Le 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom sur Maurice a été rendu public cette semaine par l’US Department of State. L’Executive Summary au chapitre des Government Practices indique que « des chrétiens et musulmans continuent à affirmer que la prédominance des hindous dans la fonction publique favorisait les hindous dans le recrutement et la promotion gouvernementale, les empêchant d’accéder à des postes de niveau plus élevé au sein de la fonction publique. En général, et depuis des années, les non-hindous ont déclaré qu’ils étaient sous-représentés au sein du gouvernement, de la fonction publique et des services de sécurité. »
Ce document de l’US Department of State fait aussi ressortir que l’Assemblée de Dieu n’a toujours pas obtenu sa reconnaissance à Maurice. « As in previous years, the government deferred action on recognizing the Assembly of God, a Pentecostal denomination, as a religion. The denomination has petitioned the government for such recognition for more than 20 years. As of year-end, the group was still considered an association. The government has not provided a reason for its inaction », note le document officiel.
D’autre part, des sources religieuses de même que des milieux de la société civile estiment que le gouvernement n’était pas enclin d’ajouter l’Assemblée de Dieu à la liste des religions reconnues. Le motif étant que la « Church drew increasing membership from Hindu converts. A pastor from the Assembly of God said that because the group was not considered a religious group, newborn infants could not be registered as Assembly of God members, and its pastors had limited access to hospitals and prisons », ajoute l’US Department.
Au chapitre de « Religious Demography », ce même rapport indique qu’il existe à Maurice un lien entre l’identification religieuse et l’appartenance à un parti politique : « There is a strong correlation between religious affiliation, ethnicity, and political and socio-economic status in the country. Citizens of Indian ethnicity are primarily Hindu or Muslim. Those of Chinese ancestry generally practice Buddhism, Anglicanism, or Catholicism. Creoles (persons of African descent) and those of European descent mainly catholiocs. »
Le chapitre, consacré au Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom, revient sur un incident qui a fait couler beaucoup d’encre. « On October 21, an armed crowd of approximately 30 young Muslim men interrupted a charity concert held at venue between two Muslim majority neighborhoods in Port Louis and forced attendees to disperse. According to press reports and WhatsApp messages sympathetics to the action, the mob was attempting to prevent the playing of a song written by a prominent Jewish-American musician as a means of protesting Israeli military operations in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks », note le rapport du Département d’Etat.
« Other senior government and religious figures stated that the protest might have been in reaction to a pride march held in support of LGBTQI+ rights earlier. The disturbance drew immediate condemnation from across the political spectrum, including Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, and led to numerous arrests », poursuit le document à titre officiel.
Par ailleurs, d’autres événements sont mis en exergue pour l’année 2023 : «On November 16, the Office of the Director of Prosecutions announced that two men were formally accused of aiding and abetting, manslaughter, and attempted murder in the 2021 case in which a passenger on a motorcycle shot and killed a prominent Hindu figure, Manan Fakhoo. Police said they suspected the killers targeted Fakhoo because he had participated in the beating of a man who converted to Islam from Hinduism, after the latter posted a video on social media disparaging Hinduism. In 2022, police arrested eight persons connected to the shooting and multiple persons connected to the beating who were all later released on bail. The Council of Religions traditionally hosted regular interfaith religious ceremonies and celebrations to foster mutual understanding and enhance interfaith collaboration among faith communities, and continued to do so, including interfaith prayers hosted by private sector companies and a workshop to prevent the stigmatization of LGBTQI+ persons and groups ».
Le 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom sur Maurice se focalise aussi, à titre indicatif, sur la composition des dénominations religieuses au sein du pays : « The US government estimates the total population at 1,3 million (midyear 2023). According to the 2011 census, the most recent for which data on religious affiliation was released, approximately 48 percent of the population is Hindu, 26 percent Roman Catholic, 17 percent Muslim, and 6 percent non-Catholic Christian, including Seventh-day Adventists, Anglicans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Evangelical Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, and members of the Assembly of God. »
Le rapport inclut d’autres données statistiques : « According to Assembly of God officials, the denomination is the second-largest Christian group, after catholics, with approximately 100 000 members, or almost 8 % of the population. The remaining 3 percent include Buddhists, Baha’is, animists, and individuals who report no religious affiliation. There are an estimated 5 000 Rastafarians in the country, a majority of whom are of African descent. More than 95 percent of Muslims are Sunni. According to the Jewish community representatives, there are 100-200 Jews. »