Mauritania

=**Mauritania** =



Languages of Mauritania
The two official languages of Mauritania are Hassaniya Arabic (a diaclect of Arabic) and Wolof. Other languages include Soninke and Pulaar as well as French. The French language was brought to Mauritania and other countries in Africa when the French colonised several different parts of the contienent, including Mauritania. Soninke is an indigenious language from West Africa spoken in several nations and enjoy over one million speakers throughout the region. Pulaar is also an indigenous language spoken primarily by the Fula people and Tukolor. Pulaar is written using the Latin alphabet much like the English, French, Spanish and other languages we know today. However, historically it was written in Arabic, which makes sense because Arab culture was and is very prevelent in many regions of North and West Africa.

Religion in Mauritania
Nearly all Mauritanians are Sunni Muslims and are part of the Maliki Madhab. Islam is the state religion and the law follows the sharia. Christianity is a small minority in Mauritania. There are about 4,500 Cathlioc Christians in Mauritania.

Economy of Mauritania
The majority of the Mauritanian population relies on agriculture for money. Iron is a big resource in Mauritania is iron and it accounts for about 50% of the export of the country. The coast of Mauritania has lots of fish for fishing. Despite this, the economy is in rather bad shape and is one of the poorest countries is Africa. Unemployment is about 30% in the country.

[[image:http://siteresources.worldbank.org/MAURITANIAEXTN/Images/Mauritania-CO-cppr.jpg width="251" height="176" caption="A group of Mauritanians"]]
The population of Mauritanians are a mix of ethnic Africans and Arabs. Ethnic Africans have been facing discrimination in Mauritania. The Ethnic Moors have held dominance in the country both politcally, econimaclly and socially.

Mauritanian Cuisene
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Many times this meal is a spicy fish and vegetable stew with rice. Tishtar is also a common lunch. Coucous is a common dinner meal. In some areas of Mauritania coucous is known as lachiri. Zrig is a favorite drink, it is made from goat's milk, water and sugar. Another favorite drink is sweet Arab tea with mint.

Clothing In Mauritania
Women wear a malaffa, a long cloak wrapped loosely around the body from head to toe. Men wear a dara, a long loose robe over baggy pants. Office attire in urban areas is Western style pants and shirt.

Current Events In Mauritania: President of Anti-Slavery Movement Arrested
President of the anti-slavery movement arrested in Nouakchott - Anti-slavery activist Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, President of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), was arrested Saturday evening by the Mauritanian police, PANA learnt here Sunday. His arrest came hours after some youths demonstrated outside the Presidency, demanding the arrest and detention of Ould Abeid over alleged contempt for their beliefs. A day before, IRA had burnt several books it said were encouraging and facilitating the practice of slavery in Mauritania.

Sites Used: Wikipedia, Country Reports,