Rise to power

In 1970, Ali Soilih entered politics as a supporter of Said Ibrahim, leader of the Democratic Assembly of the Comoran People, Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Comorien (RDPC).^[2] He soon developed an ideology of hostility towards France as the former colonial power. His ideas were socialist, and he renounced his Islamic faith and became an atheist.^[3]

On August 3, 1975, less than a month after Comoros gained independence from France, Soilih overthrew President Said Mohamed Jaffar and became head of a revolutionary council that took over Comoros. Soilih, whose adherents were barely armed, hired French mercenary Bob Denard to overthrow Ahmed Abdallah. He officially became President of the revolutionary council in January 1976. He acquired extensive powers under the terms of a new constitution^[4] and implemented socialist economic policies. In 1977 he held a referendum on his presidency, with 56.63% of voters endorsing it.

Revolutionary program

Soilih embarked on a revolutionary program that was mainly directed against the country's traditional Muslim society.^[5] His vision, based on a mixture of Maoism and Islamic philosophies, was to develop the Comoros as an economically self-sufficient and ideologically progressive modern 20th-century state.^[3]

Condemned as wasteful and cumbersome, certain inherited customs of Comorian culture were abolished, like the 'Anda', the traditional "grand marriage",^[6] as well as traditional funerary ceremonies, which were criticized for being too costly. Soilih advanced the cause of the youth by discouraging the study of history and allowing young people to take more power. In order to reach his goal, he lowered the voting age to fourteen and put teenagers in positions of responsibility. Among the most striking of his reforms were measures designed to gain the favor of the youth, like the legalization of cannabis and promoting the removal of the veil among the women of Comoros.^[7]

Soilih created the 'Moissy', a young revolutionary militia trained by Tanzanian military advisers.^[5] The Moissy was a Comorian version of Mao Zedong's Red Guards, and its methods were similar to those that had been employed by their Chinese counterpart during the Cultural Revolution.^[8][9]

Consequences

Soilih's confrontational policies led to France terminating all aid and technical assistance programs to the Comoros, while traditional leaders of the islands resented the progressive elimination of age-old traditions. The teenage Moissy, commanded by a 15-year-old chosen only for his loyalty to the president, behaved with outrageous arrogance, raping any women who resisted their advances and killing anyone who questioned their authority in the slightest. Hence, they were viewed by Comorians as a repressive force.^[10] Growing discontent promoted by the political opposition resulted in four unsuccessful coup attempts against the Soilih regime during its two-and-a-half-year existence.^[5]

Coup d'état

On May 13, 1978, Soilih was finally overthrown by a force of 50 mercenaries, the majority of them former French paratroopers hired by exiled former leader Ahmed Abdallah and led by French Colonel Bob Denard.^[11] In mere hours, the well-trained and experienced Frenchmen almost effortlessly annihilated a Moissy force hundreds strong without a single loss in return. On the night of the coup, Denard kicked the door to Soilih's bedroom only to find him in his bed with three nude teenage schoolgirls, all of them watching a pornographic film while high on marijuana. Denard later recalled in his own words that Soilih was so "stupid" that it took lots of effort before he finally realized his deposition.^[12] Abdallah became president, Soilih's policies were reversed, and the name of the country was changed to "Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros".^[13] On May 29, Soilih was shot and killed; according to the government, he had attempted to escape from house arrest.^[14] He was 41 years old when he died.