Gouled Aptidon
Gouled Aptidon (Hassan Gouled Aptidon) (October 15, 1916 - November 21, 2006). First president of Djibouti (1977-1999). Hassan Gouled Aptidon was born on October 15, 1916, in a small village called Garissa in the Lughaya district of Somaliland. Before becoming president of Djibouti, he was an important leader in Djibouti's struggle for independence from France.
Like many nationalist leaders in Francophone Africa, Gouled got his start in politics by representing his homeland-- then known as French Somaliland -- in Paris. Gouled Aptidon served in the French senate from 1952 to 1958 and in the national assembly from 1959 to 1967. He also served as the vice-president of the government council from 1958 to 1959.
When the territory held its first referendum on alternatives to colonial rule, Gouled Aptidon supported continued association with France, but by the time a second such referendum was held in 1967 he was campaigning for independence. After this referendum, the territory was renamed “French Territory of Afars and Issas,” reflecting the names of the two dominant ethnic groups.
In 1972, Gouled became president of the Ligue Populaire Africaine pour l’Independence (LPAI), the territory’s strongest anti-colonial movement. When the territory became independent as the Republic of Djibouti in June 1977, he was elected president.
While a succession of prime ministers came and went, Gouled provided the government with stability and was re-elected president for a six-year term in 1981 -- this time by direct popular vote. In 1981, he turned the country into a one party state by declaring that his party, the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progres (RPP) (People's Rally for Progress), was the sole legal one. After the breakout of a civil war in 1991, Gouled allowed for a constitutional referendum on multi-party politics in September 1992, with four parties being permitted. In the parliamentary elections held in December 1992, however, only two parties competed, and the RPP won all 65 seats in the National Assembly. Gouled was re-elected for a fourth term in May 1993 with 60.7% of the vote. He stepped down in 1999. His successor was his nephew, Ismail Omar Guellah. Hassan Gouled Aptidon died on November 21, 2006.
As the leader of a miniscule nation, with a population of less than half a million, sandwiched between Ethiopia and Somalia, Gouled came to be recognized for maintaining his country’s neutrality amidst dangerous external hostilities while consistently pushing for peaceful settlements. Meanwhile, he worked to ease ethnic tensions within Djibouti between his own Somali-related Issa people and the non-Somali Afar by involving members of both groups in the government.
Hassan Gouled Aptidon see Gouled Aptidon
Aptidon, Hassan Gouled see Gouled Aptidon
Gouled Aptidon (Hassan Gouled Aptidon) (October 15, 1916 - November 21, 2006). First president of Djibouti (1977-1999). Hassan Gouled Aptidon was born on October 15, 1916, in a small village called Garissa in the Lughaya district of Somaliland. Before becoming president of Djibouti, he was an important leader in Djibouti's struggle for independence from France.
Like many nationalist leaders in Francophone Africa, Gouled got his start in politics by representing his homeland-- then known as French Somaliland -- in Paris. Gouled Aptidon served in the French senate from 1952 to 1958 and in the national assembly from 1959 to 1967. He also served as the vice-president of the government council from 1958 to 1959.
When the territory held its first referendum on alternatives to colonial rule, Gouled Aptidon supported continued association with France, but by the time a second such referendum was held in 1967 he was campaigning for independence. After this referendum, the territory was renamed “French Territory of Afars and Issas,” reflecting the names of the two dominant ethnic groups.
In 1972, Gouled became president of the Ligue Populaire Africaine pour l’Independence (LPAI), the territory’s strongest anti-colonial movement. When the territory became independent as the Republic of Djibouti in June 1977, he was elected president.
While a succession of prime ministers came and went, Gouled provided the government with stability and was re-elected president for a six-year term in 1981 -- this time by direct popular vote. In 1981, he turned the country into a one party state by declaring that his party, the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progres (RPP) (People's Rally for Progress), was the sole legal one. After the breakout of a civil war in 1991, Gouled allowed for a constitutional referendum on multi-party politics in September 1992, with four parties being permitted. In the parliamentary elections held in December 1992, however, only two parties competed, and the RPP won all 65 seats in the National Assembly. Gouled was re-elected for a fourth term in May 1993 with 60.7% of the vote. He stepped down in 1999. His successor was his nephew, Ismail Omar Guellah. Hassan Gouled Aptidon died on November 21, 2006.
As the leader of a miniscule nation, with a population of less than half a million, sandwiched between Ethiopia and Somalia, Gouled came to be recognized for maintaining his country’s neutrality amidst dangerous external hostilities while consistently pushing for peaceful settlements. Meanwhile, he worked to ease ethnic tensions within Djibouti between his own Somali-related Issa people and the non-Somali Afar by involving members of both groups in the government.
