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Case Study: RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN SUDAN
- In Sudan, a civil war has pitted the predominantly Arab and
Islamic north against the predominantly Christian and animist
south.
- Despite its sizeable non-Islamic population, the government
of Sudan has declared that Shari'a law should apply thoughout
the country.
Analysis
Sudan is the largest and one of the most diverse countries in Africa.
Apart from an 11-year period of peace, since independence in 1956
it has been torn by civil war between the mainly Muslim north (70
per cent of the population) and the Animist (25%) and Christian
(5%) south.
Although the government has stated that all religions
should be respected and that freedom of worship is ensured, in practice
it treats Islam as the state religion and has declared that Islam
must inspire the country's laws, institutions and policies.
The government continues to deny Christian communities
permission to build churches. Some makeshift structures have been
permitted. While non-Muslims may convert to Islam, the 1991 Criminal
Act makes apostasy (which includes conversion to another religion)
by Muslims punishable by death.
Children, regardless of presumed religious origin,
who have been abandoned or whose parentage is unknown, are considered
Muslims and can only be adopted by Muslims. Non-Muslims may adopt
other non-Muslim children. No equivalent restriction is placed on
adoption by Muslims.
There have been reports of widespread government-sponsored
abductions of women and children in war-ravaged areas. Those taken
find themselves living in conditions of slavery or subjected to
military training and Islamic indoctrination.
Following a resolution at the 1999 UN Commission
on Human Rights, the Government set up a Committee for the Eradication
of the Abduction of Women and Children. So far the Committee has
brought about the return of 300 abductees, but this is only a fraction
of those thought to be held.
The Government of Sudan remains under international
pressure to respect the rights of all its citizens.
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