The "Ulemas of Azawad" participated in the First National Congress of Azawad, held in Gao April 25-27, 2012, to discuss the future of the new Azawadian state, whose independence was declared by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) on April 6. On the occasion of this meeting, they issued a declaration, published in French on the MNLA's website[1] and signed by Ulemas of Azawad spokesman Sheikh Al-‘Ateeq bin Sa'ad Al-Din Al-Idrisi Al-Souki, demanding that Islam be the official religion of the Azawadian state and "the Koran and the hadiths a source of legislation." They presented a detailed program for implementing this demand, including "the creation of an Islamic League for the Ulemas and Preachers of the State of Azawad," and "the creation of a Court of Justice and Fatwas."
Additionally, in line with similar calls by the MNLA's chief of staff, Colonel Muhammad Ag Najim,[2] they also called for "all the Azawadian armed groups to join the ranks of the National Army of Azawad [i.e. the MNLA's armed forces]" and for all "non-Azawadian armed groups to respectfully leave Azawad."
Following are excerpts, translated from the original French:
"...We, the Ulemas of Azawad, convinced of the responsibilities that lie upon us and of the duty to give a contribution aimed at the gathering and unification of the word [of Allah], met in Gao on April 25-26, 2012.
"A – We Demand
"We demand that Islam be considered the religion of the state of Azawad, and the Koran and the hadiths a source of legislation.
"Considering that the people of Azawad has the right to decide its future and to live in cohesiveness in its own land like any other people in the world, as stipulated by article 6 of the United Nations Charter:
"1. We ask that the international community recognize the independence of the State of Azawad, as proclaimed on April 6, 2012;
"2. We ask the Malian state to come to the dialogue table with the leaders of Azawad, in order to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict over the [separate] states of Azawad and Mali, and in order to foster security and enduring peace, as well as good neighborly relations in the sub-[Saharan] region;
"3. We reject anything which might harm Azawad, its religion, its people, its unity or the social cohesion among its children;
"4. We ask all Azawadians to form a united rank, to be just and to forget the grievances of the past;
"5. We ask the non-Azawadian armed groups to respectfully leave Azawad;
"6. We ask the children of Azawad to turn over a new leaf and to form one rank, in order to build a new state of Azawad open to all its children in freedom, justice, and equality;
"7. We ask all the Azawadian armed groups to join the ranks of the National Army of Azawad [i.e. the MNLA's armed forces] in order to fulfill [their] religious and national duties;
"8. We ask international humanitarian organizations to come to the Azawadians' aid in both the interior and the exterior (refugees).[3]
"B – We Recommend
"1. The creation of an Islamic League for the Ulemas and Preachers of the State of Azawad.
"2. The creation of a Court of Justice and Fatwas.
"3. The creation of a Committee of Good Intents, [to be] in charge of national reconciliation...
"Salvation, peace and blessings of Allah upon the Prophet.
"Gao, April 26, 2012
"Sheikh Al-‘Ateeq [bin] Sa'ad Al-Din [Al-Idrisi]."
Endnotes:
[3] Many Azawadians live in precarious and difficult conditions in refugee camps in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger. Since Mali's independence from France in 1960, there have been several waves of Tuareg emigration due to the poverty, droughts and loss of means of subsistence.
