Freedom of religion in Tanzania

Last updated

Freedom of religion in Tanzania refers to the extent to which people in Tanzania are freely able to practice their religious beliefs, taking into account both government policies and societal attitudes toward religious groups.

Contents

The government of Tanzania and the semiautonomous government of Zanzibar both recognize religious freedom as a principle and make efforts to protect it. The government of Zanzibar appoints Muslim religious officials in Zanzibar. The main body of law in Tanzania and Zanzibar is secular, but Muslims have the option to use religious courts for family-related cases.

Individual cases of religiously motivated violence have occurred against both Christians and Muslims. [1] There are reports of young men in Zanzibar being recruited into organizations such as al-Shabaab and ISIS-M. [2]

The policies and ideology of Ujamaa espoused by Tanzania's first government following independence from the United Kingdom in the 1960s emphasized national unity over religious or ethnic division, [3] and this is reflected by the strong anti-discrimination rhetoric in Tanzania's constitution, which is still in effect as of 2019. While Ujamaa was abandoned as a state project in 1985, and religious discord has risen somewhat since then, [4] academic and NGO sources credit Ujamaa for contributing to a climate of religious freedom and relative social stability in Tanzania. [4] [5]

Demographics

A 2010 Pew Forum survey estimates approximately 61 percent of the population is Christian, 35 percent Muslim, and 4 percent other religious groups. [1] A 2020 Pew Forum survey shows similar statistics. [2] A separate 2010 Pew Forum Report estimates more than half of the population practices elements of African traditional religions in their daily lives. There are no domestic surveys covering religious affiliation. [4]

On the mainland, large Muslim communities are concentrated in coastal areas, with some Muslim minorities located inland in urban areas. Christian groups include Roman Catholics, Protestants (including Pentecostal Christian groups), Seventh-day Adventists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Other groups include Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Baháʼís, animists, and those who did not express a religious preference. Zanzibar's 1.3 million residents are 99 percent Muslim, according to a U.S. government estimate, of whom two-thirds are Sunni, according to a 2012 Pew Forum report. The remainder consists of several Shia groups, mostly of Asian descent. [1]

History

Background

Tanzania is made up of two regions, a mainland region on the African continent and the archipelago of Zanzibar, which were unified in the 1960s. The mainland region of Tanganyika was first delineated as part of the partition of Africa in the Berlin Conference in 1884. By contrast, Zanzibar's history as a distinct region goes back to the 13th century, when it was home to Swahili city states. [4]

Exact dates for the introduction of Islam to East Africa are unknown, but the first recorded evidence of Muslim presence dates to 830 CE, and significant Islamic city-states were established in Zanzibar and along the mainland coast by the 11th century. These city-states reached their apex in the 14th and 15th centuries, after which they deteriorated following conflict with Portugal in the 16th to 17th centuries. Portuguese control of Zanzibar was brief, as they were deposed by the Omani Empire, which would eventually move its capital to Zanzibar. During the early 19th century, Zanzibar became a significant node in the slave trade, which would not end until the early 20th century. Christianity arrived in Tanganyika in the 19th century in the form of various European missions, and around the same time Sufi missionaries would spread Islam beyond the coastline regions. Both Christian and Muslim practices in Tanzania are heavily influenced by syncretism with older African religious traditions. [4]

During the independence movement, both Christians and Muslims played significant roles in the Tanganyika African National Union. Following independence, however, discourse shifted and the Christian and Muslim communities were sometimes presented as being politically at odds. [4]

Early independence and the Zanzibar Revolution (1961–1964)

In 1961, British rule ended in Tanganyika, with Julius Nyerere becoming its first president in 1962, [6] while Zanzibar continued to be a British protectorate ruled by an Arab monarchy. [7] In 1964, the Sultanate of Zanzibar was overthrown in the Zanzibar Revolution. The revolution was accompanied by extreme levels of violence by African revolutionaries against Arabs and South Asians, who were predominantly Muslim or Hindu and were identified with the ruling class of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. The legacy of this event is contested, as the extreme and racially-targeted violence is seen by parts of Zanzibar's society as retaliation for oppression suffered under the Sultanate, which had had a significant African slave trade. [8] [9] The forces perpetrating the violence were led by John Okello, a Christian who believed that it was his duty to liberate Zanzibar from the "Muslim Arabs", despite the fact that the African population in Zanzibar and the revolutionary Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) were predominantly Muslim as well. Okello's actions and militant Christian beliefs alienated others in the ASP, and he was soon marginalized, stripped of rank and eventually deported. [10]

Unification and Ujamaa (1964–1985)

