News from May 2018
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution states Islam is the “religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony." Federal and state governments have the power to mandate doctrine for Muslims and promote Sunni Islam above all other religious groups. Other forms of Islam are illegal and subject...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: The constitution states the country is a secular state, and both it and other laws provide for the right of individuals to choose and change their religion and to practice the religion of their choice. In March military forces killed one individual and arrested 18 associated with the Islamist group Ansarul...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution and laws provide for freedom of religion and the right to profess freely one’s faith. The constitution provides that the government will grant the Roman Catholic Church preferential legal status, but there is no official state religion. By law, public schools are secular, but private...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution establishes Islam as the state religion but stipulates followers of religions other than Islam are free to exercise their faith within the limits of the law. Conversion from Islam to another religion is considered apostasy, which is punishable by death, imprisonment, or confiscation...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution guarantees every citizen “the right to freely profess and practice religion subject to public order, morality or health and to the other provisions of this Constitution." The law prohibits speech or acts insulting or defaming any religion or religious beliefs; authorities used these...
By DOJ Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: ALBUQUERQUE - Elmira Curley, 22, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Navajo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 120 months in prison for her conviction on assault and child abuse charges. Curley will be on supervised release for five years after completing her prison sentence.
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution bars discrimination based on religious affiliation or belief and provides for freedom of conscience and religion, either individually or in association with others. It provides for the separation of religion and state but recognizes the historic importance of the Catholic Church. Some...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: Historical and modern constitutional and legal documents provide for freedom of religious belief and affiliation and prohibit religious discrimination. The law bans public incitement to hostile acts against religious groups if perceivable by a larger number of persons. The law divides recognized religious ...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: The constitution recognizes Buddhism as the state’s “spiritual heritage," provides for freedom of religion, and bans discrimination based on religious belief. The constitution states religious institutions and personalities shall remain “above politics." The law restricts religious speech promoting enmity...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution guarantees the right of individuals to worship according to their beliefs. It establishes the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) as the national church, which has privileges not available to other religious groups. Other religious groups must register with the government to receive tax...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: The constitution prohibits religious discrimination and stipulates individuals are free to profess and practice their religion. Registration is required for religious groups to have legal status. Muslim leaders continued to report that some publicly funded Christian mission schools required female Muslim...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution provides every person the right to “freedom of thought, conscience, and religion," and specifies the separation of church and state. By law eight “traditional" religious groups receive rights and privileges that other groups do not. Religious groups registered for fewer than 10 years...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: In April the embassy hosted the visit of a prominent, U.S.-based Muslim scholar and lecturer on Christian, Jewish, and Muslim relations. He spoke on diversity and interfaith dialogue to groups in Rozaje, Pljevlja, Bar, Ulcinj, and Podgorica. In Tuzi, he spoke to madrassa students about youth and conflict resolution in Islam and the challenges for youth in a more radicalized world.
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: The constitution specifies Islam is the state religion but proclaims equality of rights and obligations for all regardless of religious belief. A law establishes Sunni Islam under the Shafi’i doctrine as the “official religious reference." Proselytizing for any religion except Sunni Islam is illegal...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution guarantees freedom of faith and conscience, and, along with the penal code, prohibits discrimination against any religion or religious adherents. The constitution delegates regulation of the relationship between government and religious groups to the 26 cantons. In a referendum, Glarus...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
News Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, with certain exceptions, and protection against governmental discrimination based on creed. The government welcomed the planned visit of the Dalai Lama to a conference in August, despite significant pressure from the Chinese government to deny his visa.
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: In the absence of a written constitution, the law establishes the Church of England as England’s state church and the Church of Scotland as Scotland’s national church. The law prohibits “incitement to religious hatred" as well as discrimination on the grounds of religion. The government stepped up security ...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: The constitution stipulates everyone is free to choose his or her faith. It makes the state responsible for “protecting the religious…interests of the People" and establishes Roman Catholicism as the state religion with full protection from the state. It stipulates other religions may practice their ...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: The constitution provides for freedom of religion, freedom to change one’s religion or belief, and freedom to express one’s religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice, and observance. The constitution prohibits discrimination based on religion. Nondenominational “spirituality" classes, including...
By State Newswire | May 29, 2018
Release: The constitution and other laws and policies prohibit religious discrimination and protect religious freedom, including the freedom to practice any religion or belief through worship, teaching, or observance and to debate religious questions. The constitution provides for special qadi courts to adjudicate...
