Senegalese President Argues For Separation Of Faith And State
DAKAR (AFP) - Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade warned academics gathered here Monday that religion and the state did not go together, promising that Senegal would always be a secular state.
"The main aim of religion is not to win power," Wade said, criticizing political leaders who he said had used religion to maneuver their way into power.
Wade, who was elected to the presidency in March, was speaking at a meeting of academics from around a dozen countries gathered for a conference on the state and the Islamic faith in western Africa.
Senegal, which is 95% Muslim, is currently in the throes of a wide-ranging debate on the role of religion in the state, with some Islamists saying the separation of the two in Senegal does not have popular consent.
Wade warned against two extremes: that of the West which "says anyone who practices his faith is a fundamentalist," and that of those "who glory in the past without taking into account the errors which are part of every human exercise."
Wade, who is Muslim, argued for religious tolerance, which he said, was a fundamental human right.
"I intend to protect that freedom," in Senegal, he said.
