Question: On 2023/2/4, Al-Jazeera.net reported that the leader of the military council in Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore, confirmed "that his country will not sever its diplomatic relations with France." How do we understand this in light of the statement made by the spokesperson for the transitional government in Burkina Faso on 2023/1/21: "The government of Burkina Faso has decided to terminate the military agreement with France, which allows its forces to be present on the territory of Ouagadougou, out of a desire for its own forces to take over their own defense, and has requested the departure of French forces within a month"? Furthermore, why did the transitional government make this decision, given that the transitional rule was announced after a coup against a coup? Who was behind this coup? What is the relationship of all this to the international conflict? Is Burkina Faso an Islamic country, and what is the percentage of Muslims there?
Answer: We will review the situation of Burkina Faso and the coups that have recently accelerated there, and I will begin with its status as an Islamic country:
Burkina Faso is a country in West Africa and is an Islamic country. According to the 2006 census, more than 60.5% of its population are Muslims, about 23% are Christians, and the rest follow other traditions. It was part of the Islamic kingdoms formed after the fragmentation of the Mali Empire, until it eventually fell under French colonialism during its expansion in Africa under the treaty of (1314 AH - 1896 CE). It was annexed to the colony of Upper Senegal and then became a separate colony in (1335 AH - 1916 CE), known as Upper Volta. When the Muslims in Upper Volta attempted to gain their independence, the colonialists fragmented their land, distributing it between Ivory Coast, Mali, and Niger. In (1385 AH - 1947 CE), Upper Volta regained its territorial unity in a single colony and then gained its independence in (1380 AH - 1960 CE). On August 4, 1984, President Thomas Sankara changed the name of the state to "Burkina Faso," which means "the land of upright (pure) people," derived from the two main languages in the country: Mooré (Burkina, meaning upright or pure people) and Dioula (Faso, meaning father’s house or country).
Its area is 274,200 km^2, with a population of 21,510,181. Its economy depends on agriculture, and the city of Ouagadougou is the most important city and the capital.
At the beginning of last year, a coup occurred behind which France stood. We issued a Q&A on 2022/1/30 regarding the coup that took place in Burkina Faso on 2022/1/24, where we clarified that France was behind that coup and its leader, Damiba. We stated: ("This upbringing of the 'coup leader Damiba' in a country generally dominated by France—including its army—and his flimsy justifications for the coup, along with signs that France was not disturbed by the coup but rather satisfied with it... all this confirms that he carried out this coup with the support of France." ... For this reason, America opposed his coup). People there later realized that France, the old and continuing colonialist, was the one standing behind him.
About nine months later, a coup occurred against the coup! It was announced on the evening of Friday, 2022/9/30, that a coup had taken place in Burkina Faso, involving the overthrow of the head of the military council and former coup leader, Paul-Henri Damiba, and the appointment of the new coup leader, Ibrahim Traore. Protests and attacks took place against French institutions there, including the embassy, consulate, schools, and centers, when news spread that Damiba had fled to a French military base. The new coup leader, Ibrahim Traore, who was the head of the anti-militant unit in the Kaya region in the north of the country, announced in a statement read by one of his soldiers on official state television: "A group of officers who helped Damiba seize power last January decided to remove their leader because of his inability to confront the militant insurgency." This is the same pretext the coup plotters used months ago to topple the former president, Roch Kaboré. He said in the statement: ("Damiba rejected the officers' proposals to reorganize the army and instead continued with the military structure that led to the fall of the previous regime. Damiba's actions gradually convinced us that his ambitions were moving away from what we set out to do from the beginning. Today we decided to overthrow Damiba.") The statement added ("National stakeholders will soon be invited to adopt a new transitional charter and appoint another civilian or military president. The constitution has been suspended, the transitional charter abolished, borders closed indefinitely, and all political and civil society activities suspended." ... Al-Ghad, 2022/10/2). These words indicate that the soldiers who carried out the coup were dissatisfied with the political direction of the previous leader, Paul-Henri Damiba, and that they have another political orientation. This means that the former coup leader Damiba followed a policy different from that of the new coup leaders.
This is confirmed by the fact that when the last coup occurred, attacks on French institutions took place. The leader of the latest coup, Ibrahim Traore, pointed out that Damiba had taken refuge in a French military base. Following this statement, attacks on French institutions ensued, and some were set on fire. France expressed its strong displeasure at these attacks. News reports stated that angry protesters set fire on the evening of Saturday, 2022/10/1, to the buildings of the French embassy and consulate in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, following reports of Damiba’s refuge in a French military base, although the French embassy in Ouagadougou denied this. People around the embassy were chanting against France and in support of the new coup leader, and photos of fires in the French buildings spread on social media. The spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry, Anne-Claire Legendre, said: ("We condemn in the strongest terms the targeting of our embassy in Ouagadougou. The safety of our citizens is a priority that cannot be compromised." ... France 24, 2022/10/1). An important French military base is located in the capital, Ouagadougou, housing hundreds of French soldiers, mostly from the French Special Forces, under the pretext of fighting terrorism in the African Sahel. Therefore, this coup targeted the French presence in the country, and everything that happened indicates that the coup was carried out against France.
Additionally, the European Union showed its opposition to the coup, using the preservation of the agreement regarding the handover of power as a pretext. The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said: ("The European Union also regrets the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in the country" ... France 24, 2022/10/1). He was referring to the attacks that targeted French institutions in Burkina Faso. The EU official announced opposition to the coup on behalf of France, as the European Union cares about French interests in Africa. French influence there is considered part of the European Union's influence and enhances its economic and political power.
