Djibouti's Registration Regime and a Security Screen

This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.

Every religious group in Djibouti, foreign or domestic, must register with the Ministry of the Interior, which conducts a lengthy background investigation covering a group's leadership, its sources of finance, its stated objectives and any ties to organizations the government considers extremist or to unfriendly foreign states before granting approval. Public proselytizing by any faith is illegal, and non-Islamic groups may hold services and teach on their own private property but avoid public spaces such as hotels or street corners because a violation summons the police.

Every foreign religious organization must sign a one-year agreement detailing its permitted activities, its workers must hold work permits and residency cards, and the group must file quarterly reports with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and renew its agreement annually, a standing administrative watch that keeps every non-Islamic religious presence in the country provisional. This regime sits inside a constitution that names Islam the religion of the state while still assuring equality before the law regardless of religion, a combination the registration apparatus is built to manage rather than resolve.