International Religious Freedom Report
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor





Section I. Religious Demography

The country has a total land area of 74,132 square miles, and its population is 9,987,494. According to current government demographic data, Islam is the predominant religion and is practiced by approximately 94 percent of the country's population. There is also an active Christian community (4 percent), including Roman Catholics and diverse Protestant denominations. An estimated 2 percent (the remainder of the population) practice exclusively traditional indigenous religions or no religion.


A wide variety of foreign missionary groups operate in the country, including Catholics, Protestant denominations, independent missionaries, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Section II. Status of Religious Freedom

Legal/Policy Framework




Because the Constitution provides for separation of religion and state, religious education or worship is not permitted in public schools. Privately owned schools, whether or not they receive government grants, may provide religious education. The majority of students attending Christian schools are Muslims.

Missionaries, like other long-term visitors, must obtain a residence visa issued by the Interior Ministry. Religious groups, including Islamic groups, often establish a presence in the country as nongovernmental organizations (NGO's). NGO's already registered in a foreign country obtain permission to operate in the country from the Minister of the Family, Social Action, and National Solidarity. There were no reports that the Government refused visas or permission to operate to any group. Both religious and nonreligious NGO's are very active in providing social services and administering economic development assistance programs.

The Government encourages and helps organize Muslim participation in the Hajj every year. It also provides similar assistance for an annual Catholic pilgrimage to the Vatican.

While there is no specific government-sponsored institution to promote interfaith dialog, the Government generally seeks to promote religious harmony by maintaining relations with all important religious groups. Senior government officials regularly consult with religious leaders and the Government generally is represented at all major religious festivals or events.

Restrictions on Religious Freedom

The Government monitors foreign missionary groups, and religious and nonreligious NGO's, to ensure that their activities coincide with their stated objectives. In the past, the Government expelled groups from the country when their activities were judged to be political in nature and a threat to public order; however, there were no reports that any foreign religious groups were asked to leave the country during the period covered by this report.

There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees.

Forced Religious Conversion


Section III. Societal Attitudes

Religion plays an important role in the lives of most citizens, and society is generally very open to and tolerant of different religious faiths. The country has a long tradition of amicable and tolerant coexistence between the Muslim majority and the Christian, traditional indigenous, and other religious minorities. Interfaith marriage is relatively common. Within certain families, other religious faiths, such as Christianity or a traditional indigenous religion, are practiced alongside Islam.


While the brotherhoods are not involved directly in politics or government affairs, these groups exert considerable influence in society and therefore maintain a dialog with political leaders. Close association with a brotherhood, as with any influential community leader, religious or secular, may afford certain political and economic protections and advantages that are not conferred by law. During the legislative election campaign in April 2001, many candidates consulted with and actively sought the support of Islamic brotherhood leaders; however, no religious leaders of any note issued instructions to their followers to vote for selected candidates. Among the 25 parties contesting the election, only 3 ran on a religion-based platform. None of these three parties garnered more than 0.5 percent of the vote or won a National Assembly seat.

Leaders of the larger religious groups, both Islamic and Christian, long have maintained a public dialog with one another. For example, the former Archbishop who led the country's Catholic community and the Khalifs of the larger Islamic brotherhoods have contributed for decades to a positive interfaith dialog. The Catholic-sponsored Brottier Center has promoted debate and dialog between Muslims and Christians on political and social issues that confront the country.

Section IV. U.S. Government Policy

The U.S. Embassy maintains relations with all major religious groups in the country. The Ambassador meets with the leaders or their representatives at various times throughout the year to discuss social and political issues. The Embassy maintains contacts with several religious-based NGO's, foreign missionary groups operating in the country, and human rights organizations and activists in order to monitor issues of religious freedom. The Ambassador or his representative regularly attends all major annual religious festivals or gatherings to promote an open dialog with various religious groups.

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