Sudan’s transitional government has decided to separate religion from the state, ending 30 years of Islamic rule in the North African nation. Sudan has caught the world’s attention towards itself by separating religion from the state. With this Sudan has become the first country to end Islamic rule after three decades.
Sudan took this historic decision to become a democratic nation. “For Sudan to become a democratic country where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution should be based on the principle of ‘separation of religion and state,’ in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected,” the declaration stated.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu, a leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North rebel group, signed a declaration in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday adopting the principle.
“For Sudan to become a democratic country where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution should be based on the principle of ‘separation of religion and state,’ in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected,” the document states.
The accord comes within a week after the government signed a peace deal with rebel forces. The United States declared Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993 and later imposed sanctions until 2017.
It should be noted that Islam is the largest religion in Sudan, and Muslims have dominated national government institutions since independence in 1956.
According to UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Sudan, the Muslim population is 97%, including numerous Arab and non-Arab groups. The population of non-Muslims in Sudan has shrunk to 3% which includes Christianity or traditional animist religions.
Sudan is emerging from international isolation that began soon after Bashir seized power in 1989 and implemented a hard-line interpretation of Islamic law that sought to make the country the “vanguard of the Islamic world.” Al-Qaeda and Carlos the Jackal settled there; the U.S. designated Sudan a terror sponsor in 1993, later imposing sanctions until 2017.
