Muslim leader slams constitution amendment bill declaring Samoa as a Christian state

Rasa - Samoa's head of the Muslim League has warned that the government's plan to amend the constitution to declare the country as a Christian state carries negative implications.

News ID: 426285

Date: 04 January 2017 - 21:07

RNA - Earlier this year, Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi called for a review of their constitution's religious freedom provisions. The country's leader wants the supreme law to be amended to recognize the country's Christian principles, a move that has been welcomed by churches, Radio New Zealand reports.

Rev. Ma'auga Motu, the Samoa Council of Churches' secretary general, called for Islam to be banned in the country. Although most of the citizens are Christians, the Islamic faith is still a threat to Samoa, he said.

Last week, the prime minister tabled the Constitution Amendment Bill No. 2 (2016) during Parliament's last session for this year. The move sparked a negative reaction from the Muslim League in Samoa head Laulu Mohammed Daniel Stanley, who opposes the change, The Samoa Observer details.

For Stanley, the Samoan government has not thoroughly pondered on the consequences of the constitutional amendment. He told the Observer that the move is "one step closer" to "total evil" and warned that they can no longer accept or borrow money from non-Christian states if the change pushes through.

"What is the definition of Christian? Does this mean that we will not be accepting anymore money from Chinese and everywhere that are not Christians yet we borrow from these non-Christian countries?" said Stanley. "How about the employees, will they advertise jobs asking each applicant to submit a letter from church ministers? What will happen when we need experts who cannot be certified by church ministers?"

Aside from that, Stanley highlighted the existing conflict between different Christian denominations. He said there are other Christians that do not follow the Pope. He said these groups use the same Bible but follow different interpretations, and there are also Bible followers who do not practice Christmas.

Despite his opposition to the constitutional amendment to declare Samoa as a Christian state, Stanley admits that it will not affect the Muslim community. He said their right to freedom of religion still cannot be changed.

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