, 2002.
http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/farticles/fulani_oligarchy_and_the_death_o.htm

[piasa]

And yet, other reports say the Tauregs -Ansar Dine- have taken over towns and imposed Taliban style rules infringing on people’s freedom and shariah law, joining up with AQIM.

[SunkenCiv]

A map of the Sahel region showing where Al Qaeda operates (AFP/Graphic)