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Mauritania: French Overseas
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Mauritania boasts a unique mixture of North African and West African culture, and it struggles to unite them. Approximately 66 percent of the population are Maures of Arab, Berber, and black African descent who speak Hassaniya, a dialect of Arabic and one of the two official languages of Mauritania. The remaining population is ethnically black African, composed of Halpulaar, Fulbe, Soninké, and Wolof (speakers of Pulaar, Soninké, and Wolof). French is the other official language of Mauritania, spoken in the marketplace as a common second language. Almost all Mauritanians are Sunni Muslims.
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Mauritania, formerly French administered, became independent on Nov. 28, 1960. By the terms of the constitution, Islam is the official state religion, but the republic guarantees freedom of conscience and religious liberty to all. Arabic is the national language, and the official languages are Arabic and French.
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French and Arabic are widely spoken in Mauritania. Moors in the south speak a dialect of Arabic, Hassaniyyah, while several other African languages are spoken including those of the Pulaar, Soininke and Wolof peoples. After independence there was a long dispute between the Moors and the Africans over retaining French as an official language; in 1991, Arabic became the sole official language of Mauritania.
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On 24 December 2007, four French tourists were murdered in the Aleg region; more recently, the French government cancelled the 2008 Dakar Rally due to security concerns across Mauritania. In view of these developments, travellers should exercise a high level of caution when visiting the country.
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