Religion and Religious Freedom in Somalia - Essay Example

# Religion and Theology # 27th March, Religion and Religious Freedom in Somalia Religion can variously be defined as an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, or world views that relate humanity to the divine, or God. Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that are intended to explain the meaning of life and/or to explain the origin of life or the Universe. From their beliefs about the cosmos and human nature, people derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle. This therefore means that people’s worldview is greatly influenced and shaped by their religious beliefs. This paper looks at the Religion and the religious freedom in Somalia. The paper begins by explaining the meaning of religious freedom, and then goes ahead to explain religion and religious freedom in Somalia. Religious freedom Freedom of religion is the individuals right or freedom to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she believes to be the best for him/her. Religious freedom, also known as the freedom of worship, allows people to freely practice their religion as long as they don’t infringe upon the rights of other people by practicing their preferred religion. Religious freedom is one of the basic human rights universally recognized. Religion and Religious freedom in Somalia Somalia is a country found in the Horn of Africa; Somali borders Ethiopia to the West, the gulf of Eden to the north, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, and Indian Ocean to the east. Somali is predominantly a Muslim country; majority of the Muslims in Somali are Sunni Muslims, according to the Pew research conducted in 2010, 99.8% of Somali people are Muslims (Pew Research Centre, n.p). But, there are also a few other religions in Somalia, although these other religions have very few followers; Christians are minority in Somalia and they constitute less than o.1% of the Somalia population. According to the Catholic diocese of Mogadishu estimates in 2004, there were less than 200 Catholics in Somalia in the year 2004 (The economist, 22/10/2009). The Mogadishu Catholic diocese is the only Catholic diocese in Somalia. Besides Muslim and the few Christians, there are religions in Somalia. According to the Pew Research conducted in 2010, the other religions in Somalia, including Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism constitute less than 0.1% of the Somalia population (Pew Research Centre, n.p). For better explanation of Somali religion and religious freedom in Somalia, it is important to briefly look at the political situation in Somalia because religion and politics in Somalia are inseparable. This is because the constitution of Somalia recognizes Islam as the state religion, and goes ahead to assert that no legislation should be enacted in Somalia that is contrary to the Sharia law (The Federal Republic of Somalia Constitution, web). For close to twenty years now, Somalia has been without a functioning central government. A Transitional National Government was created in 2000 following the Somalia Reconciliation Conference in Arta, Djibouti, but the government failed to establish effective control outside of Mogadishu and its mandate expired in August 2003. Although Somalia’s lack of a stable government can partly be attributed to tribal rivalry, the perpetual Somalia conflict is not without a religious dimension. Extremist Muslim sects have posed the greatest challenge for unity in Somalia. One of these extremist movements in Somalia is the Al-Shabaab, a conservative Muslim organization that recently metamorphosed into a terrorist organisation. The Al-Shabaab organization has made Somalia completely ungovernable. The main ideology of the Al-shabaab movement is to turn Somalia into a conservative Muslim country governed by strict Sharia law (The Al-Shabaab Ideologies, web). With a complete state of anarchy in Somalia due to the Al-Shabaab extremism, protection of religious freedom in Somalia is not possible. But recently, through the efforts of AMISON (African Union Mission in Somalia), normalcy is slowly returning to Somalia. The AMISON forces have succeeded in flushing the Al-Shabaab from Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, and from many other parts of Somaliland. For this reason, there is currently a functioning government in Somalia, although still the government is too weak, and does not have control in some parts of Somalia; the Al-Shabaab are still holding some parts of Somalia.. According to the Constitution of Somalia, to establish a religious school or place of worship one is required to first obtain the Ministry of Religions permission. The ministry of religion must approve entry visas for religious groups. Also, the Somalia constitution prohibits Proselytizing for any religion other religion, except Islam. Members of the other religions in Somalia, especially the Christians have faced a lot of challenges in Somali. In April 2003, thousands of citizens marched through the streets in Mogadishu and in the southern coastal town of Merca protesting at what they said was an attempt by aid agencies to spread Christianity (International Religious Freedom Report, 2004). Muslim scholars had organized the protest following reports that school children were given gifts, by the Christians, with Christian emblems alongside charitable aid. The protesters warned the aid agencies against using relief items to evangelize in the country. Currently in Somalia, there is strong societal pressure to respect Islamic traditions, especially in areas still influenced but not controlled by radical Islamists. These areas include Doble, Ras Chaimboni, and Kulbiyow in the Lower Juba region. Besides the violent Al-Shabaab, the other Islamic organized groups who for the establishment of strict Sharia law in Somalia include the Al-Islah, a generally nonviolent movement that operates primarily in Mogadishu, and the al-Ittihad al-Islami (AIAI), the countrys largest militant Islamic organization. Many of the schools in Somalia are Islamic schools. These schools are inexpensive and provide basic education; however, there have been reports that these schools on occasion require young girls to wear veils and participate in other conservative Islamic practices, not found in the local culture (International Religious Freedom Report, 2004). Besides the primary schools owned by the extremist Islamic organisation, there are universities and Secondary schools run by the extremist Islam organisations in Somalia, for instance, the Mogadishu University, the University of East Africa in Bosasso, Puntland, and many secondary schools in Mogadishu are externally funded and administered through organizations affiliated with the conservative Islamic organization Al-Islah. In nutshell, there is no freedom of worship in Somalia. This is because as we have seen, people of other religions, especially the Christians have been maltreated in Somalia. Christians, as well as other non-Muslims who practice their religion in Somalia face occasional societal harassment. If there is freedom of worship in Somalia, such mistreatment would not occur. Works Cited “Almost Expunged: Somalia’s Embattled Christians” The Economist.22/10/2009. International Religious Freedom Report. 2004. Web. The Al-Shabaab Ideologies. Web. The Federal Republic of Somalia Constitution. Web “The Global Religious Landscape” Pew Research Centre. Web Read More