Mali: History, Politics, and Fundamentalism

IDEA Editorial

Ghelawdewos Araia

The history of Mali is inextricably concatenated to the history of ancient Ghana (not to be confused with present-day Ghana), Songhay, and Kanem-Borno, civilizations that thrived in Western Africa between 700 and 1500 CE. These civilizations were collectively known as the Niger Valley civilizations, and Mali was at the center of all this.

The medieval Kingdom of Mali known to historians, as Mandinka or Malinke kingdom, was the successor to ancient Ghana, founded by the Sonninke, a Mande-speaking African people whose sedentary life was at the north end tip of the Niger River and by the border of present-day Mali and Mauritania. It is at this geographical confluence that medieval Mali emerged and became one of the great kingdoms of West Africa.

Mali, thus, was one of the West African Savanna civilizations that became a powerful kingdom between 700 and 1075 CE. The bases for the Malian civilization were commerce, farming, and Islam. Mali, like its predecessor Ghana, was involved in trans-Saharan trade and its merchants were engaged in trade exchanges with North Africans, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. This trade contact, in turn, created religious infusion and diffusion in which the Malian merchants served as catalyst; in other words, it was the Malian merchants Muslim converts who brought Islam to Mali, and as a result Mali became the first Muslim state in West Africa.

During the course of the 13^th century and the reign of the legendary Sundiata Keita, Mali reached its zenith and by 1325 it had begun incorporating neighboring territories such as Timbuktu and Gao. The latter two cities, along with Jenne, in turn, became commercial and cultural centers.

Mali, however, became so famous and a regional power to be reckoned with during the reign of Mansa Musa (1312-1337). Mansa Musa was an enlightened emperor who was at once an innovator and an adventurer. He commissioned two major expeditions, one his own Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in 1324, and another, a journey by Malian mariners across the Atlantic to what we call today the Caribbean. Since the Americas were not yet discovered for the rest of the old world, it is believed that Mansa Musa instructed the Malian mariners, �not to return to Mali till you reach a land beyond the sea.�

Soon after the major accomplishments of Mansa Musa, however, due to internal rivalry and other emerging and competing forces like the Mossi, Mali began to decline and gradually gave way to Songhay.

By the last quarter of the 19^th century, Mali and the entire continent of Africa were threatened by European colonial forces, and despite the resistance of West Africans led by al Hajj Umar (1797-1864) and Samori Toure (1830-1900), Mali would become French colony in 1892. Even then, France was unable to consolidate its hegemony over Mali until 1898.

Mali would remain French colony until 1960, when seventeen African countries gained independence in the same year. At independence, Modibo Keita, a former teacher and socialist by orientation, became the first president of Mali. He was also one of the founding leaders of the OAU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Politics and governance in Mali were relatively unique but well balanced. Unlike other democracies that feature separation of powers, the Malian legislative power is shared by the government and the National Assembly, and the judiciary enjoys independence from both the executive and the legislative branches of government. The president is elected to 5-terms by direct vote and in turn he appoints the prime minister as head of government. The prime minister is primus inter parus and it is the president that wields more power, because he is the head of state, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and presides over the council of ministers.

Members of parliament in Mali are also elected by direct vote to 5-year terms and the Malian National Assembly is proportionally represented to satisfy administrative districts. What makes the Malian legislature interesting is its powers to investigate and approve policies and proposals of the government, and also to summon and question ministers.

Mali is a multi-party democracy, but the political parties are forbidden by the constitution to organize along ethnic, gender, or religious affiliations. The first political party of Modibo Keita was Sudanese Union African Democratic Rally (the name �Sudan� was given to Mali by the French), and after the early 1990s and especially after the constitution of 1992, however, there were at least 21 parties that were legally registered. The dominant parties, with bigger seats in the parliament, are Alliance for Democratic Mali (ADEMA), Union for the Republic and Democracy in Mali (URD), and Rally for Mali (RPM). All parties, including Diaspora Malians contest for representation in the National Assembly.

Administrative governors in Mali are also elected by the people, and there are eight regions with districts ranging from five to nine, presided over by Prefects. Municipal councils, headed by mayors, are also elected.

Bay and large, given the rich history and culture of Mali and a relatively democratic society, and not withstanding its poverty and landlocked geographical location, the country was doing well until recently. That is to say, until the virus of fundamentalism hovered over Mali.

Following the North African Peoples uprisings and especially after the death of Muammar Gaddaffi, Tuareg insurgents in Libya returned to Mali, took over the northern half of the country and declared it as the independent state of Azwad. Soon after the declaration of this so-called Azwad State, Islamic fundamentalists from the rest of Africa and beyond joined the rank and file of the Tuareg insurgents and the joint forces formed what they call the National Movement for the Liberation of Azwad (MNLA).

However, MNLA is not alone in Azwad; it is rather challenged by a competing and more radical fundamentalist organization known as Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) and their official organ, Ansar al-Mujahideen. The MOJWA views the MNLA as too secular and it wants to impose Islamic Sharia on northern Malians. The MOJWA radical Islamic forces have already prohibited the entertainment of modern ideas and disbanded modern dress styles and even the guitar playing Malian music that is famous worldwide. In point of fact, the world-famous Malian musician Khaira Arby and other artists have been silenced.

It is against the above backdrop that we must critically examine why Mali has imploded, and if the degenerated political atmosphere is not reversed on time, the country could face the experience of Somalia. While the African Union (AU) attempted to resolve the crisis in Mali by a proposal to bring the warring factions and the government to a round table and restore democracy, the military arrested Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra on December 12, 2012 and forced him to resign.

Now, its seems the fate of Mali is hanging in the balance between the junta and the insurgents and Jihadists. It would be in the best interest of Mali if the Junta can negotiate a peaceful dialogue with the Azwadists, but this does not look promising at least in the short haul. ECOWAS and the AU should devise a long-term plan for Mali before the country further implodes at catastrophic proportions.