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A.C.N - Aid to the Church in Need Italian Office |
Religious Freedom in
the Majority Islamic Countries |
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Eritrea Population:
3,590,000
Having won its independence in 1993, Eritrea seems, from a religious perspective, to be more or less equally divided between Christians and Muslims. However, it is noticeable that the radical Islamic groups seem to have a certain following, partly also through the aid from and contacts with Iran, South Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Eritrea has repeatedly accused Sudan of giving support to Islamic terrorists. The relations between the two religions are generally quite good; the government is not partial to either side, partly also because it has to cope with a violent offensive on the part of fundamentalist groups. In a recent interview given to "New People feature services", Father Paolo Paganini, a Capuchin priest who has worked for the apostolic vicariate in Eritrea, has expressed concerns about events in the country. In recent conflicts between government forces and fundamentalists a number of people have been killed, but what is still more serious is that among the rebels taken prisoner two Moroccan nationals and two Turks were found, an evident sign of the involvement of the Muslim countries. On July 7 1997, the Italian newspaper Avvenire reported that the Eritrea government intends to nationalise the schools and hospitals belonging to the Catholic Church. In a statement to the APIC news agency, Robert Stern, general secretary of the Eritrean Caritas, stressed that "the real motives of the Asmara government are somewhat obscure". |
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