Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
Oman is a Sultanate located in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. Figures concerning religious groups are not facilitated by the government, but according to a 2015 Dubai-based Al-Mesbar Studies and Center report, Sunni Muslims made up close to 50 percent of the population and Ibadi Muslims – including the ruling dynasty – 45 percent. Neither Sunni nor Shi’a, Ibadis are descendants of an early branch of Islam. Shi’a Muslims, Hindus and Christians represented 5 percent of the total population. A small number of Christian and Hindu families have been naturalised. Hindus have lived in Oman for centuries, having settled originally in Muscat.
Around two thirds of the population are Omanis citizens. Non-citizen residents, mostly South Asian foreign workers, include Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs, making up around 30 percent of the country’s population. Religions practiced by non-citizens include Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Baha'ism, and Christianity.
Among non-Muslim groups, the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs (MERA) recognises the Catholic Church in Oman, the Protestant Church of Oman (a partnership between the Reformed Church of America and the Anglican Church), the Al-Amana Centre (a Protestant organisation that fosters dialogue and mutual learning between Muslims and Christians), the Hindu Mahajan Temple, and the Anwar Al-Ghubaira Trading Company in Muscat (Sikh). Each religious organisation is responsible for providing MERA with a summary in writing of the group’s religious beliefs and the names of its leaders. MERA must also grant its approval for new Muslim groups to be constituted.
There are four Catholic parishes in Oman under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA). According to Church sources, the Catholic population numbers around 55,000.
The constitution of 1996, amended in 2011, states in Article 1: “The Sultanate of Oman is an Arab, Islamic, Independent State with full sovereignty”. Article 2 declares: “The religion of the State is Islam and Islamic Shari’a is the basis for legislation.” Article 28 says: “The freedom to practise religious rites according to recognised customs is protected, provided it does not violate the public order or contradict morals.”
Oman has no law that criminalises apostasy from Islam. However, a father who converts from Islam loses paternal rights over his children.
Although there are no sharia courts, sharia principles are incorporated into the civil, commercial, and criminal legislation. Cases are decided by civil courts in accordance with the non-sectarian civil law. The law states that Shi‘a Muslims may settle family and personal status cases following Shi‘a jurisprudence outside of courts and that they retain the right to transfer their cases to civil courts if they are unable to resolve them in accordance with the Shi‘a religious tradition. Non-Muslims are permitted to seek resolution of family or personal status disputes under civil law or their own faith’s religious rules.
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said has been ruling the Sultanate of Oman since January 2020. Although ministries and the bicameral Majlis Oman (parliament) can draft laws on non-security-related issues and citizens may make input through their elected representatives, the sultan has the ultimate right to implement laws through royal decree.
In January 2018, a new penal code was approved. It includes harsher sentences for “insulting the Quran” and “offending Islam or any [Abrahamic] religion”. Under Article 269, the maximum prison sentence for blasphemy was increased from three to ten years. For those who “form, fund, [or] organise a group […] with the aim of undermining Islam […] or advocating other religions” without prior permission, the sentence can be up to seven years. The maximum sentence for “‘holding a meeting’ outside government-approved locations to promote another religion” is three years.
The new penal code does not mention other faiths. It does however criminalise the use of the internet that “might prejudice public order or religious values,” and imposes a “penalty of between one month and one year in prison and a fine of not less than 1,000 Omani rials”.
Sharia (Islamic law) applies in matters of inheritance and marriage to non-Muslims (Law 32 in Personal Status of 1997).
Imams must possess a licence and preach the sermons issued by the government. Although public proselytising is forbidden, certain “Islamic propagation centres” are accepted by the government. Non-Muslim groups may practise their religion according to their values, customs, and traditions without interference but only on land “specifically donated by the Sultan for the purpose of collective worship”. Religious gatherings are allowed only within government-approved places of worship and private places of worship; non-Muslim groups have asked for greater room to ease overcrowding concerns.
According to the Basic Law of the State (also known as the Basic Statute of the State), which was established by Royal Decree No. 6/2021, the heir to the Sultan must be a Muslim, sane, and the legal son of Muslim Omani parents.
Incidents and developments
As part of the nation's outreach to representatives of non-Muslim religious groups, the Chief of Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took part in a virtual meeting with American Jewish Committee (AJC) officials in November 2020. A similar meeting took place in 2021.
On 10 May 2021, the government-appointed Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad bin Hamad Al-Khalili sent out a message in which he referred to the clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters at the Al-Aqsa Mosque as an “attempt to pollute” the mosque “by the enemies of God, the corrupters.” He described the “dirty” and “defiling” occupation as a “blatant plot against Islam.”
