LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The new constitution adopted in July defines the country as a secular state, prohibits discrimination based on religion, and provides for freedom of religion, including the freedom to not engage in any religion or religious practice, in conformity with the law.

Under the penal code, any act of discrimination based on religion or impeding the freedom of religious observance or worship is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment or 10 years’ banishment (prohibition from residing in the country). The penal code also provides that any religiously motivated persecution of a group of persons constitutes a crime against humanity.

The law requires registration of all public associations, including religious groups, except for groups practicing Indigenous religious beliefs; however, registration confers no tax preferences or other legal benefits, and there is no penalty for not registering. To register, applicants must submit copies of a declaration of intent to create an association, notarized copies of bylaws, copies of policies and regulations, notarized copies of a report of the first meeting of the association’s general assembly, and lists of the leaders of the association, with signature samples of three of the leaders. Upon review, if approved, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization (MATD) grants the certificate of registration.

MARCC is responsible for administering the national strategy for countering violent extremism, promoting religious tolerance, and coordinating national religious activities such as pilgrimages and religious holidays for followers of all religions.

The constitution prohibits public schools from offering religious instruction, but it permits private schools to do so. Privately funded madrassahs teach the standard government curriculum, as well as the tenets of Islam. Non-Muslim students in these schools are not required to attend Islamic religion classes. Private Catholic schools teach the standard government curriculum and Catholic religion classes. Non-Catholic students in these schools are not required to attend Catholic religious classes. Informal schools, known locally as Quranic schools, which some students attend in lieu of public schools, do not follow a government curriculum and offer Islamic religious instruction exclusively.

The law defines marriage as secular. Couples who seek legal recognition must have a civil ceremony, which they may follow with a religious ceremony. A man may choose between a monogamous or polygamous marriage. The religious customs of the deceased determine inheritance rights, and civil courts consider these customs when they adjudicate such cases; however, many cases are settled informally.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

GOVERNMENT PRACTICES

On August 31, authorities sentenced Adama Fomba, also known as Bahfa, an adherent of Kemetism, to five years in prison for an offense of a religious nature. Authorities arrested Fomba in 2022 after a video circulated on social media allegedly showing him insulting Islam. In September, Fomba appealed his sentence. At year’s end, the case remained pending at the Bamako Court of Appeals. The prosecutor responsible for cybercrime cases released a statement on August 10 warning against hate speech on social media critical of other religions.

In February, a Bamako court sentenced the national leader of Kemetism, Fakoly Doumbia, to one year in prison with eight months suspended, for “offenses of a religious nature capable of causing disturbance to public order.” Doumbia and five others were detained in 2022 after Doumbia criticized MARCC Minister Mahamadou Kone for condemning a video on social media showing Mamadou Dembele, an adherent of Kemetism, stepping on a Quran.

In July, the transition government adopted a new constitution, replacing the constitution that had been in effect since 1992. The new constitution continued to prohibit religious discrimination under the law. The draft law on religion that the Council of Ministers adopted in 2021 remained pending with the Transition President’s Office at year’s end. The proposed law would enable MARCC to more easily oversee religious organizations by giving it a primary role in approving their registration applications, replacing the existing system under which the MATD alone manages the registration process and review.

MARCC, in coordination with Cardinal Zerbo, organized the annual Catholic pilgrimage to Kita, which took place November 18-19. Cardinal Zerbo, former Prime Minister Moussa Mara, and MARCC Minister Kone took part in the pilgrimage, as did members of the Union of Young Malian Muslims (UJMA). According to MARCC, in addition to providing technical assistance, the transition government continued funding travel, housing, and food for Muslims to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj or for Christians’ travel to Lourdes and Kita for pilgrimage.

During the year, MARCC renewed a training program for imams on preaching what it described as moderate interpretations of Islam with the Moroccan government. MARCC signed the agreement in 2022 to train 300 imams over five years. According to the ministry, the governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia also offered to train imams.

In January, in collaboration with the HCI and representatives from the Catholic and Protestant churches, MARCC published guidelines for sermons to combat violent extremism. MARCC developed the guidelines using the results of a 2020 study of factors influencing extremism related to religion. The UN Development Program assisted with the study.

