My heart aches to find many Muslim youths know nothing about the Muslim Ummah-related important, urgent and tremendously effective issues. Meanwhile, they exert great efforts to know fruitless trivial or even prohibited matters.

In this critical stage of the history of our Ummah (Nation), we have to comprehend the Ummah's problems and issues and to do our best to know the details of the crises we confront. We are also to find or suggest solutions to our problems, share all Muslims their grief and joy embodying the deep meaning of the Qur'anic verse that reads, "Truly! This, your Ummah [Sharia or religion (Islamic Monotheism)] is one religion, and I am your Lord, therefore worship Me (Alone)." [AL-Anbia', 92].

Definitely, the issue of Western Sahara is one of those issues requiring careful examination. A great dispute arose between Morocco and the Polisario Front over the Western Sahara, to which other parties are recently involved including Mauritania and Algeria. The dispute sowed the seeds of discord among these Muslim countries being so escalated that it flared up open war!

Analyzing this situation, I do not only address only rulers and peoples of such disputing countries, but also all Muslims who feel jealous for the unity of their Ummah. It is absolutely unacceptable that a Muslim shows no concern for Morocco, Algeria or Mauritania, for actually Muslims are like one body as stated by the Prophet (peace be upon him). Moreover, it is improper to claim to be helpless, for actually we wish that deep understanding motivates action and that little action motivates greater action. However, feeling helpless should not hinder one from showing concern and feeling pain. Thus feeling, one might be motivated to sincerely supplicate Allah in the hope that through supplication Allah might give us clues to solve our problems.

The Problem of Western Sahara

The problem of Western Sahara is a really complicated one due to many reasons that we will tackle, if Allah so wills. Nevertheless, I view that solution to it is too clear to be ignored by those who overlook it in spite of knowing it, which adds to the gravity of our state of affairs.

One important reason why the problem is so complicated is the absence of correct certain agreed upon backup data. Multiplicity of conflicting parties, and consequently points of view, also adds to the sophistication of the issue. In addition, colonization powers were keen, before withdrawing from occupied countries, to leave certain issues unsettled so as to fuel internal dispute within the Muslim Ummah. More amazingly, we could find out that colonization powers have not actually left our countries. Rather, there are leaders in the Ummah who still show loyalty to them and thus moving the direction of events toward the interests of a party that might be unknown to us. Furthermore, modern universal powers such as the US and Russia have poked their nose into the problem adding to its complication and sophistication.

As we always state, it is unfeasible to understand the truth of a given problem without exploring its roots. Although a full detail is necessary, I will try to deal with it in brief. Besides, we will need to write more articles on such issues having relation to our story as Moroccan-Algerian relations, the story of European colonization of Africa, the story of the ruling dynasty in Morocco and the history of the Islamic kingdoms in the Sahara, Senegal and other areas in West Africa.

Conference of Berlin: Africa divided

We will start our story from the late 18th century, namely in 1884 A.D., the year when great colonizing countries, headed by Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal held a conference in Berlin, Germany. The conference ended up with dividing the whole Africa among attendants! Actually, we need to be detailed about the conference on account of its significance as to understanding the story of Africa. However, it is more important now to be learned that conferees agreed that Morocco be divided among Spain and France, bearing in mind that France had occupied Algeria since 1830 and Tunisia since 1881. Coveting for Tangier, German Emperor opposed to such a division and is, therefore, given Congo in recompense for Tangier!!

They would divide countries among themselves just as if a group of thieves dividing a stolen property. More amazingly, division had taken place before robbery actually took place. Astonishingly, all recommendations of the Conference of Berlin were letter for letter implemented and Africa paid and is still paying for it!

Let us now shift into narrating what happened to the Moroccan Kingdom, which concerns us most.