Between 24 July and 2 August 2021, in what is known as the “#Ghaith_spaces case”, several young Omani social media activists were detained for participating in online private conversations on freedom of thought and religion, including atheism. Charges against Ghaith Al-Shibli, Ali Al-Ghafri, Maryam Al-Nuaimi, and Abdullah Hassan include blasphemy and improper use of technology (see below). In October 2021, the four were freed on bail while their case was still pending.
MERA informally permitted the Protestant Church of Oman to host the worship services of religious organisations lacking their own venues of worship. MERA additionally gave permission to the Embassy of Sri Lanka to hold Buddhist religious services and rituals on its grounds. Additionally, Christian community leaders and MERA stated that they were working together to construct a second Christian cemetery because the first one is reaching capacity.
Every year, MERA hosts events marking the UNESCO International Day for Tolerance on the 16 and 17 of November.
According to religious minority leaders, the Royal Oman Police collected religious affiliation information from expatriates applying for work visas.
On 25 March 2022, Bishop Paul Hinder, the former apostolic vicar, celebrated the first priestly ordination in the history of the local Church in the parish of Saints Peter and Paul in Mascate; Fr Dickson Eugene, born in Bangalore (India), grew up in Oman and was a local vocation.
On 27 May, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Yohanna X Yazigi, celebrated the first liturgy in a new church dedicated to the Holy Martyr Arethas in Muscat. The Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Salmi was in attendance. The land on which the new church stands was granted by late Sultan Quabus bin Said al Said.
In June, Muslims denounced comments by two Indian BJP politicians concerning the Prophet Muhammad. Oman’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad bin Hamad Al-Khalili, the chief religious figure in the country, declared that Nupur Sharma’s comments were “a war on all Muslims” and a matter that “calls for all Muslims to rise as one nation.”
As indicated above, activists Al-Shibli, Hassan, Al-Nuaimi and Al-Ghafri were arrested in July-August 2021 in what is known as the #Ghaith_spaces case. Their mobile phones were confiscated, and Twitter accounts deactivated. On 7 June 2022, the court cleared Ghaith Al-Shibli of all charges due to lack of responsibility. But Maryam Al-Nuaimi and Ali Al-Ghafri were respectively sentenced to three and five-year prison terms. Abdullah Hassan’s case was referred to a specialised court.
Al-Shibli had been previously charged with “insulting and offending the Divine Essence” and “using the internet to incite and tempt the commission of debauchery”, because of an earlier tweet about alleged government corruption. There was also a minor reference to the Prophet Noah, which was used by prosecutors in the complaint.
Activists condemned the sentencing online with hashtags trending calling for the accused to be freed, as well as #Freedom_for_prisoners_of_conscience. Others said that their sentencing sets a dangerous precedent in the Sultanate. According to the Omani Centre for Human Rights (OCHR), the evidence used to condemn the defendants was based on their private information and internet communications, which constituted a breach of their privacy.
Myriam Al-Nuaimi was accused of “insulting monotheistic religions” for allegedly sending WhatsApp messages implying that “religions are patriarchal.” Women's rights organisations started a campaign to free her. They said that she was placed in solitary confinement, endangering her mental and physical health. Al-Ghafiri was sentenced for “insulting and offending God”, according to the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR).
Human rights organisations denounced the activists’ sentencing calling for the rulings to be overturned as well as a halt to the prosecution of online activists. They also asked for the repeal of any other laws that restrict people’s liberties and rights, including Article 269 of the Omani Penal Code.
According to Amnesty International, there are continuing restrictions on free speech in the Sultanate of Oman, and in recent years authorities have jailed several activists for allegedly criticising the government’s actions. One example of this was the December 2021 cancellation of the “All Questions” radio program following criticism by a Shura Council member of the Council’s leadership during an interview.
Prospects for religious freedom
Despite ongoing tensions, especially regional Sunni-Shi’a conflicts, Oman has succeeded in maintaining a relatively neutral position – even sharing good relations with Iran despite local pressure.
The authorities generally work to respect religious freedom seeking to assure that faithful can gather to worship, run schools, religious events, and liturgical services. Upon the first liturgy in a new church dedicated to the Holy Martyr Arethas in Muscat, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Yohanna X Yazigi, highlighted “the importance of the Sultanate for the values of ‘tolerance, harmony and concord’, a place where everyone ‘feels as if in their own land and in the midst of their own family’”. Bishop Hinder, the apostolic vicar emeritus, stated that the Catholic Church in Oman is a “‘migrant reality made up of Indian, Filipino, European, American and African workers, within which the ‘spirit of community’ is strong”. Parishioners are not “a citizen of Oman”, but immigrants who can “meet, celebrate the Eucharist and pray benefiting from the freedom of worship”.
Notwithstanding this general tolerance towards religious communities, there have been tendencies to stricter restrictions against freedom of speech, which if unchecked will affect other human rights including freedom of religion. Despite this, prospects for religious freedom remain positive.
Oman