Mauritania
POPULATION 2,828,858
MUSLIM 100 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania lies on the West African coast. Largely arid and flat, the country is bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the northwest and north by the Moroccan-occupied territory of the Western Sahara, to the northeast by Algeria, to the east by Mali, and to the south by Mali and Senegal. Because of Mauritania's location at the ancient meeting point between Arab and Berber North African and black West African cultures, it was relatively easy for Islam to spread throughout the region with the advance of the Almoravids, the confederation of Berber tribes that built its empire in northwestern Africa and Muslim Spain in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Like many North African countries, Mauritania continues to stand astride two worlds, Arab and African. The religions of its people cannot be fully separated from their historical and cultural contexts, and there is a dynamic cross-fertilization between Islam and the country's traditional African cultures.
Religious Tolerance
Because of the high degree of religious homogeneity, freedom of worship is not a major issue in Mauritania, which is surrounded by countries that are also overwhelmingly Muslim.
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