Groups want "secularism" axed from Mali’s new constitution

Some 20 private associations in Mali, most of them Muslim-inspired, have demanded that references to “secularism” be removed from the West African country’s proposed new Constitution.

The groups gathered in the capital Bamako last Saturday for a press conference in order to express their categorical rejection of the principle of secularism, which is already in the current Constitution. Mali, a country where more than 90% of the nearly 22 million people are Muslims, has been under military rule since 2020.

Many of the people present at the May 6 press conference held up signs that read, "No to the secularism advocated in the new draft Constitution." The text will be put to a referendum on June 18.

"Secularism, despite its devastating consequences on our country from independence to the present day, has been maintained and defined as not being in opposition to beliefs," the Malian associations said in their May 6 statement. "A hyena remains a hyena whether in Paris or Bamako," they said.

Warning of a "vote no" campaign 

The organizations vowed to wage a campaign to “vote no” on the referendum if the government does not undertake consultations with a view to removing the word “secularism”. Among them are the Muslim Women Association of Mali, the famous Imam Mahmoud Dicko's Coordination des Mouvements, Associations et Sympathisants (CMAS) and the League of Muslim Preachers in Mali.

"Secularism was not known in Mali before the arrival of the colonizers," said Ahmad Boly, a member of this anti-secularism coalition. "Our wish is to withdraw this word with its derivatives (lay or secular), and maintain a consensual concept. This is a multi-faith state where everyone will freely practice their religion," he explained.

Drawn out political crisis 

"It is not a new Constitution that can help Mali to emerge from the multidimensional crisis it has been experiencing for many years," said Imam Dicko's movement and Associations et Sympathisants (CMAS) last January in a statement that was signed by five allied Muslim organizations.

"No provision of positive law gives the president of the transition the authority to take the initiative to draw up a new Constitution and to bring it to a conclusion by means of a referendum," the organization added, agreeing with the junta's critics. The latter suspect the leaders of implementing numerous reforms to remain in power as long as possible.

Mali has been mired in political instability since August 2020 when a military coup toppled former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The military and civilian leaders agreed to a transitional government, which was led by President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane. But the military staged a second coup in May 2021 and arrested both men.

Since then, Colonel Assimi Goïta has been leading the country, which is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that has made much of the north and east ungovernable. The military leader has agreed to hold democratic elections in 2024.