Tanzania: Situation of Christians, including demographics, treatment and relations with other groups; state protection available in religious conflicts (2013-May 2016)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

According to the US Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report for 2014 for Tanzania, "[m]ost religious leaders estimate that the population is 50 percent Christian and 50 percent Muslim," though "there are no domestic polls covering religious affiliation" (US 14 Oct. 2015,1). The Huffington Post reports that approximately 20 percent of the population are Catholics, 10 percent are Protestants "of various denominations," 35 percent are Animists and 35 percent are Muslims, the majority of which are Sunnis (The Huffington Post 5 Feb. 2014). A 2014 article written by Dr. Andre LeSage, a senior research fellow with the Center for Strategic Research at the National Defense University in Washington DC, states that the population of Tanzania is "divided roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims, at 35 to 45 percent each, with a large segment of traditional animists making up the difference" (LeSage Sept. 2014, 3).

The International Religious Freedom Report for 2014 indicates that on the mainland, Muslim communities are concentrated along the Tanzanian coast, with "some large Muslim minorities also located inland in urban areas" (US 14 Oct. 2015, 1). LeSage similarly states that Muslims are "interspersed with non-Muslims" in all major cities and along the coastline of mainland Tanzania (LeSage Sept. 2014, 3). According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, US government sources estimate that the "one million residents" of Zanzibar are "99 percent Muslim" (US 14 Oct. 2015, 2). LeSage also notes that Zanzibar is approximately 95 percent Muslim (LeSage Sept. 2014, 3).

2. Treatment of Christians by Society and Other Religious Groups

Reporting on the events of 2014 in Tanzania, Freedom House indicates that freedom of religion is "generally respected" and the interactions between "the various faiths are largely peaceful, though there have been periodic instances of violence" (Freedom House 2015). According to the same source, in Zanzibar, "[t]ensions" between Muslims and Christians "continued in 2014" (ibid.). Without providing further details, LeSage cites "analysts" as indicating that "cities with religiously mixed populations, including Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Mbeya, Arusha and Zanzibar's Stone Town" are "most prone to inter-communal conflict" (LeSage Sept. 2014, 7).

According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, there were "fewer" attacks against "religious institutions" in Zanzibar, compared to previous years (US 14 Oct. 2015, 5). The report cites Tanzanian "Christian and Muslim leaders" as stating that tensions between religious groups had decreased during 2014 "as measured by incidents of violence" (ibid., 6). The same source notes that civil society organisations promoting "interfaith tolerance and cooperation continued to work freely throughout the country" (ibid.). In a March 2015 article, Reuters reports that while there has been a "lull in sectarian violence … over the past year," Zanzibar is challenging "because of religious tensions and deep social and economic divisions" (Reuters 29 Mar. 2015).

Further information on the relations between Christians and other religious groups could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.1 Uamsho

The Huffington Post reports that a group known as Uamsho [awakening] has been inciting violence against Christians, "especially in Zanzibar" (5 Feb. 2014). According LeSage, Uamsho was established in 2001 as an Islamic NGO, "but has progressively become more involved in radical politics over time" (LeSage Sept. 2014, 9). The International Religious Freedom Report for 2014 similarly states that Uamsho is a "Muslim community development organization whose leaders have been arrested in connection with alleged terrorist offenses" and are "often" accused by religious leaders of "preaching anti-Christian extremism" (US 14 Oct. 2015, 4). The organization is reportedly led by Sheikh Farid Hadi (LeSage Sept. 2014, 9).

According to a 2013 UN Security Council report on Somalia and Eritrea, "[e]vidence also suggests linkages between Al Hijra and a loose-knit Tanzanian extremist group known as 'Uamsho'" (UN 12 July 2013, para. 31, note 9). An article published in the CTC Sentinel, a publication of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (the United States Military Academy), states that Al Hijra is a group of "primarily Kenyan Somali and non-Somali Muslim followers of al-Shabab in East Africa" (CTC Sentinel 29 May 2014).

According to the 2014 LeSage article, Uamsho is "most often blamed for attacks that take place in Zanzibar, including…acid, arson and explosive attacks" (LeSage Sept. 2014, 9). Sources state that in 2013, Uamsho members were suspected of throwing acid on two British teenagers who were volunteering as teachers in Zanzibar (The Telegraph 9 Aug. 2013; The Hill 10 Sept. 2015). Information on incidents involving Uamsho from 2014-2016 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.2 Incidents of Violence: 2013-2016

Sources report that in February 2013, a Catholic priest was shot and killed in Zanzibar by unknown attackers (US 28 July 2014, 5; Freedom House 2014; BosNewsLife 17 Feb. 2013) on his way to church (ibid.). According to sources, a Catholic church in Arusha was bombed in May 2013 (BBC 6 May 2013; Al Jazeera 5 May 2013), killing 3 and seriously injuring "more than 40 persons" (US 28 July 2014, 5). The International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 indicates that in September 2013, a Catholic Reverend was "attacked with acid in the Stone Town area of Zanzibar and critically injured" (ibid.). Freedom House reports that between June and September 2013, there were "three separate incidents" in which "acid was thrown at Catholic priests in Zanzibar" (Freedom House 2014).

According to International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, in February and August 2014, a mob threw explosives at an Evangelist church in Pangawe, Zanzibar (US 14 Oct. 2015, 5). No injuries or damages to the church were reported (ibid.). According to sources, in February 2014 a bomb was detonated in the entrance of the Mkunazini Cathedral in Zanzibar (ACNS 25 Feb. 2014; AFP 25 Feb. 2014; US 14 Oct. 2015, 5). No injuries or property damage were reported (ibid.; ACNS 25 Feb. 2014).