At that time, the Moroccan Kingdom was a great one extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the north and to Senegal to the south. As such, it included today's Morocco, the disputed Western Sahara and the whole state of today's Mauritania. However, the Moroccan Sultan then had no actual authority over desert southern areas (Western Sahara and Mauritania) being so rugged, inhabited by pastoral tribes and ruled by tribal, rather than civil, laws. Actually, this is why Spain said its widely circulated statement, "Western Sahara is an ownerless land." Although locating within the then borders of the Moroccan Kingdom, Western Sahara was not subordinate to the Moroccan Sultan's rule, taking into consideration that the Moroccan ruling dynasty was then of a very weak authority. Let us, therefore, talk about the Moroccan reign at that time.

Moroccan Reign

`Alawi Dynasty (also known as Filalis or Filalians, named after `Ali Filali) a family of religious notables who became the royal house of Morocco from 1631 A.D. – 1041 A.H. through the present. They claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad, through the line of Al-Hassan bin `Ali bin Abu Talib (Peace be upon him) and this is why they are titled Sharifs (qualification borne by descendants of Prophet Mohammed by his daughter Fatima and her husband 4th Caliph `Ali). At the time the Conference of Berlin was held, Morocco was ruled by Sultan Hassan I bin Muhammad (1874-1884 A.D.), during whose reign foreign influence reached its zenith. Tangier was then ruled by a council headed alternately by the French and the Spanish. Soon later, France occupied Tunisia in 1881 A.D. after having occupied Algeria in 1830 A.D. Therefore, the Moroccan Sultan was very frightened realizing he is the next booty and that Morocco will not spare French occupation. To be protected from France, he sought the help of Britain. However, Britain held an agreement with France to the effect that Britain gives France full reign over Morocco in return for France paying no attention to Britain's occupation of Egypt. As a matter fact, Britain occupied Egypt leaving the door wide open for France to occupy Morocco. However, Morocco, as we mentioned above, was not coveted only by France but also by Spain. In view of France's unlimited expansionist policies, it navy was roaming around different world ports, which caused it put off the Moroccan file for a while. Having lost most of its previous colonies, Spain, on the contrary, was very concerned with occupying a part of Moroccan lands. Thus, the Spanish navy set sail to and occupied the Western Sahara's coast, a part of Morocco then, in 1884. By doing so, Spain separated the Sultan Hassan I-ruled northern Morocco from its south that is to be called later Mauritania. In fact, the Spanish occupation lasted for 91 consecutive years (i.e. from 1884 to 1975 A.D.).

Mysteries of Western Sahara

Let us now embark on a discussion about this occupied territory.

Its surface area, mainly consisting of desert flatlands, amounts to 266,000 km2. The territory is mostly inhabited by Arab tribes who migrated in the past from Arabia and Egypt in addition to other Berber tribes. The population of the territory is recently (according to 2005 statistics) about 383,000, which indicates that it was sparsely populated by the time it was occupied (less than 100000 citizens). The territory at that time was poor of natural resources and, therefore, was paid no attention by Morocco, which made it easy for Spanish forces to make their way to the territory's largest city El Aaiún (Laâyoune) and later to occupy the whole territory.

Although few in number and of weak capabilities, population of the territory showed as fierce resistance against occupying forces as possible. They fought some battles against the European developed army, receiving hardly any help from the Moroccan army.

Spanish Occupation

The question that arises is: Why did Spain show interest in such a desert poor territory? The answer to this question spots light on many reasons.

First: In ancient times, from the territory arose many figures who changed the map of Spain. For example, the territory gave rise to Tariq bin Ziad (may Allah show mercy to him) who conquered Andalusia to turn into an Islamic state for eight successive centuries. Another figure is Yusuf bin Tashfin (may Allah show mercy to him) who defeated Spanish crusaders in the Battle of Al-Zallaqa (1086 A.D. – 479 A.H.), also called Sagrajas. He then founded the Moravids dynasty that represented a direct threat to the Spanish rule over northern Andalusia. In brief, Spain now fears an Islamic revival that might cause the Islam's giant to recover consciousness and thus change the map of Spain or even of the world.

