Freedom of religion in Somalia
[3] The region of Somaliland, which seceded at the outset of the civil war and remains autonomous but internationally unrecognized, has established its own constitution founded on similar religious precepts.
In 2022, members of other religious groups combined constitute less than 1 percent of the population and include a small Christian community, and an unknown number of Shia Muslims, as well as Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and some animists.
[9] The new regime, led by the Supreme Revolutionary Council, established new foreign policy that emphasized Somalia's religious connections to the Arab world.
Emphasis was placed on Muslim principles of social progress, equality and justice, which the government argued were part and parcel to communism.
No exemptions from the application of sharia legal principles exist for non-Muslims,[6] although most implementations of Islamic law occur at the regional, as opposed to the national, level.
[6] In 2022, police in Somaliland arrested a local resident on charges of blasphemy, apostasy, insulting Islam and Muhammad on social media, as well as spreading Christianity; she was sentenced to five years in prison and her second appeal is due to be heard in 2023.
While missionary groups exist in Somalia, they face significant legal and societal barriers to their activities, and often even have difficulty carrying out humanitarian aid missions.
Al-Shabaab was responsible for the killings of civilians, government officials, members of parliament, Somali national armed forces, police, and troops from contributing countries of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), with the BBC reporting that 2019 was one of the bloodiest years on record with over 1,200 casualties by October.
[18] Al-Shabaab characterizes the AMISOM/ ATMIS peacekeeping forces and workers for humanitarian groups as “Christians” intent on invading and occupying the country.
[6][19] During 2017, al-Shabaab continued to mandate schools in its area to teach a militant form of jihad emphasizing that students should wage war against those it deemed infidels, including countries in the region, the federal government, and AMISOM.
Following the introduction of its new education curriculum in April 2017, al-Shabaab began forcing communities in Hirshabelle and Galmudug to enroll children ages seven to 14 into al-Shabaab-managed madrasas, according to humanitarian groups.
[6] Fear of reprisals from al-Shabaab often prevented religious groups from operating freely; however, in 2022, it was noted that violence against aid workers had decreased.
[6] The interim governments of Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland, and South West State of Somalia, have constitutions identifying Islam as the official religion.
In 2017, the constitutions of Galmudug, Hirshabelle, and South West State have not enacted laws directly addressing religious freedom.