Following the revolution, Zanzibar merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania, with Nyerere as president. [11] The ruling elite on the mainland, who were religiously diverse, preferred secular rule, whereas Zanzibar maintained a degree of autonomy and implemented a semisecular state. While Islam was not officially a state religion, it was accorded special status and privileges. [4]

In 1967, Tanzania pivoted further to the left politically, and began to promote Ujamaa, a socialist ideology which emphasized freedom, equality and unity as its central principles. [3] The country also adopted a constitution which included strongly worded sections against discrimination, including religious discrimination. [5] Human Rights Watch credits Ujamaa as having been an effective model of national unity, contributing toward Ujamaa's relative stability and social harmony, with the caveat that the emphasis on unity also made it difficult at times to investigate human rights abuses. Tanzania is the only country in East Africa that has not experienced continuous cycles of ethnic, religious or political violence since its independence from colonial rule. [5]

Post-Nyerere (1985–present)

Following Nyerere's retirement from politics after his last term in 1985, the government of Tanzania largely abandoned Ujamaa as its ideology, [12] although as of 2019 the 1977 constitution remains in effect. Since the end of the Ujamaa period, there has been increased contention between Muslims and the government, and to a lesser extent between Muslims and Christians. [4] In 1993 and 1998, tensions rose to the level of violent conflict between Muslims and state security forces, with both incidents resulting in many deaths. [4] Academics have attributed this decline in religious harmony to the collapse of Ujamaa in the sense of both its national-unity ideals and its social-welfare policies, the influence of worldwide increases in religious militancy toward the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, religious revival movements inside Tanzania, and the redefinition of political camps following the liberalization of the economy beginning in the late 1980s. [4]

Witchcraft was outlawed in 2015. As of 2019, however, there continued to be witchcraft-associated ritual killings reported, with the police arresting those suspected of involvement. [13] By 2022, the number of killings had gone down, but trafficking of persons with albinism was common. [2]

While religious violence is rare, it does occur. [5] [14] In 2017, there were three instances of vandalism and property destruction, including arson, against religious buildings and clergy. [1]

The constitution of the union government of Tanzania and the constitution of the semiautonomous government in Zanzibar both prohibit religious discrimination and provide for freedom of religious choice. [2] The law prohibits the formation of religious political parties; the law also prohibits any person from taking any action or making statements with the intent of insulting the religious beliefs of another person, with a possible sentence of one year's imprisonment. [2]

The government does not designate religious affiliation on passports or records of vital statistics. Police reports must state religious affiliation if an individual will be required to provide sworn testimony. Applications for medical care must specify religious affiliation so that any specific religious customs may be observed. The law requires the government to record the religious affiliation of every prisoner and provide facilities for worship for prisoners. [2]

Leadership of the Muslim community

On the mainland, the National Muslim Council of Tanzania elects the mufti. On Zanzibar, the President of Zanzibar appoints the mufti, who serves as a leader of the Muslim community and as a public servant assisting with local governmental affairs. The Mufti of Zanzibar nominally approves all Islamic activities and supervises all mosques on Zanzibar. The mufti also approves religious lectures by visiting Islamic clergy and supervises the importation of Islamic literature from outside Zanzibar. [2]

Secular and religious courts

On the mainland, secular laws govern Christians and Muslims in both criminal and civil cases. In family-related cases involving inheritance, marriage, divorce, and the adoption of minors, the law also recognizes customary practices, which could include religious practices. In such cases, some Muslims choose to consult religious leaders in lieu of bringing a court case. Muslims in Zanzibar have the option of bringing cases to a civil or qadi (Islamic court or judge) for matters of divorce, child custody, inheritance, and other issues covered by Islamic law. All cases tried in Zanzibar courts, except those involving Zanzibari constitutional matters and sharia, may be appealed to the Union Court of Appeals on the mainland. Decisions of Zanzibar's qadi courts may be appealed to a special court consisting of the Zanzibar chief justice and five other sheikhs. The President of Zanzibar appoints the chief qadi, who oversees the qadi courts and is recognized as the senior Islamic scholar responsible for interpreting the Quran. There are no qadi courts on the mainland. [2]

Education

Public schools may teach religion, but it is not a part of the official national curriculum. School administration or parent and teacher associations must approve such classes, which are taught on an occasional basis by parents or volunteers. Public school registration forms must specify a child's religious affiliation so administrators can assign students to the appropriate religion class if one is offered. Students may also choose to opt out of religious studies. In public schools, students are allowed to wear the hijab but not the niqāb . [2]

2020s

A 2020 Pew Forum survey estimates that approximately 63% of the population identifies as Christian, 34% as Muslim, and 5% practitioners of other religions. [2] Most Christians are Catholics and Lutherans, although there are also Anglicans, Pentecostals and other groups. In 2020, the Vatican noted that 30.41% of the population are Catholic. [15]

In 2023, Tanzania scored 3 out of 4 for religious freedom. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanzania</span> Country in East Africa

Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. According to the 2022 national census, Tanzania has a population of around 62 million.

