Central African Republic
In the Central African Republic, which has been in the spotlight in recent years with massacres against Muslims and Muslim-Christian conflict, 50% of the population consists of Christianized black natives and 20-25% of Muslims. The remaining quarter of the population follows local African religions. Geographically clustered in the northern and northeastern rural areas of the country, Muslims have more cultural and commercial interaction with neighboring Chad and Sudan than with the central government. The capital Bangui had a dense Muslim population before the civil war in 2014.
Islam first came to the region in the 1600s through merchants and Sufi travelers. After the first encounters with Muslim immigrants with the local population, Islam expanded from the north to the entire region.
Muslims in the Central African Republic have always been on the receiving end of assaults due to the connivance of official authorities, even if this does not appear to be the official policy of the government. All the constitutional and legislative amendments made on the premise of preventing religious fundamentalism have narrowed the living space for Muslims more than for armed Christians.
Although Muslims have been speaking out against the discrimination they face, neither the regime nor its supporter France considered their requests. In March 2013, opposition groups, mostly composed of Muslim militias, calling themselves Seleka, revolted and took control over all regions from the north to the capital within a few months and elected Michel Djotodia as the first Muslim leader of the country. However, this forced change pushed the forces that had been oppressing Muslims until then to make a counter-move with a different method.
