Why is The Comoros in the Arab League?
By Evan Ploeckelman / Arab America Contributing Writer
The Comoros, a tropical island nation off the coast of Africa in the western Indian Ocean, is the southernmost Arab nation and member of the Arab League. In fact, it is the only nation in those categories to be completely below the Equator. However, these islands are a considerable distance from the Arab world. So why are they an Arab nation, and why are they a part of the Arab League?
Origin of the Comoros
The first settlers of the Comoros were Austronesian travelers, who sailed from Indonesia as late as the eighth century AD and settled other nearby places such as Mayotte and Madagascar. Over time, Bantu, Persian, and, notably, Arab traders began to arrive on the islands in search of ylang-ylang, a plant that produces a bright yellow dye. They were officially named in 933 AD by Omani sailors after the Arabic word for moon (قمر, or “qamar”). These traders brought Islam and the Arabic language to the islands, affecting the culture of the native Austronesian and Bantu populations dramatically.
The islands were colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century, but were retaken by Oman and the sultan in Zanzibar. However, in the 1800’s the islands were slowly taken over by the French. They first took control of Mayotte, which remains a French colony today, but gradually they took over the remaining islands, becoming a province of the colony of Madagascar. In 1973, a referendum was held to declare independence for the islands of the Comoros. Three of the main islands — Grand Comore, Moheli, and Anjouan — voted overwhelmingly for independence, while Mayotte, the other major island, voted to remain a part of France. It voted to remain a part of France in three subsequent referendums. The three independent islands joined to form the nation of the Comoros.
Joining the Arab League
The Comoros officially joined the Arab League in 1993. The year in which this happened is important, because it was during the reign of the nation’s first democratically elected president. In total, the Comoros has experienced 20 coups, many of which were orchestrated by paramilitary groups under the command of French colonel Bob Denard. In 1975, colonial president Ahmed Abdallah Aberemane declared independence from France. Shortly after, forces under Denard deposed him and put Said Mohammed Jaffar into power. In January 1976, Jaffar was deposed by Ali Soilih, but in 1978, Denard led another coup and restored Abdallah to power. He ruled until his assassination in 1989. In 1990, the first democratic elections occurred in the country, with Said Mohamed Djohar, the son of Ali Soilih, elected as the first democratic president.
It was under this president that the Comoros joined the Arab league. The move made some sense; the country was formerly under Arab rule, Islam is the majority religion, and, since France supported dictators such as Abdallah, it would make sense for the Comoros to build diplomatic ties to countries that have similar cultures and less ties to the French. However, as many people know, the Arab League has been hindered by disputes within the group and no way to actually enforce policies. This has been extremely evident, as, when Denard came back in 1995 to depose Djohar, it was France, not the Arab League, that reinstated Djohar in 1996.
How Arab is the Comoros?
As the Comoros is a part of the Arab League, one would expect a large amount of Arab cultural influence. While this influence does exist, it mostly exists through Islam. About 99% of the country practices Sunni Islam, with only small minorities of other religions. In fact, the Comoros is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa with a muslim majority (Mayotte also has a muslim majority, but it is a territory of France). In terms of language, most Comorians speak Comorian, a Bantu language related to Swahili. While Arabic is known through religion and traditional Quranic schools, no one speaks Arabic as a first language. However, it is often used at the university level, especially with the establishment of several Arabic colleges with funding from the World Islamic League and Kuwait. In that sense, the Comoros is like Somalia or Djibouti, as all of them are members of the Arab League but do not generally speak Arabic and do not necessarily identify as Arabic.
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