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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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Oman Population:
2,265,000
Oman is one of the most tolerant of Muslim countries, given that in the last 15 years five Catholic churches have been built there, though Islam is still the state religion; other religions are tolerated in accordance with tradition, to the extent that they do not infringe on public order. There are 50,000 Catholics, served by 7 priests; Christians enjoy respect and tolerance, and discrimination on grounds of religious affiliation is forbidden. However, in accordance with the prevailing law - the Sharia - the government forbids proselytism by non-Muslims and the printing of religious propaganda, although permitting its importation from abroad. Thus the non-Muslim religious communities are free to maintain contacts with their own co-religionists abroad, although recently there has been some limitation on permissions for celebrations other than Muslim ones. In its 1998, report Amnesty International notes the detention, between the end of August and the beginning of September 1998, of 12 prisoners of conscience accused of being Shiite activists. |
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