(ChurchLeaders) A transitional government in Sudan is taking steps toward “achieving equality” and ending discrimination, leading to cautious optimism for proponents of democracy. Apostasy (abandoning Islam through speech or behavior, including conversion to Christianity) and morality laws have been eliminated, and female genital mutilation is now banned.
The African nation, which is predominantly Muslim, had endured more than three decades of Sharia law and a 22-year civil war. In 2011, South Sudan, whose residents largely follow Christianity or traditional animist religions, declared independence.