The Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Mauritania is culturally and politically part of the Arab world: it is a member of the Arab League and Arabic is the sole official language.

This episode of Sahara explores the people and traditions of Mauritania, but it also uncovers a deep dark secret that the locals aren’t allowed to address.

The official religion is Islam, and almost all inhabitants are Sunni Muslims.

Secrets of the Sahara.

Modern-day slavery still exists in different forms. According to some estimates, thousands of Mauritanians are still enslaved. A 2012 CNN report, “Slavery’s Last Stronghold” documented the ongoing slave-owning cultures. This social discrimination is applied chiefly against the “black Moors” (Haratin) in the northern part of the country, where tribal elites among “white Moors” (Bidh’an, Hassaniya-speaking Arabs and Arabized Berbers) hold sway. Slavery practices exist also within the sub-Saharan African ethnic groups of the south.

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