The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government in the context of its overall dialog and policy of promoting human rights. The Constitution provides that all citizens have the freedom to practice or not to practice a religion and gives religious denominations the right to pursue their religious aims freely, and the Government generally respects these rights in practice. The 1989 Law on Religious Freedom requires religious institutions and missionary organizations to register with the Ministry of Justice, reveal their principal source of funds and provide the names of at least 500 followers in good standing. No particular benefits or privileges are associated with the registration process. In late 1998, there was disagreement in the National Assembly over declaring Muslim holy days as official holidays, an issue that surfaces periodically.
Muslim holidays shift with lunar cycles, complicating their calendar placement.
The issue was resolved in practice when the Government instructed employers to grant liberal leave to both Christian and Muslim employees to observe their respective religious holidays, in addition to scheduled national holidays. According to the National Institute of Statistics, half of the population of 16 to 17 million does not profess to practice a religion or creed. However, scholars at local universities assert that virtually all persons recognize or practice some form of animism or traditional indigenous religions. Many Muslim clerics disagree with this statistic, claiming that Islam is the country's majority religion. Religious communities are dispersed throughout the country.