UCID party leader, Faisal Ali Waraabe, briefly spoke to reporters on Monday about the reopening of the Hargeisa Catholic Church.
Waraabe told reporters that he doesn’t see the Catholic church is a big issue and that Somalilanders should leave the ruling on its reopening with the nation’s religious leaders.
“We shouldn’t be focusing on trivial issues. Arguing over an issue like this is what is keeping us behind from modernizing our country. There is a Catholic church in Hargeisa that was built by the British, who used to rule us. Mogadishu is home to the biggest church in East Africa, Djibouti also has a Catholic church. Everyone has the right to practice their own religion,” Warabe said.
“We have religious leaders to tell us what is permissible or not, and we have Sheik Khalil, our Religious Affairs Minister tasked to deal with issues like this,” Waraabe added.
“We don’t need to create a fuss about this issue. I support whatever stance our religious leaders decide to take, and I believe every Somalilander should do the same” Waraabe concluded.
Somaliland’s Religous Affairs Minister, Sheikh Khalil Abdullahi Ahmed, announced on Saturday that the Government has no problems with the reopening of historic churches in Somaliland. Ahmed also stated that new churches are not allowed to be built and that foreigners in Somaliland cannot promote any other religion other than Islam.