Freedom House states that in September 2014, a pastor and his wife were assaulted in their home in Zanzibar with the attackers "declaring that they did not want Christians in Zanzibar and calling upon them to return to the mainland" (Freedom House 2015). A 2016 report produced for the UN Universal Periodic Review by ADF International [1] similarly reports on the September 2014 incident noting that a pastor and his wife were attacked in their home "by assailants who told them that Christians do not belong in Zanzibar" (ADF International Apr. 2016, 2).

According Freedom House, in October 2014, a Bible study group in Bukoba [close to Lake Victoria (Xperitas n.d.)] was attacked by "Muslim assailants wielding machetes…leaving one man dead and another seriously injured" (Freedom House 2015). The AFD report similarly states that in October 2014 a Christian man was killed with a machete and another was injured "during a prayer meeting at a church in northwest Tanzania" (ADF International Apr. 2016, 1).

Morning Star News, an independent and non-profit news service that reports on "persecution of Christians" through a global network of journalists (Morning Star News n.d.), reports that on 22 September 2015, three churches were set on fire in the "Kashfa village area of Bukoba District [north-western Tanzania]" (ibid., 26 Sept. 2015). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. State Protection

Information on state protection available to victims of religious violence during 2014-2016 was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Sources state that the constitutions of Tanzania and Zanzibar prohibit religious discrimination as well as provide for freedom of religion (US 14 Oct. 2015, 1; Aid to the Church in Need 2014).

According to the International Religious Freedom Report for 2014, "investigations and prosecutions of past shootings, acid attacks, and bombings against religious leaders and institutions continued but made little progress" (US 14 Oct. 2015, 4). The report further states that "community leaders expressed frustration at the lack of completed investigations or convictions" (ibid., 5). Concerning the events of 2014, the same source indicates that "several teenage boys" admitted to throwing explosives at the church in Pangawe in February and August 2014, and they had "said there was a religious motivation behind the attacks" (ibid., 5). At the end of 2014, the case was ongoing in the court system (ibid.). The report also notes that while the investigation into the February 2014 bombing of the Mkunazini Cathedral was ongoing at the end of 2014, "[n]o arrests were made" (ibid.). Further and corroborating information on the status of the investigations could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] ADF International is a "global alliance-building legal organization that advocates for religious freedom, life and marriage and family before national and international institutions" (ADF International Apr. 2016, 1).

References

ADF International. April 2016. Submission to the 25th Session of the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review Working Group. [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 25 February 2014. "Two Bombs Detonated Outside Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Zanzibar." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Aid to the Church in Need. 2014. "Tanzania." Religious Freedom in the World Report 2014. [Accessed 4 Apr. 2016]

Al Jazeera. 5 May 2013. "Blast Hits Packed Church in Tanzania." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Anglican News Service (ACNS). 25 February 2014. "Two Bombs Detonated Outside Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Zanzibar." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

BosNewsLife. 17 February 2013. "Breaking News: Priest Shot Dead in Zanzibar; Pastor Beheaded on Mainland." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2016]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 6 May 2013. "Tanzania Church Attack: Saudis Held for 'Act of Terror.'" [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

CTC Sentinel, Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy West Point. 29 May 2014. Nzes, Fredrick "Al-Hijra: Al-Shabab's Affiliate in Kenya." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Freedom House. 2015. "Tanzania." Freedom in the World 2015. [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016]

_____. 2014. "Tanzania." Freedom in the World 2014. [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

The Hill. 10 September 2015. Abdulrahman Kinana. "Tanzania Cannot be Allowed to be the New Front for Terrorists." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]

The Huffington Post. 5 Febrary 2014. Joop Koopman. "Is Tanzania Radical Islam's Next Target?" [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

LeSage, Andre. September 2014. "The Rising Terrorist Threat in Tanzania: Domestic Islamist Militancy and Regional Threats." Strategic Forum. National Defense University. [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016]

Morning Star News. 26 September 2015. "Three Church Buildings Torched in Tanzania." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2016]

_____. N.d. "About Morning Star News." [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

Reuters. 29 March 2015. Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala. "Tanzania President Warns of Rising Religious Tensions Before Referendum." [Accessed 29 Mar. 2016]

The Telegraph. 9 August 2013. Mike Pflanz. "Zanzibar Acid Attack: Finger Pointed at Radical Islamic Group as Five Questioned over Assault on British Teenagers." [Accessed 19 Apr. 2016]

United Nations (UN). 12 July 2013. Security Council. Letter Dated 12 July 2013 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee Pursuant to Resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) Concerning Somalia and Eritrea Addressed to the President of the Security Council. S/2013/413. [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

United States (US). 13 April 2016. Department of State. "Tanzania." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015. [Accessed 14 Apr. 2016]

_____. 14 October 2015. Department of State. "Tanzania." International Religious Freedom Report for 2014. [Accessed 12 Apr. 2016]

_____. 29 July 2014. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. "Tanzania." 2014 Crime and Safety Report. [Accessed 18 Apr. 2016]

_____. 28 July 2014. Department of State. "Tanzania." International Religious Freedom Report for 2013. [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Xperitas. N.d. "Bukoba, Tanzania." [Accessed 20 Apr. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Associate Professor of Literature, Hampshire College; Professor of Society and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin; Society and Religion Research Centre, University of Dar es Salaam; United Religions Initative.

Internet sites, including: AG News; Amnesty International; Christian News; Christian Post; Christian Press; The Citizen; Daily News; ecoi.net; Factiva; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; The Jamestown Foundation; Jane's Intelligence Review; Minority Rights Group International; Open Doors International; United Nations - Refworld; World Watch Monitor.