The modern-day African Great Lakes state of Tanzania dates formally from 1964, when it was formed out of the union of the much larger mainland territory of Tanganyika and the coastal archipelago of Zanzibar. The former was a colony and part of German East Africa from the 1880s to 1919 when, under the League of Nations, it became a British mandate. It served as a British military outpost during World War II, providing financial help, munitions, and soldiers. In 1947, Tanganyika became a United Nations Trust Territory under British administration, a status it kept until its independence in 1961. The island of Zanzibar thrived as a trading hub, successively controlled by the Portuguese, the Sultanate of Oman, and then as a British protectorate by the end of the nineteenth century.

The politics of Tanzania takes place in a framework of a unitary presidential democratic republic, whereby the President of Tanzania is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The party system is dominated by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanganyika (1961–1964)</span> Country in East Africa from 1961 to 1964

Tanganyika was a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania, that existed from 1961 until 1964. It first gained independence from the United Kingdom on 9 December 1961 as a Commonwealth realm headed by Queen Elizabeth II before becoming a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations a year later. After signing the Articles of Union on 22 April 1964 and passing an Act of Union on 25 April, Tanganyika officially joined with the People's Republic of Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar on Union Day, 26 April 1964. The new state changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania within a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Nyerere</span> President of Tanzania from 1964 to 1985

Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, after which he led its successor state, Tanzania, as president from 1964 to 1985. He was a founding member and chair of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) party, and of its successor, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, from 1954 to 1990. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he promoted a political philosophy known as Ujamaa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanganyika African National Union</span> 1961–1977 ruling party of Tanganyika then Tanzania

The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the principal political party in the struggle for sovereignty in the East African state of Tanganyika. The party was formed from the Tanganyika African Association by Julius Nyerere in July 1954 when he was teaching at St. Francis' College. From 1964 the party was called the Tanzania African National Union. In January 1977 the TANU merged with the ruling party in Zanzibar, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), to form the current Revolutionary State Party or Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). The policy of TANU was to build and maintain a socialist state aiming towards economic self-sufficiency and to eradicate corruption and exploitation, with the major means of production and exchange under the control of the peasants and workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Djibouti</span>

Islam in Djibouti has a long history, first appearing in the Horn of Africa during the lifetime of Muhammad. Today, 98% of Djibouti's 490,000 inhabitants are Muslims. According to Pew, 77% follow the denomination of Sunnism, whilst 8% are non-denominational Muslim, and the remaining 13% follow other sects such as Quranism, Shia, Ibadism etc.. After independence, the nascent republic constructed a legal system based in part on Islamic law.

<i>Ujamaa</i> Socialist system in 1960s Tanzania

Ujamaa was a socialist ideology that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Tanzania</span>

Tanzania is a Christian majority nation, with Islam being the largest minority faith in the country. According to a 2020 estimate by Pew research center, Muslims represent 34.1% of the total population. The faith was introduced by merchants visiting the Swahili coast, as it became connected to a larger maritime trade network dominated by Muslims. This would lead to local conversions and assimilations of foreign Muslims, ultimately causing the eventual formation of several officially Muslim political entities in the region. However, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), 55.3% of the population is Christian, 31.5% is Muslim, 11.3% practices traditional faiths, while 1.9% of the population is non-religious or adheres to other faiths as of 2020. The ARDA estimates that most Tanzanian Muslims are Sunni, with a small Shia minority, as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu</span> Tanzanian politician

Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu was a Zanzibar-born Marxist and pan-Africanist nationalist who played an important role in the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution and served as a minister under Julius Nyerere after the island was merged with mainland Tanganyika to form Tanzania. He was jailed by Nyerere from 1972 and, after his release following an international campaign, remained a vocal critic of imperialism, authoritarian states and excessively statist development models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Israel</span>

As of 2022, Muslims are the largest religious minority in Israel, accounting for 18.1% of the country's total population. Most of this figure is represented by the Arab citizens of Israel, who are the country's largest ethnic minority, but there is a notable non-Arab Muslim populace, such as that of the Circassians. Upwards of 99% of Israel's Muslims are Sunnis and the remainder are Ahmadis. Despite Shias constituting the second-largest Islamic sect, there are no reliable sources attesting a Shia presence in Israel or the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which the Israeli government administers as the Judea and Samaria Area. There were only seven Shia villages in the entirety of Mandatory Palestine and all of these were located along what is now the Israel–Lebanon border before being depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Zanzibar</span>

