Fulanistan

Fulanistan, officially the Fulani Federal Republic is a country in North-East Himyar. Bordering Axum to its southwest and Akhaltsikhe to its east, it shares sea borders with Oltremare to the north across the Vostok Sea.

Etymology
When the Batavian Colonists met with Mohamed Al Fulani, leader of the Islamic Order of Aziristan, he agreed to let them set up port. Al Azir grew, and it became an important city for Batavie. In 1711, When Al Fulani died, the Colonists dissolved The Islamic Order and renamed the colony after Al Fulani for his generosity. Aziristan became the Kolonie van Fulanispoort. The name eventually evolved and Fulanistan was chosen in 1950 when the first republic was formed.

History
The Friesland Peninsula has a very rich history, from the Islamic Caliphate to Batavian Colonization. The earliest known artifacts from before the Caliphate era date back to 621 CE. These artifacts are simple bowls and tools found during construction of a Resort in 1944. It is believed a small town existed there, and the items were forgotten. These early tribes were few in number, and there was no official government in the region until the Caliphate arrived in XXXX. During this time, the Uroduah began to arrive in the region. The Caliphate was very successful, and the small tribes that originally inhabited the region became extinct culturally extinct as they adopted Islam. The city of Al Fulayyah was established as a port city for the Caliphate, and the city became the economic center of the region. The Caliphate began to decline, and by the 10th Century Al Fulayyah received little to no support from the main Caliphate. In 982 CE, Mohamed Nahed Al-Rashid established the Holy Emirate of Al Fulayyah. The Holy Emirate did not establish a strong military and little territorial gain was made. The Holy Emirate existed continuously until 1688 when the last Nahedi Emir was overthrown by supporters of Ahmed bin Fulani. bin Fulani was known as a benevolent leader, who kept peace for his 12 year reign.

On May 4th 1700, Batavian ships arrived in the area of what is now Zandburg. The Uroduah were confused by the foreigners, but interested in them as well. The Batavian colonists claimed their new city as Zandstad, which is Bataafsche for Sand City. The colonists began to move upwards into the Friesland Peninsula. The colonists arrived at the city of Al Fulayyah where they established themselves to the Kingdom. When the Batavian Colonists met with bin Fulani, he agreed to let them set up port as he felt they would not hurt his reign. Al Fulayyah grew, and it became an important city for Batavie. By 1703, the Colonists wished to establish the region as a separate country in the region. bin Fulani was ousted, and he died in exile in 1708. In its place, the Freisland Republic was established. The Freisland Republic joined in union with Batavia in 1707 and Colonists continued arriving in Freisland. Al Fulayyah became known as Gravenburg.

As the colony grew, the locals became more educated, and more Batavian Colonists began to arrive. The first major movement against the colonists came in 1829, when natives established themselves as Fulanis, named after the last betrayed leader before the Batavians arrived. The Fulanis began to demand more rights and freedoms and despite their demands, the Colonists still had friendly relations with the Native Fulanis. In 1865, Batavia decided to recognize the Fulani Movement as as the official representative of the Fulani people, and the country was absorbed into the Batavian Empire and became the Freisland Commonwealth. The governing National Democrats were defeated in the 1868 elections, and the first Fulani was elected as Prime Minister. This movement forced Batavia to end colonization efforts, and military vessels left by February 1866. A period of rapid change began, and the country became Fulanistan. This government existed from 1867 until 1940, when the country was retaken by the National Democrat Party. This allowed Batavia to retake its former colony again. The country stagnated in economic collapse until 1944 when tourism began to boom in the region. The beaches of Fulanistan were world renowned, and were visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists yearly and most came from Batavia and its neighbours. The economy began to regain power,and the country began to stabilize. This boom lasted until 1949, when political strife in Batavia forced them to abandon Fulanistan. Many Batavians who happened to be vacationing at the time refused to go back to now communist controlled Batavia, and most either stayed in Fulanistan or left to another country. Due to these hardships, many of the resorts that had been built stood empty as people were not allowed to leave Batavia anymore. Most of these buildings were purchased by rich locals and were turned into private mansions, apartments, condominiums, or remained as resorts. Before the country fell to communists, the government pulled out of the country. This led the way for a new wave of Fulanistani independence, and the Republic of Fulanistan was formed. Despite being a former Batavian territory, Communist Batavia never attempted to regain control of the country, however several attack plans were drawn up and all involved establishing a communist puppet. After the Republic was declared, the country began to reform itself. In 1965, massive amounts crude oil was discovered in South West Fulanistan. This caused a mass craze for foreign investors, and by 1967 Oil wells dotted the landscape in most of the country. So much oil was removed from Fulanistan that the majority was gone by 1972. This new discovery caused massive panic and the remaining oil was sealed up. This sent the country on a downward spiral which led to the end of the first republic.

The strict Islamic Mujaheddin front took control in early 1973, forming the Islamic Republic of Fulanistan. They placed strict laws upon the people, and it is estimated that at least 11,000 people were killed between 1973 and 1981 for Islamic Related Laws. During this period there was limited contact with the outside world, and its closest friend and ally was Hajr. Hajr funded and supported the IMF up until the Summer Revolution which took place in July 1981. Massive student protests against the IMF forced them to flee the country, and it is estimated that most died or are currently living in Hajr. This led to a wave of liberal Islam, which backed the new Islamic Alliance party. The economy began to rebound, and a strong business sector formed in the early nineties. The capital went through a period of modernization, becoming a business oriented city. Despite their previous support, Fulanistan kept its progressive and young culture which became too liberal for the Islamic Alliance, and in 2006 they lost significantly to the previously Batavian dominated Liberal Party. Business began to surge in the country, and Zandburg became a city of skyscrapers surpassing Al Azir in population. In late 2009, Batavia began to rebuild its foreign relations after the communists were defeated, and the two countries became friendly. However they perhaps became too friendly after a mutual commonwealth began to be planned. This caused much outrage in Himyar, despite it being mostly ceremonial. This led the way for communism to surge throughout the country, with most people calling the commonwealth neocolonialism. The PDC Party, led by Abdul De Keizer, gained strong popularity and began to rival the Liberals. The National Senate held a Referendum on the subject in Early June, and it left the commonwealth defeated.

Language
Most Fulanis speak Arabic, however a large minority of Fulanis speak Dutch as a result of Batavian colonization in the 18th century. Both languages are official languages throughout the country, however several languages are recognized regionally and there is much linguistic diversity in the south of the country. Hebrew and Amharic are both recognized in the southern state of Awasa, which shares a common history with Axum. In recent years, there has been a surgence of English speaking people in the country, and it is becoming widely spoken in the north, especially in Nieuw Windhoek.

Religion
Islam is by far the most practiced religion in Fulanistan, with 81% of Fulanis being muslims. 6% of Fulanis are Christian, most of them are Catholic and descendants of Batavian colonists. Fulanistan also has a large Jewish population, and about 5% of Fulani's are Jewish. Judaism is much more prevelant in the south where many people share a common heritage with Axum to the south. There is also a strong non-religious community in Fulanistan, and 9% of Fulanis are secularists. Despite the prevelance of religion, Fulanistan is quite secular, especially since the downfall of strict Islamic control in the country. Recently, the Fulani National Senate passed a bill forbidding religiously motivated parties from being represented at the Federal and State levels.