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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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Somalia Population:
6,870,000
Modern Somalia was born in 1960 when the former British Somalia and the former Italian Somalia were united in a single nation. In reality, however, the annexation of the former British colony is one of appearance only, since it is in fact organised in an autonomous and independent manner and the central government has not succeeded in establishing a centralising policy. In 1969 a military coup installed the dictatorship of General Siad Barre, who inclined towards the countries of the Communist bloc, with Somalia becoming a socialist republic as a result. Following defeat in the war with Ethiopia for control of the Ogaden, Somalia moved progressively closer towards the Western bloc, receiving aid from the United States, but also from Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The influence of these latter states is discernible above all in the field of education and the expansion of Islamic fundamentalism. In 1988 the bloody civil war began which led to the fall of Siad Barre in 1991 and to the present state of chaos and anarchy, in which the various clans are struggling for control in a country now devoid of any kind of overall structural organisation. Ever since the time of the regime of Siad Barrre, who was inspired to an extent by the concept of a lay State, proselytism on the part of religions other than Islam has been forbidden. All the more unlikely, then, in the current situation of anarchy dominated by the warlords of the various clans, is any possibility of real religious liberty. In many areas of the country, according to the Report on Religious Freedom, Islamic law has been adopted and non-Muslims are viewed with suspicion. The beginnings of the religious intolerance can be seen to have begun with the assassination of Bishop Colombo of Mogadishu in July 1989. Although the regime immediately pointed the finger of blame at the Islamic fundamentalists, this claim is suspect for a number of reasons. In point of fact, although the activities of the Catholic Church were feared by the most radical Islamic elements, Somalia has always been a relatively tolerant state and Bishop Colombo was highly regarded even by the Muslim population. In any case the Somali regime, following the killing of the Bishop, put a price on the heads of his murderers, thereby provoking a violent reaction on the part of Islamic militants which finally took the shape of a veritable revolution in the streets of the capital, put down brutally by the troops of Barre. With time, and with the spread of the civil war, the situation of the Church grew more and more difficult. In 1991, following the fall of the Barre regime and the uncontrolled outbreak of the civil war among the clans, every state organ was in fact dissolved. The cathedral itself, in the capital, was first ransacked and then demolished, and there were numerous threats and acts of intimidation against priests and religious sisters. Finally the Catholic religious were forced to leave the country. Now, according to the MISNA press agency, even the last four Italian sisters have abandoned Mogadishu. They had been running a paediatric wing in the clinic of S.O.S Villagio, a lay organisation which helps and takes in orphans. Father Giorgio Bertin, apostolic administrator in Mogadishu, speaking to the Fides press agency on February 23 1998, ruled out the possibility of a return by foreign missionaries on account of the powerful presence of Muslim fundamentalists. |
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