Djibouti

Djibouti (locally called Jumhuriyat Jibuti) is a small, recently formed East African nation located on the Horn of Africa, southeast of Eritrea and at the crossing of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Independent from France in 1977, the Republic of Djibouti holds a strategic location in the Muslim world, as its position is adjacent to the Middle Eastern nation Yemen and at the Red Sea crossing. Approximately 94% of the country identifies as Muslim, with small percentages of foreign-born Catholics and practicing Christians, many of whom are refugees from the neighboring countries.

Before 1859, when France's interest in the area arose due to British pressure seeking control over the Red Sea, the arid, volcanic region was sparsely populated by nomadic groups, particularly the Issas and Afars. The Issa are of Somali origin and typically reside in the south, constituting 60% of the population, whereas the Afar, about 35% of the population, hold allegiances with Ethiopia and reside in the north. Both groups are predominantly Sunnī Muslim, and the country since 1977 has been a member of the Arab League.

Islam became regionally present as early as 615 CE, with mass conversion by the 10th century; nevertheless, local festivals, traditions, and styles of dress remain and often become fused or practiced in conjunction with the Muslim faith. Today, the practice of all faiths is permitted under the nation's 1992 constitution, though the sole recognized religion of the state is Islam. International groups have noted that strong pressure exists for Muslims to remain Muslims, with converts to Christianity facing tremendous social and familial ostracism. Equality between the sexes is poor. Female Muslims in Djibouti are typically circumcised, have literacy rates below 20%, bear an average of around three children each, and cannot marry outside of their religion.

With a population near 750,000 and less than 0.1% arable land, food production is difficult. Education beyond basic schooling is limited, and access to higher education is usually sought outside the country. Despite Djibouti's economic and agricultural poverty, the United States holds a strong interest in the country as a means to countering threats of global terrorism, with the only U.S. military base in sub-Saharan Africa located on Djibouti's soil.

Today, the official spoken languages are Arabic and French, though Afar dialects of lowland eastern Cushitic and Somali are still prevalent in the region. Formerly called French Somaliland, [Page 309]Djibouti's borders were created without regard to former ethnic allegiances or traditional lineages. This haphazard construction of its oft-contested borders and access to railway transport have contributed to ethnic, political, and social tensions within Djibouti's borders as well as in relation to its neighboring countries—Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea—for more than the past century. In 1981, Djibouti became a one-party state, and in 1991, the Afar Revolt began via the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy, inciting civil war, which was unresolved until 2001. Though the 1992 constitution provides for a multiparty system, the second-term president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, was controversially reelected in 2005 with a received vote of 100%.

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