The constitution provides for freedom of conscience, which includes freedom of thought and religion, subject to the interests of defense, public safety, order, morality, and health; and to the protection other persons’ rights and freedoms. Additionally, national laws prohibit religious discrimination and allow all persons to observe their own religious practices and to change religions without interference from the government or members of other religious groups. Government registration is not mandatory for religious groups, but is necessary to obtain tax and other benefits. On November 25, the High Court acquitted, released, and closed the case of seven police officers who were initially charged in May 2015 for arresting three members of the Rastafarian community for smoking marijuana; one of the three Rastafarians, Francis Heffner, died following a beating by the officers. During the year, the Office of National Security (ONS) expressed concerns regarding what it referred to as the emergence of Muslim extremism, including radio stations operated by Shia and Sunni groups engaging in polemical exchanges against each other’s religious beliefs. The ONS also reported concerns by Christian and Muslim leaders and civil society groups relating to susceptible unemployed and uneducated youth from the Muslim community joining the Tabligh movement, which preached a fundamentalist form of Islam. In response to these concerns, on August 20, the ONS hosted a workshop entitled “Terrorism Has no Place in Islam,” with more than 200 imams, as well as local and foreign Muslim missionaries, to draft a counterterrorism strategy for the country. At the event, participants discussed how Muslim leaders could advise members of their communities to not engage in preaching hate messages against other Muslim and non-Muslim groups.
Religious leaders and others expressed concerns that aggressive proselytization and polemical statements during the past few years, often by foreign-inspired Christian and Muslim fundamentalist groups, were a possible threat to the country’s religious harmony. The Inter-Religious Council (IRC), composed of Christian and Muslim leaders, coordinated with Christian and Muslim religious groups throughout the year, including by visiting each administrative district in the country to discuss and promote religious harmony.
The U.S. embassy promoted religious freedom through dialogue with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as the IRC and the Council of Imams, including at an interfaith iftar on July 4 during which local Muslim and Christian clergy members discussed religious freedom and tolerance, and their concerns about what they said was growing Islamic fundamentalism. In February embassy officials met with the Roman Catholic bishop to discuss concerns about what the bishop said was the emergence of extremism and fundamentalism. In April an embassy official met with Muslim and Christian religious leaders in several cities in the north of the country to discuss religious freedom and the role of religious communities in supporting democracy and respect for human rights. In September two female Muslim religious leaders shared views regarding the role of Muslim women in society with embassy officers, highlighting what they said was the importance of women speaking out publicly against religious extremism.