Caritas representatives and some Protestant leaders again stated that although there were far fewer Christians than Muslims in the country, Christians did not experience unequal treatment by the transition government, and in representatives’ opinion, the transition government was adhering to the constitutional requirement to treat all religions equally. Transition government officials from MARCC continued to emphasize government practices providing for the freedom to worship and practice any religion, including the freedom to choose not to engage in religious practices, as stipulated in the constitution.

The 147-member National Transition Council (CNT), the country’s transition legislative body, included four seats reserved for representatives of three religious associations. One seat is held by a Catholic, one by a Muslim, and two by Protestants. In 2022, the HCI objected to the CNT’s decision to reserve a second seat for a Protestant member without also allocating an additional seat for a Muslim member.

ACTIONS BY FOREIGN FORCES AND NONSTATE ACTORS

Throughout the year, mostly in the central and northern regions, domestic and transnational terrorist groups (including al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliates Ansar al-Dine, Macina Liberation Front, and al-Mourabitoune), united under the umbrella group JNIM, and the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISIS-Sahel), both U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, continued attacks on domestic and international security forces, UN peacekeepers, civilians, and others they reportedly perceived as not adhering to their interpretation of Islam. Both JNIM and ISIS-Sahel controlled significant territory in the northern and central regions.

According to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and security experts, armed groups in some instances coopted preexisting intercommunal and ethnic tensions to further sow instability and violence; therefore, it was not possible to attribute some incidents entirely to religious motives. Several of JNIM’s public messages repeated an intent to govern the country according to sharia. According to civil society organizations and local press, terrorist groups forced populations under their control to pay taxes for local services that the groups called zakat (the traditional annual charitable contribution required of all Muslims) and enforced prohibitions on organizing local festivals, ceremonies, and listening to music. Women were often forced to wear full-face veils and body-covering clothing, and men were often forced to wear clothing that did not go past their ankles.

Civil society organizations continued to report that the transition government and security forces struggled to control the violence generated by extremist groups and that the actions of such groups limited the transition government’s capacity to govern and bring perpetrators to justice, especially in rural areas.

According to media reports, on July 9, individuals affiliated with ISIS-Sahel, based on their interpretation of sharia, imposed a penalty of amputating the hands and feet of two men accused of collecting taxes falsely claimed to be on behalf of ISIS-Sahel in the local market of Inchinanane in the Menaka region. Both men survived the amputations.

According to media reports, on November 26, German Catholic priest Hans-Joachim Lohre kidnapped in Bamako in November 2022, was released and repatriated to Germany. JNIM claimed responsibility for his kidnapping. The conditions of his release remained unclear at the end of the year.

Leaders of Caritas expressed concern about terrorist groups strengthening control of the subdistricts of Koro, Bankass, Bandiagara, and Douentza in Mopti Region following agreements signed in 2021 and earlier between the local population and armed groups. The agreements imposed taxes for local services, which the groups called zakat, and empowered terrorist and other armed groups with decision-making and territorial authority in exchange for not attacking the local population and allowing freedom of movement throughout the territory. Caritas and Protestant church leaders cited cases of women forced to wear veils, compulsory tax payments and food collection, and the conscription of men into their groups in some parts of Mopti Region as signs of the growing influence of Islam, which they viewed as a threat to Christian communities. Protestant church leaders and Caritas reported similar problems in the north and central regions, where terrorist and other armed groups imposed some of the same restrictions as those in Mopti.

Some Christian missionaries expressed concern regarding the increased influence in remote areas of organizations they characterized as violent and extremist, which the missionaries said could affect their ability to continue working in the country over the long term. Representatives from the Association of Groups of Evangelical Protestant Churches and Missions in Mali reported terrorist and other armed groups targeted persons throughout the country regardless of religious affiliation. They said the Catholic Church moved priests in terrorist-controlled Minta to different locations for their safety.

According to Caritas, most Catholic churches in the country remained open throughout the year and did not receive direct threats from extremist groups.

Islamist armed groups targeted and closed government schools that taught any curriculum not based on Islam, and many schools closed due to threats of violence or lack of adequate security. Caritas reported schools that closed in prior years due to threats of violence or conflict had not reopened. According to the UN, approximately 1,500 schools remained closed due to a lack of adequate security, affecting more than 587,000 children. Most closures occurred in the central and the northern regions of Mopti, Gao, and Menaka.