LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The constitution defines the country as an Islamic republic and recognizes Islam as the sole religion of its citizenry and the state. The law and legal procedures derive from a combination of French civil law and sharia. The judiciary consists of a single system of courts that relies on a combination of sharia and secular legal principles.

The law prohibits apostasy and blasphemy. The criminal code mandates a death sentence for any Muslim convicted of apostasy or blasphemy, but the government has never applied capital punishment for apostasy or blasphemy.

The law makes online speech deemed insulting to Islam a crime. Specifically, the law criminalizes digital media deemed an insult to Islam, including photos, social media, and audio and video recordings.

The penal code stipulates that the penalty for persons of any gender caught engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage is 100 lashes and imprisonment of up to one year. The penalty for married individuals convicted of adultery is death by stoning, although the last such stoning occurred more than 30 years ago. The penal code requires death by stoning for Muslim males convicted of consensual homosexual activity, but this penalty has not been imposed since 1984.

The government does not register Muslim religious groups. The law allows for non-Muslim religious groups to register and operate by applying through both the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Traditional Education (MIATE), although there were no such groups registered as of year’s end. Proselytizing by non-Muslim religious groups is prohibited. The law sets out a declarative system in which NGOs are automatically granted authorization to operate 60 days after they submit their registration to authorities. Faith-based NGOs must also agree to refrain from proselytizing (prohibited for non-Muslim groups under the law) or otherwise promoting any religion other than Islam. The law requires the MOI to authorize in advance all group meetings, including non-Islamic religious gatherings and those held in private homes.

By law, the MIATE is responsible for enacting and disseminating fatwas, fighting “extremism,” promoting research in Islamic studies, organizing the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, and monitoring mosques. The government also appoints the High Council for Fatwa and Administrative Appeals, which advises the government on conformity of legislation to Islamic precepts and has sole authority to regulate fatwa issuance and resolve related disputes among citizens and between citizens and public agencies.

The law requires members of the Constitutional Council and the High Council of Magistrates to take an oath of office that includes a promise to God to uphold the law of the land in conformity with Islamic precepts.

Public schools and private secondary schools, but not international schools, are required to provide four hours of Islamic instruction per week. There is no opt-out option. Religious instruction in Arabic is required for students seeking the baccalaureate.

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

GOVERNMENT PRACTICES

On April 25, police near the town of Rosso on the border with Senegal detained a citizen of Mauritania after his son was found bringing Bibles and Christian learning materials from Senegal into Mauritania. To protect his son, the father reportedly claimed that the Bibles and other materials belonged to him. A local investigative judge in Rosso noted his intent to charge the father with tartuffery (concealing atheism or apostasy from Islam, while pretending to be a Muslim) – a charge that carries an automatic death sentence for those convicted. In July, however, the Minister of Justice authorized the father’s release and dropped all charges in the case.

On July 18, police in the town of Atar, located 270 miles northeast from Nouakchott, arrested Maria Mint Sheikh Abdullah Ould Obeid (also spelled Loubed), a 19-year-old female student accused of authoring text directed at the Prophet Muhammad, which police said they believed to be blasphemous. The writings were included in the student’s answers on her end-of-year baccalaureate exam and revealed to the public by Nouh Ould Issa, a teacher responsible for grading exams. On July 26, Obeid was transferred to Nouakchott and charged with blasphemy. The Ministry of Justice and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that she remained in custody and continued to face potential prosecution at year’s end. After media outlets first reported the case on July 4, the government came under intense public pressure by conservative religious groups to severely punish the student, including imposing the death penalty. Civil society groups reported that Obeid faced difficulty obtaining legal defense due to societal pressure against defending alleged blasphemers and the potential for ostracism. At year’s end, Obeid remained in custody pending prosecution.

On July 22, Mohamed Bouya Ould Cheikh Mohamed Fadel, a parliamentarian who claimed direct lineage to the Prophet Muhammad and known for what were described as radical Islamist positions and vocal in his criticism of the government, used a nationally televised parliamentary session to criticize the ruling party and draw attention to what he said was continued government inaction on the Obeid blasphemy case. During the session, Bouya read an altered text based on Obeid’s examination paper, replacing the name of the Prophet Muhammad with that of President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. On July 31, police arrested Bouya after parliament voted to lift his immunity. The Nouakchott West Court charged Bouya with publishing content and giving a speech that violated the values of Islam and defamed President Ghazouani. On November 2, the president of the Nouakchott West Criminal Court granted Bouya provisional release.

On July 5, high school teacher Nouh Ould Issa, who published a picture of Obeid’s allegedly blasphemous examination paper, was charged with malfeasance by state prosecutors for publicly exposing exam scores, which are supposed to be confidential, and for failing to report issues to his chain of command. The document generated a large amount of commentary on social media as well as public protests and youth demonstrations by conservative groups, with some condemning the teacher for sharing the exam paper and others supporting him for raising awareness about it. On July 31, police arrested Issa in a border town near Mali. On August 2, prosecutors charged Issa with publishing insults against the Prophet Mohamed on social networks and referred him to the investigating judge. On Thursday, October 12, the Criminal Court of Nouakchott North sentenced Issa to six months in prison with an additional six months under judicial supervision. He was released on November 27.