Second: Spain wanted to get a foot in the door, even in the poorest area of the region, in hope of further future expansion to the east, south and north. (Actually, expansion ambitions of European imperial powers were limitless.) Spain wished that in the future gold, iron or other treasures might be discovered. In fact, Spanish dreams came true, as will be clarified later.

Third: Competition among different imperial powers was fierce. An imperial empire could achieve considerable and respectable gains. Therefore, Spain sought to compete with France in particular and all European countries in general.

Fourth: Spain wanted to encircle the southern region of Morocco from its west and its north coastal region. By doing so, Spain hoped to center in Al-Rif region, to the north of Morocco, in order to achieve strategic and economic goals, which will be achieved few years later.

Fifth: This desert area is opposite to the Spain-owned Canary Islands. Consequently, occupying such a region provides military security for Canary Islands, and, by the same token, to the navies of Spain and other European countries.

In view of the abovementioned reasons, Spain settled in the region but could not penetrate deeply into the desert on account of fierce internal resistance. Resistance was led by a reverend sheikh called Ma' Al-`Aynayn, the son of sheikh Muhammad Fadil Al-Qalqami, a prolific scholar and a great Mujahid (struggler in Allah's Cause). He fiercely resisted Spanish colonization, establishing a city in the middle of the desert called Smara in 1898 A.D. to be a jumping-off point for Mujahids to launch attacks against the Spanish army. Furthermore, Smara became a distinguished scientific city for Muslims in the surroundings seeking knowledge. Ma' Al-`Aynayn was a Maliki (a follower of the Maliki school of thought) scholar, who had one of the greatest libraries in North Africa. Actually, his story deserves to be dealt with on its own.

Sheikh Ma' Al-`Aynayn tried to seek help from the Moroccan Sultan. The latter provided him sometimes with some reinforcements but failed to support him in the actual sense of the word, which had a negative effect on resistance.

France Oppressive Policy

At that time, France was busy trying to gain a foothold in Tunisia and oppressing successive revolutions staged in Algeria. Meanwhile, it was very anxiously watching Spanish expansion in Morocco. Therefore, it engaged in many diplomatic negotiations with Spain with the aim of putting an end to the latter's expansion. However, France had finally to admit Spain's authority over the Moroccan Sahara in 1900 A.D.

Anyway, imperial France could have never yielded to such a situation and, consequently, arranged to occupy the southern part of Morocco (to the south of Western Sahara occupied by Spain), an area to be later called Mauritania (a Spanish word meaning the Land of Muslims). In 1902, French navies reached Mauritania and occupied the whole of it in spite of public resistance.

Sheikh Ma' Al-`Aynayn found himself compelled to fight against both the Spanish and the French at a time. He, therefore, sought the help of the Moroccan Sultan, Sultan Abdlu-`Aziz bin Al-Hassan I at that time, who assumed authority after his father's death in 1894 A.D. At the beginning, the Moroccan Sultan provided him with some forces. Receiving a direct threat from France, he had to halt his reinforcements. More astonishing, the Sultan founded a strange council to administer the strategic city of Tangier consisting of twenty six member, appointment of twenty two of whom was entrusted to foreign (Spanish and French) chancellors, one to the Jewish Rabbi and only three to Muslims.

Revolution against Sultans

In view of the abovementioned disgraceful circumstances, a revolution was staged by the Moroccan people. They found that their lands are being stolen bit by bit, the Moroccan Sahara occupied by Spain, Mauritania occupied by France and Tangier is administered by French and Spanish chancellors, not to mention the two Moroccan cities Ceuta and Melilla occupied since 1415 A.D. (We will focus specifically on Ceuta and Melilla in a separate article, if Allah so wills.)