As for the American position, it appears that it is not against the coup; rather, it implicitly supports it and did not describe it as a "coup." The United States "called for a return to calm and restraint by the concerned parties" (France 24, 2022/10/1). This phrasing indicates a lack of opposition to the coup. The French agency's brief reporting of the American position indicates French resentment toward the US stance and their realization that America stands behind this coup. This is especially true since the former head of the military council in Burkina Faso was an agent of France, and America did not condemn the current coup against him, whereas it implicitly condemned his own coup at the beginning of this year when it showed dissatisfaction and demanded he respect the constitution and return its agent, the former President Kaboré. Thus, it is likely that this coup led by Ibrahim Traore is an American creation.
Consequently, the spokesperson for the transitional government in Burkina Faso announced on 2023/1/21 via official Burkinabé television that "the government of Burkina Faso has decided to terminate the military agreement with France, which allows its forces to be present on the territory of Ouagadougou, out of a desire for its own forces to take over their own defense, and has requested the departure of French forces within a month." The official Burkinabé radio RTB said: "France has one month to withdraw its forces from the country." A few days before the announcement, protesters took to the streets in the capital, Ouagadougou, demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador and the closure of the French military base. The transitional president promised them that something would happen regarding the arrangement of relations with one of the countries, which he did not name. It is worth noting that since the coup of September 30, protests against the French presence have recurred, demanding the expulsion of the French and the closure of their bases in the country.
Accordingly, a spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry stated that it "received on Tuesday (2023/1/24) a request from the ruling military council in Burkina Faso to withdraw its French forces from the country. It will abide by the requested deadline of one month. France will respect the terms of the agreement by implementing this request" (France 24 official page, 2023/1/25). The French President claimed there was great ambiguity and requested clarifications. Consequently, several confirmations and messages were issued from Burkina Faso to France clarifying this. The response to him came from the government of Burkina Faso through spokesperson Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo on 2023/1/23, saying: ("We are terminating the agreement, but it is not the end of diplomatic relations between Burkina Faso and France. The termination of the French military presence is natural and was provided for in the terms of the agreement, and we do not see at present any other way to make the request clearer." (AFP, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, 2023/1/25).
As for how to understand the announcement by the leader of the transitional government, Ibrahim Traore, that his country will not sever diplomatic relations with France despite the warning to end the French military presence, it is because French influence has extended for decades and France has supporters within Burkina Faso. The current administration is focusing on removing French military power and settling for that without political provocation by cutting diplomatic ties. It is not unlikely that France realizes this and will stall the military withdrawal unless it is compelled by American material assistance to the current government.
Thus, the cycle of coups continues in Burkina Faso and other Muslim countries. These are not aimed at changing the situation for the better or bringing about a real revolution against the colonialist to expel them, uproot them, and purify the country from their clutches as should be the case. Instead, it is merely the replacement of the agents of one colonial state with those of another colonial state; it is a result of international rivalry. True change is built on the thought of the Ummah and the building of a complete state upon its basis, with a constitution emanating from its creed (Aqeedah), whose sources are the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ.
وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَاناً لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَى لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ
"And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification for all things and as guidance and mercy and good tidings for the Muslims." (An-Nahl [16]: 89)
We ask Allah, the Mighty and Powerful, that the Muslim lands return to being one single state, the Rightly Guided Khilafah, so that Islam and the Muslims are honored and disbelief and the disbelievers are humiliated, and that Islam spreads to all corners of the earth with the honor of the honorable or the humiliation of the humiliated. This will certainly happen by the will of Allah. Ahmad recorded in his Musnad on the authority of Tamim al-Dari, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
لَيبلُغَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ مَا بلَغَ اللَّيْلُ وَالنهَارُ وَلَا يَتْرُكُ اللَّهُ بيْتَ مَدَرٍ وَلَا وَبَرٍ إِلَّا أَدْخَلَهُ اللَّهُ هَذَا الدِّينَ بِعِزِّ عَزِيزٍ أَوْ بِذُلِّ ذَلِيلٍ عِزّاً يُعِزُّ اللَّهُ بِهِ الْإِسْلَامَ وَذُلّاً يُذِلُّ اللَّهُ بِهِ الْكُفْرَ
"This matter will certainly reach where the night and the day have reached, and Allah will not leave a house of mud (urban) or hair (rural) except that He will cause this Deen to enter it, by the honor of the honorable or the humiliation of the humiliated; an honor by which Allah strengthens Islam and a humiliation by which Allah debases disbelief."
Al-Hakim also recorded it in Al-Mustadrak with the wording: I heard Al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad al-Kindi (ra) say: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
لَا يَبْقَى عَلَى ظَهْرِ الْأَرْضِ مِنْ بَيْتِ مَدَرٍ وَلَا وَبَرٍ إِلَّا أَدْخَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةَ الْإِسْلَامِ بِعِزِّ عَزِيزٍ، أَوْ بِذُلِّ ذَلِيلٍ، يُعِزَّهُمُ اللَّهُ فَيَجْعَلُهُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا، أَوْ يُذِلُّهُمْ فَلَا يَدِينُوا لَهَا
"There will not remain on the face of the earth a house of mud or hair except that Allah will bring the word of Islam into it, by the honor of the honorable or the humiliation of the humiliated; either Allah honors them and makes them its people, or He humiliates them and they do not submit to it." Al-Hakim said: This is a Sahih Hadith according to the conditions of the two Sheikhs (Bukhari and Muslim), although they did not record it.
16th of Rajab 1444 AH 2023/2/7 CE