Hassan Gouled Aptidon see Gouled Aptidon
Aptidon, Hassan Gouled see Gouled Aptidon
Greek Orthodox Christians
Greek Orthodox Christians. Members of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Greek Orthodox Church has a history in the Middle East which goes back to the earliest times of Christian history. The Greek Orthodox of Southwest Asia have the Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa as their leader. One of the most central religious buildings for Christianity (and Judaism, and to some extent Islam) is maintained by the Greek Orthodox: the monastery below Mount Sinai, believed to be the place where Moses received the covenant.
Greek Orthodox Christians. Members of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Greek Orthodox Church has a history in the Middle East which goes back to the earliest times of Christian history. The Greek Orthodox of Southwest Asia have the Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa as their leader. One of the most central religious buildings for Christianity (and Judaism, and to some extent Islam) is maintained by the Greek Orthodox: the monastery below Mount Sinai, believed to be the place where Moses received the covenant.
Groupement Islamique en France
Groupement Islamique en France. In the 1980s, Islam came to the center of political debates in France and in Europe generally. Many organizations were established by Muslim intellectuals or students of Arab origin in order to awaken Islamic feelings among adults and ensure the religious education of children. In some neighborhoods where North African immigrant families are concentrated, housing projects or residences for immigrants have come to be used for collective prayers of Qur’anic classes. On a national level, federations of Islamic groups such as the Association des Etudiants Islamiques en France (AEIF, Association of Islamic Students in France) were already emerging in the early 1960s. This organization’s aim was to bring together Muslim students of different nationalities, although most its membership consisted of Maghribis living in France.
In 1979, a student of Tunisian origin broke from the AEIF and formed his own group, the Groupement Islamique en France (GIF), in Valenciennes in the north of France. Its goal was to expand Islamic preaching to immigrant workers influenced by the Tablighi Jama‘at, a transnational organization of South Asian origin. Intellectually influenced by Islamist currents in the Middle East, such as that of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, that are more politically engaged than the Tablighi Jama‘at, the aim of the GIF is to emphasize theoretical and practical re-education by sermons, conferences and social structure that will give a foretaste of what Islamic life will be like under the shari‘a. The organization’s headquarters moved to Paris in 1981.
The GIF is officially subsidized by donations from members. The publication and distribution of an Islamic calendar and such activities as annual congresses on Islam in France, conferences and discussions, an Islamic book exhibit, and the pilgrimage to Mecca are also sources of income. Besides purely Islamic ventures, the leaders and members engage in many cultural and social activities. For example, sports have become a major interest. Also, in order to create and re-inforce solidarity among Muslim workers, members are encouraged to make regular visits to those who are in hospitals and prisons.
In 1986, the GIF became a member association of the Union des Organisations Islamiques de France (UOIF), created in 1983. This umbrella organization joined forty to fifty member associations of Maghribi origin. They share the ideology of Islamic assertiveness and a commitment to islamization, in contrast to the Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France (FNMF). This latter group works for a French Islam. Its leaders emphasize their Islamic identity, but argue the compatibility of Islam with French republican values and negotiate with public authorities for a better integration of Muslims into French society. Both the UOIF and the FNMF are members of CORIF (Conseil Religieux de l’Islam en France), a state organization created in 1990 to serve as official representative and intermediary of Muslims in France.
GIF see Groupement Islamique en France.
Groupement Islamique en France. In the 1980s, Islam came to the center of political debates in France and in Europe generally. Many organizations were established by Muslim intellectuals or students of Arab origin in order to awaken Islamic feelings among adults and ensure the religious education of children. In some neighborhoods where North African immigrant families are concentrated, housing projects or residences for immigrants have come to be used for collective prayers of Qur’anic classes. On a national level, federations of Islamic groups such as the Association des Etudiants Islamiques en France (AEIF, Association of Islamic Students in France) were already emerging in the early 1960s. This organization’s aim was to bring together Muslim students of different nationalities, although most its membership consisted of Maghribis living in France.
In 1979, a student of Tunisian origin broke from the AEIF and formed his own group, the Groupement Islamique en France (GIF), in Valenciennes in the north of France. Its goal was to expand Islamic preaching to immigrant workers influenced by the Tablighi Jama‘at, a transnational organization of South Asian origin. Intellectually influenced by Islamist currents in the Middle East, such as that of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, that are more politically engaged than the Tablighi Jama‘at, the aim of the GIF is to emphasize theoretical and practical re-education by sermons, conferences and social structure that will give a foretaste of what Islamic life will be like under the shari‘a. The organization’s headquarters moved to Paris in 1981.
