Djibouti

The territory now known as Djibouti separated from the rest of Somalia when Somalia gained independence from the British Empire in 1958. What became known as French Somaliland elected to remain with the French. They gained their independence in 1977. Hassan Gouled Aptidon became their first president and governed until 1999.

Djibouti is surrounded by many volatile and repressive countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen. It has a geographically favorable location along a very busy shipping route. On the political front, the repressive regime of the incumbent president continues to rule the country. Djibouti is governed by a non-democratic semi-presidential regime, currently headed by Ismail Omer Guelleh. In 1999, he succeeded his uncle and is only the second president since 1977. Historically, Islam is deeply embedded in Djibouti’s society. It is 97% Muslim. At the same time, Christianity has existed in Djibouti for a long time, partly because of ties with Ethiopia, but there are no known churches among the Afar people. There are Somali expatriate churches in Kenya and Canada. A significant number of Djibouti’s citizens have strong family ties in Somalia, Yemen and other Muslim countries with a strongly ingrained negative attitude towards the West and Christianity. The Djiboutian government supports western efforts to fight Islamic terrorism; this agitates a significant portion of society. Constitutionally, Islam is accorded the status of state religion. However, the law does not impose sanctions on those who do not observe Islamic teachings or practice other religious beliefs. The constitution does not specifically prohibit proselytizing.