Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamma ...

Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi ( ar, أحمد عبدالله محمد سامبي, born 5 June 1958) is a Comorian Islamic leader and politician, and former

President of Comoros The following is a list of heads of state of the Comoros, since the country gained independence from France in 1975. List of officeholders Timeline Succession Article 58 of the Comorian Constitution states that "in case of absolute absen ...

. He is popularly known as '

Ayatollah Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from Arabic word p ...

'. After easily winning the 14 May 2006 presidential election with 58.02% of the national vote, Sambi was inaugurated as President of the

Union of the Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean ...

on 26 May 2006. It was the first

peaceful transfer of power A peaceful transition or transfer of power is a concept important to democratic governments in which the leadership of a government peacefully hands over control of government to a newly-elected leadership. This may be after elections or during t ...

in the

history of the Comoros The history of the Comoros extends to about 800–1000 AD when the archipelago was first inhabited. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independe ...

Personal life

Sambi was born in

Mutsamudu Mutsamudu is the second-largest city in the Comoros. It is also the capital and largest city on the island of Anjouan as well the former home of former Comorian president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi. It now houses a deep water port, an ancient c ...

, on the island of

Anjouan Anjouan (; also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and historically as Johanna or Hinzuan) is an autonomous high island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, , its population is around 277,500. ...

. He is a father of seven children including two named Intisware and Fatoumat. He owns factories which produce mattresses, bottled water and perfume - a key Comorian export. He lives above a shop called The House of Mattresses in Mutsamudu, the capital of Anjouan. He also set up a television station called Ulezi (education). He is of Hadhrami ancestry, descending from the Ba 'Alawi family of

Hadhramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...

(now part of Yemen). Therefore, he is a descendant of

Ali al-Uraidhi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq Ali al-Uraydi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq, ( ar, علي العريضي بن جعفر الصادق, translit=ʿAlī al-ʿUrayḍī ibn Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq) better known simply as Ali al-Uraydi, was the son of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the brother of Isma'il, M ...

and hence a

"The Ayatollah of Comoros"

He was educated in

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

in Sudan,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and Qom,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. According to the Tehran-based

Tabnak Mohsen Rezaee ( fa, محسن رضایی, born Sabzevar Rezaee Mirgha'ed ( fa, سبزوار رضایی میرقائد) on 1 September 1954) is an Iranian conservative politician affiliated with the Resistance Front of Islamic Iran and senior milit ...

news agency, while Sambi was there he studied under Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi. Despite his Sunni background, Sambi's time in Iran and his penchant for

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promin ...

s earned him the nickname "The Ayatollah of Comoros".

Political career

Running as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate in the 16 April 2006 presidential primary election on the island of

, Sambi placed first out of thirteen candidates, winning 23.70% of the vote. In the 14 May

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

, Sambi was declared the victor on 15 May by Secretary of State for elections Ali Abdallah over retired French air force officer

Mohamed Djaanfari Mohamed Djaanfari (born 1952) is a politician in The Comoros. He is a retired French air force officer, local transportation tycoon and Vice-President of the Assembly of the Union of the Comoros. He contested the 2006 presidential elections and en ...

and long-time politician

Ibrahim Halidi Ibrahim Halidi (1954— February 23, 2020 ( ar, إبراهيم هاليدي) is a long-time politician in Comoros. Halidi was the Prime Minister of Comoros from January to May 1993. Halidi also ran for President (government title), president in May ...

, whose candidacy was backed by

Azali Assoumani Azali Assoumani ( ar, غزالي عثماني; born 1 January 1959) is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as President of the Comoros since April 2019. He was also president from 2002 to 2006 and 2016 to February 2019. He ...

, the outgoing president.

Corruption charges

In 2018 Sambi was charged for planning the Comoros Passport scheme with Bashar Kiwan netting $200 million dollar from the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

government. In August 2018, Comoros authorities charged former president Ahmed Abdullah Sambi and Bachar Kiwan with corruption, embezzlement of public funds and forgery related to the sales of Comoros passports. Sambi was jailed, and in September 2018 appealed to the Supreme Court to be granted unrestricted access to his lawyer to defend himself in the corruption case. From 21 to 24 November 2022, Ahmed Abdullah Sambi, Bashar Kiwan,

Majd Suleiman Majd Bahjat Suleiman ( ar, مجد بهجت سليمان, born 28 October 1974), also known as ''Majd Suleiman'' or ''Majid Suleiman'', is a Dubai-based Syrian businessman and son of the former Syrian ambassador to Jordan and intelligence chief Ba ...

, and other directors of Comoro Gulf Holdings, the company that allegedly facilitated the sales, were tried for high treason, embezzlement and money laundering of Comorian public funds allegedly diverted from the economic citizenship program. Prosecutors sought a life sentence for the former president and his accomplices. On 28 November 2022, Sambi was sentenced to life in prison.

Political views

Sambi has been quoted as saying that Comoros is not ready to become an

Islamic state An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

, nor will anyone be forced to wear a

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

under his presidency. He also promised to fight corruption, create jobs and build better houses for the majority of Comorians living in poverty.

References

External links

News and background information on Sambi
Africa Intelligence.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sambi, Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed 1958 births Comorian people of Yemeni descent Comorian Sunni Muslims Hadhrami people Living people People from Anjouan Presidents of the Comoros Heads of government who were later imprisoned Politicians convicted of embezzlement People convicted of treason