AFRICANEWS

Tanzania

Tanzanian Muslims question terrorist attacks

Religion

Some Muslim communities in Tanzania are very unhappy over the September 11 terrorism attacks in the U.S., saying that the actions of a few do not reflect the true faith. They also wonder if a leadership vacuum exists amongst Muslims worldwide.

The September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and subsequent retaliation against Afghanistan have prompted some Muslim communities in Tanzania to question the Taliban's ideology and methods, and whether a vacuum exists worldwide in Muslim leadership.

Immediately following the attacks, none of the leadership of Islamic groups in Tanzania publicly came forward to condemn or even comment on the situation. But some Muslim leaders and community members have made their views known in interviews with Africanews.

"It’s true the situation left our followers in a limbo," Sheikh Ali Muhidin, an Islamic cleric in Dar es Salaam, told Africanews. "It seems terrorists know of the leadership vacuum facing Muslims. Who is Bin Laden and who gave him power to issue fatwa in the name of Islam against anyone and more so against the U.S.?"

He pointed out that fatwa is not an edict; it is a mere opinion. Fatwa in a Muslim state were traditionally given by a court official, the Mufti, for the guidance of a qazi or judge. The Mufti is one learned in the law fiqh.

Quoting Professor Ziauddin Sardan, a leading Islamic scholar who was a vocal critic of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses and who now teaches in the U.K., Sheikh Muhidin observed: "Why have we repeatedly turned a blind eye to the evil within our Muslim societies? Why have we allowed the sacred terms of Islam, such as fatwa and jihad, to be hijacked by obscurantist fanatic extremists?"

Selemani Samula, an Islamic teacher in Dar es Salaam, echoed the cleric's concern, saying: "We have to highlight, the argument goes, the despair and suffering of the Muslim people - their poverty and plight. So, all good and concerned Muslims are implicated in the unchecked rise of fanaticism in Muslim societies.

"We have given free reign to fascism within our midst, and failed to denounce fanatics who distort the most sacred of concepts of our faith," he said. " We have been silent as they proclaim themselves martyrs, mangling beyond recognition in the most sacred meaning of what it is to be a Muslim."

Pained to find some Muslims lauding bin Laden, Samula denounced terrorism in all of its forms. "The worst form of class prejudice is to support one’s community even in tyranny. The Prophet also said: "The highest form of jihad is to speak the truth to a tyrannical ruler." Jihad means exertion. The exertion of reason is ijtihad (reasoning), which is one of the sources of Islamic Law.

The teacher also denounced the Taliban "for using the Qu'ran for political and tribal means. Islam and Qu'ran must not be used as instruments for propagating violence, terror and destruction. Today, more than ever, humanity and above all Muslims are in need of the real message of peace advanced by Islam."

"It is time Muslims face the tribunal of secular reason and patiently endure trial by modernity," noted Juma Rashid, the Kisarawe District Secretary of the Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA). "We need to be at once loyal to the religion’s demands of the Islamic tradition and yet, simultaneously, responsive to the rational and critical pressures of the present.

"Verily, never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves," he added.

"If a Muslim, or even a group of Muslims, indulges in violence, he (they) must be held responsible for it," said Rashid. "Nevertheless, their actions cannot be attributed to the influence of Islam. Of those who claim to be Muslims, the Qu'ran observes: "You have not believed yet, but rather say, ‘we have accepted Islam,’ for the true belief has not yet entered your hearts,"" he said.

The terrorists behind the attacks seem to have some support from people hailing from Pemba Islands. As initial reports of the collapse of the twin towers filtered in, the media showed images of people from Pemba Islands now living in Dar es Salaam applauding at the news. The area is a stronghold for the Tanzania main opposition party, Civic United Front.

However, some observers say that it was the media that whipped up such sentiment and subsequent reaction. Local newspapers sensationalised the issue to an extent of confusing people, said prominent journalist Lucy Aloyce, information officer for Women Advanced Trust (WAT), a Dar es Salaam-based non-government organisation.

She said that some papers, either by default or design, painted the attacks in the U.S. as a war between Christians and Muslims, which sparked reaction from the people from Pemba. "It is funny how" some papers went on to report commencement of the war weeks before it really started."

Following the attacks, President Benjamin Mkapa agreed to meet with opposition leaders for the first time since he won the presidency in 1995. Part of their discussion revolved around how to tame inflamed passions and not to mix politics and religion.

For the first time since independence, Muslims were permitted to hold a demonstration. A group of liberal Muslims staged a march to protest against the bombing in Afghanistan. Their message was: "The U.S. should fight terrorists and not Muslims and children and women, who should be spared against bombings."

Although bin Laden has become part of everyday newspapers, no changes have been noticed in Muslim-Christian relations. In a recent homily in Mass, His Eminence Cardinal Polycarp Pengo of Dar es Salaam said: "Christians in the country have nothing to fear from Tanzania Muslims as they had nothing to do with what bin Laden and his gangs have done in the US."

On the whole, the U.S. attacks have brought about a closer relationship between Tanzania and the U.S. "A lot of things have happened here in this short period of time that displayed closer links to the US," says James Mwakisyala, Dar es Salaam bureau chief for The East African.

He noted how Tanzania joined the United States-led effort to cut funding to terrorists, and how Tanzania police set up a fully-fledged anti-terrorism department.

There are confirmed reports that the Central Bank has issued a directive instructing financial institutions to immediately freeze the accounts of some 20 international companies believed to have links with Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda establishment.

The anti-terrorism department will deal with all counter-terrorism tasks, including the thorough check of baggage coming into the country.

The FBI has also sent a number of agents to Tanzania to investigate if there are any links between the terrorist attacks and individuals or organisations in Tanzania. Agents questioned a number of businessmen, especially in petroleum companies that have links with Yemen. However, no arrest was reported to date.

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