Feeling the tragic situation, the Moroccan people staged a revolution against the Sultan whom they nicknamed "the servant of foreigners". France found it opportune to interfere in the internal Moroccan affairs claiming to be defending the Moroccan Sultan against his people! To France's surprise, the German Emperor marched toward Tangier and threatened to fight against France if it attacks Morocco. However, France gave him a part of Cameroon as a bribe so as not to interfere, a bargain which was accepted by the German Emperor who no more opposed to the French invasion of Morocco. Thereafter, France invaded the city of Oujda in eastern Morocco near Algerian borders. It also invaded the city of Casablanca located on the Atlantic Ocean. Simultaneously, Spain advanced to invade Al-Rif region to the northern Morocco.

Finding themselves helpless and unsupported, the Moroccan people revolted against the pro-Christians Sultan and ousted him in 1907 appointing his brother `Abdul-Hafizh in his place. The ousted Sultan fled to Tangier so as to be under international (French and Spanish) protection.

No improvement was observed during the reign of the new Sultan `Abdul-Hafizh. Things even got worse. He imposed many additional taxes on the pretext of preparing for military campaigns to expel France and Spain from Morocco. Therefore, the people harbored malice against him and besieged him in the city of Fez. Upon this, France sent a military campaign to protect Sultan `Abdul-Hafizh against his people in 1911, which ended up with France occupying Fez and Meknes. In spite of heroic public resistance and of the crushing defeat of the French garrison in Fez, France re-occupied the city and saved the Sultan. Anyway, public revolution did not stop, which frightened Sulatan `Abdul-Hafizh so much that he ceded authority to his brother Yusuf bin Al-Hassan I in 1912 and fled to Tangier to enjoy international protection along with his ousted brother `Abdul-`Aziz!

Yusuf bin Al-Hassan I was a puppet ruler who never thought of fighting against the French and the Spanish. During World War I in 1914, France expanded its rule to the south to reach the borders of the Spain-occupied land of Western Sahara.

Having a look at the map of Morocco at that time, you will be really amazed. The northern region (Al-Rif) was occupied by Spain, the region to the south thereof (middle of Morocco) was occupied by France, the region to the south thereof (Western Sahara) was occupied by Spain and the region to the farthest south (Mauritania) was occupied by France! In fact, cutting off Morocco as such caused a tragic situation not only for Moroccans but also between the two aggressing countries Spain and France, which will have great repercussion on the history of the whole region.

Prince `Abdul-Karim Al-Khattabi

The Moroccan people found it inevitable to be self-dependent regarding resistance and Jihad and that they should not have high expectations for the Sultan's help. Thus, a movement led by the great Mujahid Prince `Abdul-Karim Al-Khattabi took arms against occupation, a movement which deserves to be carefully studied. However, Al-Khattabi died in 1919 A.D. to be suceded by his son Muhammad, who caused gross losses to the Spanish army. Anyway, he, finally, was captured in 1925 to be exiled to Réunion Island.

Meanwhile, the Muslim people in Western Sahara and Mauritania could cause losses to the French and Spanish armies and engage in some battles with the occupying armies including the battle of Oumtounsi near Nouakchott in 1932 A.D.

As a matter of a fact, it is a heart-breaking story through which we could notice many Shar`i (legal) infringements. Rule of unqualified rulers, non-preparation of necessary power and allying with Christians are only few examples. We also came to know Muslim countries deserved to be defeated, for, in fact, we are defeated because of our weakness rather than enemies strength.

What surprises you think could have happened in this story? What was the destiny of Morocco? What was the destiny of Western Sahara? What was Mauritania destined for? What did Spain discover in Western Sahara? Why did the problem of Western Sahara get so complicated after being liberated? What is the way out of such a crisis?

Such and like question are passing through our minds. However, the answer to such questions will make clear the dimensions of the current situation, which will be our focus in the next article, if Allah so wills.

We Ask Allah to glorify Islam and Muslims.

By: Dr. Ragheb El Sergani

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