The GIF is officially subsidized by donations from members. The publication and distribution of an Islamic calendar and such activities as annual congresses on Islam in France, conferences and discussions, an Islamic book exhibit, and the pilgrimage to Mecca are also sources of income. Besides purely Islamic ventures, the leaders and members engage in many cultural and social activities. For example, sports have become a major interest. Also, in order to create and re-inforce solidarity among Muslim workers, members are encouraged to make regular visits to those who are in hospitals and prisons.
In 1986, the GIF became a member association of the Union des Organisations Islamiques de France (UOIF), created in 1983. This umbrella organization joined forty to fifty member associations of Maghribi origin. They share the ideology of Islamic assertiveness and a commitment to islamization, in contrast to the Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France (FNMF). This latter group works for a French Islam. Its leaders emphasize their Islamic identity, but argue the compatibility of Islam with French republican values and negotiate with public authorities for a better integration of Muslims into French society. Both the UOIF and the FNMF are members of CORIF (Conseil Religieux de l’Islam en France), a state organization created in 1990 to serve as official representative and intermediary of Muslims in France.
GIF see Groupement Islamique en France.
Group Islamique Arme
Group Islamique Arme (GIA) (al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha). Most active militant Islamist group in Algeria during the 1990s. GIA first appeared on the scene in the spring of 1993. According to what was reported on their own program, their aim was to exterminate all Jews, Christians, and infidels from the land of Algeria. They claimed to be fighting a holy war, and would not end the war until the ruling government of Algeria was ousted.
Much was uncertain about GIA because of limited access to information on Algeria. It was believed that GIA was led by Djamel Zitouni, alias Abou Aberrahmane Amine. GIA was responsible for many killings of foreigners, such as five French embassy employees in August 1994 and seven trappist monks in April 1996. However, in real numbers, Algerians were the people that suffered most. The GIA was believed to have been responsible for 1,000 schools being burned down, and more than 200 teachers being murdered. From August 1996, actions became more bizarre than before, and after a more peaceful period through 1997, actions escalated in the first half of 1998. GIA remained active, but the situation became more under government control than it was in the late 1990s.
GIA has even been involved in attacks on police and even ministers. But GIA was not responsible for the killing of President Boudiaf on June 29, 1992, the most dramatic killing through the years of unrest.
Members of GIA are normal Algerians, young men from the poor quarters in the cities in northern Algeria. But the core members were the thousands of “Afghans,” men who have received their military training from Afghanistan.
GIA did not cooperate with FIS (Front Islamique du Salut), and there was a strong political and ideological conflict between GIA and the militant part of FIS, the AIS (Arme Islamique du Salut). Additionally, any reports concerning GIA must be evaluated carefully. It has been reported that there was a connection between GIA and the Saudi newspaper Al Hayat, published from London, Paris and Beirut. There are also suggestions that many of the actions ascribed to GIA have been performed by government troops in disguise, in attempts to discredit GIA.
GIA see Group Islamique Arme
al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha see Group Islamique Arme
Group Islamique Arme (GIA) (al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha). Most active militant Islamist group in Algeria during the 1990s. GIA first appeared on the scene in the spring of 1993. According to what was reported on their own program, their aim was to exterminate all Jews, Christians, and infidels from the land of Algeria. They claimed to be fighting a holy war, and would not end the war until the ruling government of Algeria was ousted.
Much was uncertain about GIA because of limited access to information on Algeria. It was believed that GIA was led by Djamel Zitouni, alias Abou Aberrahmane Amine. GIA was responsible for many killings of foreigners, such as five French embassy employees in August 1994 and seven trappist monks in April 1996. However, in real numbers, Algerians were the people that suffered most. The GIA was believed to have been responsible for 1,000 schools being burned down, and more than 200 teachers being murdered. From August 1996, actions became more bizarre than before, and after a more peaceful period through 1997, actions escalated in the first half of 1998. GIA remained active, but the situation became more under government control than it was in the late 1990s.
GIA has even been involved in attacks on police and even ministers. But GIA was not responsible for the killing of President Boudiaf on June 29, 1992, the most dramatic killing through the years of unrest.
Members of GIA are normal Algerians, young men from the poor quarters in the cities in northern Algeria. But the core members were the thousands of “Afghans,” men who have received their military training from Afghanistan.
GIA did not cooperate with FIS (Front Islamique du Salut), and there was a strong political and ideological conflict between GIA and the militant part of FIS, the AIS (Arme Islamique du Salut). Additionally, any reports concerning GIA must be evaluated carefully. It has been reported that there was a connection between GIA and the Saudi newspaper Al Hayat, published from London, Paris and Beirut. There are also suggestions that many of the actions ascribed to GIA have been performed by government troops in disguise, in attempts to discredit GIA.
GIA see Group Islamique Arme
al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha see Group Islamique Arme
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