Discuss religion and religious freedom in Somalia Essay

Discuss religion and religious freedom in Somalia - Essay Example The paper begins by explaining the meaning of religious freedom, and then goes ahead to explain religion and religious freedom in Somalia. Freedom of religion is the individuals right or freedom to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she believes to be the best for him/her. Religious freedom, also known as the freedom of worship, allows people to freely practice their religion as long as they don’t infringe upon the rights of other people by practicing their preferred religion. Religious freedom is one of the basic human rights universally recognized. Somalia is a country found in the Horn of Africa; Somali borders Ethiopia to the West, the gulf of Eden to the north, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, and Indian Ocean to the east. Somali is predominantly a Muslim country; majority of the Muslims in Somali are Sunni Muslims, according to the Pew research conducted in 2010, 99.8% of Somali people are Muslims (Pew Research Centre, n.p). But, there are also a few other religions in Somalia, although these other religions have very few followers; Christians are minority in Somalia and they constitute less than o.1% of the Somalia population. According to the Catholic diocese of Mogadishu estimates in 2004, there were less than 200 Catholics in Somalia in the year 2004 (The economist, 22/10/2009). The Mogadishu Catholic diocese is the only Catholic diocese in Somalia. Besides Muslim and the few Christians, there are religions in Somalia. According to the Pew Research conducted in 2010, the other religions in Somalia, in cluding Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism constitute less than 0.1% of the Somalia population (Pew Research Centre, n.p). For better explanation of Somali religion and religious freedom in Somalia, it is important to briefly look at the political situation in Somalia because religion and politics in Somalia are inseparable. This is because the constitution of Somalia