Smara, also Semara, is a Sahrawi city (50,000 in 1999) in the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. The largest city in its province, Smara was founded as a capital and religious center in the late 19th century by shaykh Ma El Ainin, who declared himself an imam and called for holy war against French colonialism. During the campaign against Ma El Ainin, Smara was sacked in 1912 by French troops, and its famous library of Islamic scripture completely destroyed. In 1934 it was once again destroyed, but eventually rebuilt. Sahrawi and Saharawi are terms most commonly used for the natives of the Morocco-occupied Western Sahara. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Ma El Ainin was a Saharan tribesman and freedom fighter in late 19th-century Western Sahara (then Spanish Sahara). ... Imam (Arabic: إمام) is an Arabic word meaning Leader. The ruler of a country might be called the Imam, for example. ... Bold textItalic text World map of colonialism at the end of the Second World War in 1945. ... 1912 was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Islām is described as a dīn, meaning way of life and/or guidance. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Moroccan army took the city from Polisario forces in 1976, sparking an exodus of Sahrawi towards Algeria to escape Moroccan retribution for their part in the revolt. On the way to Algeria the Moroccan airforce napalmed the refugees; Amnesty International has estimated the casualites at almost 530. The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Peoples Liberation Front of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro) is an army and political movement in the Western Sahara, comprising... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Exodus is the second book of the Torah (the Pentateuch) and also the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), and Christian Old Testament. ... A napalm airstrike during the Vietnam War Napalm is a flammable, gasoline-based weapon invented in 1942. ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization with the stated purpose of promoting all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ...

Lately, Smara has seen small-scale uprisings and demonstrations against Moroccan rule, for example during the "Smara Intifada" (1999) and the "Independence Intifada" (2005). The Independence Intifada (intifada is Arabic for uprising) is a Sahrawi name for the disturbances, demonstrations and riots that broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-held parts of Western Sahara. ...

In the area south of Tindouf, Algeria, there is a Sahrawi refugee camp named after Smara. Tindouf, also written Tinduf, (Arabic: تندوف) is a city and wilaya in the west of Algeria, population 30,000. ... A refugee camp is a camp built up by governments or NGOs (such as the ICRC) to receive refugees. ...

Reaching Ma el Ainain's mysterious Smara was the goal of the brothers Vieuchange, early 20th century French writers and romantics. Michel Vieuchange's painful journey through the rebel-held Sahrawi lands in 1930 disguised varyingly as a tribesman, a Muslim woman and an American businessman, and the illness that lead to his death on the way back, is documented in his travel diaries. They were published posthumously as Smara: The Forbidden City (1932) by his brother Jean, and remain a minor cult classic. 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on a Friday. ...

External links

• Entry in Lexicorient
• Amazon.com ad for "Smara: The Forbidden City" by Jean and Michel Vieuchange