Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic rule that separates religion and state

Sudan’s transitional government agreed to separate the religion from the state, ending 30 years of Islamic rule in the country.

The leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North rebel group Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok signed the declaration in Addis Ababa on Thursday.

“For Sudan to become a democratic country where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution must be based on the principle of ‘separation of religion and state’, in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected.” the statement said.

This comes less than a week after the government signed a peace agreement with the rebel forces, raising hopes that an end to the violence that had paralyzed the Darfur region and other parts of Sudan under the ousted president. Omar al-Bashir.

Sudan is emerging from the international isolation that began shortly after Bashir took power in 1989 and implemented a hard-line interpretation of Islamic law that sought to make the nation the “vanguard of the Islamic world.”

The United States labeled Sudan a sponsor of terrorism in 1993 and then imposed sanctions until 2017.

(With contributions from agencies)