Somalia

Somalia went from position 5 to 4 in the WWL 2012. The overall persecution situation in Somalia tightened a bit more in the country. The main persecution engine is Islamic extremism.

Talking about restrictions on the Church does not make much sense in Somalia. Somalia does not have a traditional church. No one is expected to be a Christian in Somalia, so Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) do not have organized church groups. They exist as individual secret believers, and can only know a few others to make a small secret group. The largest known group in Somalia is composed of five believers. It is extremely difficult to live as secret believers in a country like Somalia because of the atmosphere of terror and fear around being a Christian. For parents, living as secret believers is even more difficult: it is dangerous to raise their children as Christians for fear of being discovered and executed.

Somalia is a difficult "country" to assess. Somalia comprises several distinct areas (though some of the borders are disputed). In Somaliland, which does not host the Islamic extremist group al-Shabaab, one can speak about a stern Islamic regime where social groups (including family) and government encourage each other to minimize space for Christians, especially MBBs. Puntland compares to Somaliland. The difference with Somaliland, however, is that due to the lawlessness in Puntland, this area is the safe haven of pirates and also al-Shabaab. In those parts of the south controlled by al-Shabaab, the situation appears even worse - MBBs who are discovered are at serious risk of "honor killings." Al-Shabaab is enforcing a harsh interpretation of sharia in the territories it controls. This militia was strongly radicalized through external influence of al-Qaeda in recent years. Because of that its support among the local population is waning. One may suspect that the image of al-Shaabab has not improved during the recent drought crisis in the country, when the militia obstructed humanitarian aid from the West. At the same time however al-Shabaab is effectively trying to wipe out Christianity from the parts of the country it controls.

Numerous people have fled within the country and outside the country for food, ethnic and political reasons as well as for their faith. In such situations the vulnerability of Christians (and adherents of other minority religions) to armed groups, local leaders and individuals is enormous. The impact of this "horrific scenario" on Christians can only be imagined but is not sufficiently covered in this WWL summary.

The Constitution, approved by the President in 1979, provided for religious freedom. However, after the subsequent wars, Somalia now has a Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The TFG is the "Islamic Courts Union" (ICU) reincarnated, with an extremist interpretation of Islamic law. The stronger the policies of the TFG against Christians, the more acceptable it has been to the Muslim extremists. On the other hand, the very strict application of Islamic law is tempered because TFG needs the international community in order to stay in power.

The TFG has not allowed Christians to openly practice their beliefs in Somalia, and if anyone is a Christian, his (or her) rights of religion will not be guaranteed. Still the impression is that TFG, the official government itself, is not very active against believers - it has other issues to deal with. This is but little consolation because the TFG is locked up in the capital, and armed groups and local leaders have a free hand. Until August 2011 the TFG controlled only 10% of Mogadishu, the capital, but the international forces have managed to capture over 95% of the city. The Kenyan Defence Forces’ incursion in Somalia has seen the territory under al-Shabaab significantly reduced.

Al-Shabaab has been weakened by a series of events, compounded by the deaths of its leaders Osama bin Laden and Faizul Muhammad, the withdrawal of support from Eritrea, the apathy of Somalia, and the shift of political aspirations of Somali people. However al-Shabaab still remains a regional threat because of the many foreigners it is recruiting from Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan and other countries.

Open Doors does not expect a significant change for good in the persecution situation in Somalia, neither in the short nor in the medium term. Chaos normally creates more chaos; Christians as adherents of a minority religion are normally extra vulnerable in those circumstances. However we expect that if the Transitional Federal Government forces backed by the international forces continue to take control and keep al-Shabaab at bay, the persecution may decrease a little.

Somalia country profile »