Education
He was educated in Madagascar and France
He was educated in Madagascar and France
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), and soon developed an ideology based on hostility against France as former colonial power. His ideas were somewhat influenced by Maoism but without renouncing his Islamic principles.
Less than a month after Comoros gained independence from France, Soilih overthrew President Said Mohamed Jaffar and became head of a revolutionary council which took over Comoros. This occurred on August 3, 1975 when Soilih, whose adherents were barely armed, hired French mercenary Bob Denard to overthrow Abdallah. Soilih officially became President of the revolutionary council in January 1976. He adopted extended powers under the terms of a new constitution, and implemented socialist economic policies. In 1977 he held a referendum on his presidency, with 56.63% of voters endorsing it.
Soilih embarked on a revolutionary program that was mainly directed against the traditional Muslim society of the country. His vision, based on a mixture of Maoist and Islamic philosophies, was to develop the Comoros as an economically self-sufficient and ideologically progressive Islamic modern state.
Condemned as wasteful and cumbersome, certain inherited customs of Comorian culture were abolished, like the 'Anda', the traditional "grand marriage", as well as traditional funerary ceremonies, criticized as 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 the voting age was lowered to fourteen and teenagers were put in positions of responsibility. Among the most striking of his reforms were some 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.