Djibouti - Religion
Djibouti is a predominately Islamic country; 94 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim. The remainder of the population is Christian: 4.7 percent is Roman Catholic and 1.3 percent is composed of other denominations.
The constitution establishes Islam as the state religion, but mandates equality for all faiths. The government increased its authority over all Islamic matters and institutions, including mosques’ assets and personnel. It issued a decree executing a law on state control of mosques which converted imams into civil service employees and transferred mosque property and assets to the government. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs used the law to replace imams and close one mosque and temporarily detain several of its leaders as well as some worshippers. Following a terrorist attack involving a fully-veiled woman, the police temporarily banned fully-veiled women from entering government or commercial offices.
Issas, also referred to as Somalis, tend to follow the Sunni sect, while Afars are Sufi Muslims. Issas generally adhere more strictly to religious customs than do Afars.
Religious and community activities are governed by the shari’a, the canon law of Islam. Pilgrimage, scheduled prayer, and fasting (such as during Ramadan) are dictated by Islamic law, though only the most devout practice them. Among the Afars, remnants of the pre-Islamic cosmology of Wak, the sky-father deity, are evident, including days for animal sacrifice and rainmaking ceremonies.
Djibouti Muslims do not widely practice the custom of purdah, the concealment of women in public. Women’s dress and employment are not restricted in Djibouti, as they are in other Muslim countries.
In July 2014 the government closed the prominent al-Rahma mosque in Djibouti City and detained its imam for 48 hours. The mosque remained closed at year’s end. The government also relieved the imam of his position as a civil service employee under the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The Secretary General of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs said the government’s actions were triggered by remarks the imam made during Friday prayers, which were critical of a police directive that banned fully-veiled women from entering commercial and government properties.
The ban was implemented shortly after a fatal terrorist attack in Djibouti City involving a fully-veiled woman who used her veil as a method of concealment. Several human rights groups as well as opposition figures reported alleged police discrimination against women wearing hijabs following this directive.
Police arrested other religious leaders of the al-Rahma mosque, when they subsequently led Friday prayers in an open-air lot adjacent to the closed mosque, and police detained over a dozen worshippers. Most worshippers were released within 48 hours, though four women in the group were detained for several additional days. Worshippers were forced to relocate to mosques in neighboring communities.
The government continued to permit non-Islamic groups registered with the government to operate freely, including Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox churches. Religious groups not independently registered with the government, such as Ethiopian Protestant and Muslim congregations, operated under the auspices of registered groups. Smaller groups that did not fit under the umbrella of the registered groups, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Bahais, were unregistered with the government, but operated privately without incident.
In Djibouti, the Roman Catholic cathedral conducts services in French on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Catholic Mass is conducted in English on alternate Fridays. The Red Sea Mission conducts Christian services in English on Sunday mornings. A Protestant church holds services in French on Sunday evenings. No Jewish services are held.
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