Islam is the most prominent religion on the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago and could be considered the Islamic center in the United Republic of Tanzania. Around 99% of the population in the islands are Muslim, with two-thirds being Sunni Muslim and a minority Ibadi, Ismaili and Twelver Shia. Islam has a long presence on the islands, with archeological findings dating back to the 10th century, and has been an intrinsic part in shaping mercantile and maritime Swahili culture in Zanzibar as well as along the East African coast.

Religion in Mali is predominantly Islam with an estimated 95 percent of the population being Muslim, with the remaining 5 percent of Malians adhering to traditional African religions such as the Dogon religion, or Christianity. Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion daily, although some are Deist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Tanzania</span>

Christianity is the largest religion in Tanzania, with a substantial Muslim minority. Smaller populations of Animists, practitioners of other faiths, and religiously unaffiliated people are also present.

According to the 2012 census, Islam is the most followed religion in Niger and is practiced by 99% of the population. According to Pew, roughly 80% of Muslims are Sunni of Maliki school of jurisprudence, whilst 20% are non-denominational Muslims Other religions practiced in Niger include Animism and Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanganyika Territory</span> British mandate in Africa from 1919 to 1961

Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various guises from 1916 until 1961. It was initially administered under a military occupation regime. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a League of Nations mandate under British rule. From 1946, it was administered by the UK as a United Nations trust territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Tanzania</span>

Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Tanzania, but in the island of Zanzibar most of the population is Muslim.

The Articles of Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar of 1964 is the main foundation of the Constitutions of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 and the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government of 1984. The Articles of the Union were signed on April 22, 1964, by the Founders of the Union, Julius Nyerere and Abeid Amani Karume and agreed in 11 matters which later increased to over 22 and are the source of tension and dispute between mainland Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. See Uamsho movement. The original Articles of Union which contain both Signatures from Nyerere and Karume are yet to be found.

The status of religious freedom in Africa varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion, the extent to which religious organizations operating within the country are policed, and the extent to which religious law is used as a basis for the country's legal code.

Zanzibari independence is a political ambition of some political parties, advocacy groups, and individuals of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region territory within Tanzania, to become an independent sovereign state.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 International Religious Freedom Report 2017 Tanzania , US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "US State Dept 2022 report on Tanzania".
  3. 1 2 Pratt, Cranford (1999). "Julius Nyerere: Reflections on the Legacy of his Socialism". Canadian Journal of African Studies. 33 (1): 137–52. doi:10.2307/486390. JSTOR   486390.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bakari, Mohammed A. (2012). "Religion, Secularism, and Political Discourse in Tanzania:Competing Perspectives by Religious Organizations". Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 8: 4–13.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ghoshal, Neela (2013-06-18). ""Treat Us Like Human Beings" | Discrimination against Sex Workers, Sexual and Gender Minorities, and People Who Use Drugs in Tanzania". Human Rights Watch . Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  6. "Statistical Abstract 2013, National Bureau of Statistics" (PDF). Tanzania Ministry of Finance. July 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  7. Shillington, Kevin (2005). Encyclopedia of African History: A - G.. 1. Taylor & Francis. p. 1716. ISBN   9781579582456.
  8. Kuper, Leo (1971). "Theories of Revolution and Race Relations". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 13 (1): 87–107. doi:10.1017/S0010417500006125. ISSN   0010-4175. JSTOR   178199. S2CID   145769109.
  9. "Unveiling Zanzibar's unhealed wounds". BBC News. 25 July 2009.
  10. Speller, Ian (2007). "An African Cuba? Britain and the Zanzibar Revolution, 1964" (PDF). Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 35 (2): 283–302. doi:10.1080/03086530701337666. S2CID   159656717.
  11. Central Intelligence Agency. "Tanzania". The World Factbook.
  12. Bjerk, Paul (2015). Building a Peaceful Nation: Julius Nyerere and the Establishment of Sovereignty in Tanzania, 1960-1964. Boydell & Brewer. p. 126. ISBN   9781580465052.
  13. "International Religious Freedom Report 2019 Tanzania". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  14. "News: Religious clashes in Tanzania, problems in governnment [sic]". InformAfrica.com. 2012-10-18. Archived from the original on 2019-07-30. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  15. Catholics And Culture website, Retrieved 2023-08-01
  16. Freedom House website, Retrieved 2023-08-01