On November 30, police arrested Mauritanian pastor Adama Diallo after a video of him performing a baptism went viral and sparked what was described as community outrage. Over the following week police arrested an additional 25 Christians from the congregation in Selibaby. According to sources, some police and community members exhibited what they described as a lack of understanding of Christian rituals and dismissed them as unwelcome in Mauritania. A group of officials investigated the situation and attempted to pressure the Christians to reconvert to Islam. While the detainees refused to reconvert to Islam, they ultimately agreed to sign a statement that they believed in God in order to be released. Officials warned the Christians that they were in a Muslim country with laws prohibiting the open practice of faiths other than Islam.

According to a local NGO, non-Muslims remained unable to hold public office, and the government forcibly converted non-Muslims to Islam. The NGO also said authorities had banned some religious practices, including the celebration of Christmas and other non-Islamic holidays.

The government continued to provide funding to mosques, Islamic schools, and universities as well as to the National Union of Imams. President Ghazouani publicly stated that the MIATE continued to provide salaries and health benefits to 1,200 imams and 400 muezzins (responsible for conducting the call to prayer). MIATE approved an additional 655 madrassahs (Quranic schools – known locally as “mahadras”) in poorer, marginalized communities, also known as “model mahadras,” to receive financial support for sheikhs (teachers) and students. This increased the number of sheikhs receiving government support to 1,400. Occasionally, on issues important to the government, MIATE requested that imams deliver a unified Friday sermon.

The government renovated and equipped 36 mosques and distributed food aid to 1,000 other mosques. In addition, the government provided 1,200 imams and 400 muezzins, who were already receiving monthly salaries, with health insurance, and 3,900 others with annual subsidies.

The MIATE continued to collaborate with independent Muslim religious groups, as well as with international partners, to combat what they stated were threats of extremism, radicalization, and terrorism, primarily through workshops throughout the country. In January, President Ghazouani oversaw a Forum for Peace conference cohosted by the government and the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace that brought together government leaders, religious scholars, and civil society organizations from across Africa to discuss religion’s role in building peace in the region.

As of December 31, 5,858 NGOs had registered under the NGO law that went into effect in 2021. The law made it easier for NGOs, including faith-based organizations, to register and operate in the country.

The possession of non-Islamic religious materials remained legal, although the government continued to prohibit their printing and distribution. The government maintained a Quranic television channel and radio station. Both stations sponsored regular programming on themes of moderation in Islam.

The government continued to forbid non-Muslims from proselytizing, although there was no specific legal prohibition. The government continued to ban any public expression of religion except that of Islam.

Authorized churches were able to conduct services within their premises but could not proselytize. An unofficial government requirement restricted non-Islamic worship to the few recognized Christian churches. There were Roman Catholic and other Christian churches in Nouakchott, Kaedi, Atar, Nouadhibou, and Rosso. Non-Islamic religious services remained open only to foreigners, and citizens could not attend. Some Christian groups seeking to establish churches in the country, particularly from the local Protestant community, were unable to obtain authorization from authorities. Because of a lack of authorization, some churches could not open a bank account in their name. Non-Muslim religious leaders, however, stated the government typically did not prevent such groups from holding religious gatherings as long as they were held “discretely” and in private spaces.

Established churches sometimes faced difficulties importing religious materials for use during church services (i.e., Bibles, religious education books, and wafers and wine for communion). Several registered international Christian NGOs reported, however, that they continued to operate successfully in the country.

On March 21, President Ghazouani presided over an award ceremony for the third edition of a competition for memorizing Quranic texts. A panel composed of the country’s leading religious scholars evaluated the competition’s themes, which were determined in cooperation with the MIATE and the Association of Mauritanian ulemas (bodies of scholars specializing in Islamic law and theology).

From November 13-15, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Mauritania, in partnership with the Mauritanian Ministry of Islamic Affairs and the Mauritanian branch of the G5 Sahel Regional Cell for the Prevention of Radicalization and Countering Violent Extremism, held a workshop on identifying the early signs of radicalization related to religion and best practices of deradicalization. The main objective of this workshop was to strengthen the capacity of institutional and security actors as well as civil society, including religious leaders, to identify and protect vulnerable populations at risk of radicalization in Mauritania and the region.

Islamic classes remained part of the educational curriculum for non-international schools, but class attendance was not mandatory and not required for graduation. Academic results in Islamic classes did not count significantly in the national exams that determined further placement. Many students reportedly did not attend these classes for various ethnolinguistic, religious, and personal reasons. The Ministry of Education and National Education Reform and the MIATE continued to reaffirm the importance of the Islamic education program at the secondary level as a means of promoting Islamic culture and combating religious extremism.