Summary
Gambia's president has declared the tiny West African country an Islamic republic, saying he decided this because Islam is the religion of the majority of its citizens and to break from the nation's colonial past.
It does not appear that President Yahya Jammeh's announcement changes Gambia's laws or the country's constitutional status as a secular state.
Jammeh said the rights of Gambia's Christian community will be respected.
Jammeh has ruled Gambia since seizing power in 1994 .
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