Gombesugu,
Mtikila, Mtikila, Mtikila...
Hebu Insha Allah angalia haya hapa chini:
Soon opposition to Mwinyi's rule within his cabinet and ruling party, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) surfaced into the open. Joining in this anti - Mwinyi anti Muslim campaign was the newly established free press controlled by the Christian lobby.
In the Christian camp one person who was been able to unite all Christians in their subtle opposition to Mwinyi was the self proclaimed Reverend Christopher Mtikila, Head of Full Salvation Church and Chairman of Democratic Party.
[1] In a daring and dramatic encroachment of the Church into politics, the Tanzania Press Club hosted Reverend Christopher Mtikila.
In that press luncheon of the Tanzania Press Club Mtikila attacked Mwinyi's government as being corrupt echoing Nyerere's speech delivered in February that year.
[2]
Mtikila was not a new name in this anti- Mwinyi campaign. In 1987 during the CCM-NEC conference in Dodoma he distributed a document, which among many allegations to Mwinyi he accused him of supporting Muslim fundamentalism
[3] and slotting Muslims into important positions in his government.
In reality Muslim cabinet ministers were negligible and Muslim principle secretaries non-existing. Mwinyi like his predecessor Julius Nyerere ignored Muslims call for rectifying this imbalance.
The Church should have raised to condemn Reverend Mtikila but it did not do so instead Catholic Bishops of Tanzania through the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) began to issue what came to be known asPastoral Letterswhich were very critical of Mwinyi's rule accusing his government of every ill in the country from incompetence to corruption.
[4]
Nyerere also joined in attacking Mwinyi accusing him of religious bigotry.
[5]
The Pastoral Letters and Nyereres views were echoed by the media and state-radio.
The Pastoral Letters were the last straw, which broke the camel's back.
It was now evident that the Catholic Church was mixing politics with religion to the detriment of the state, the aim which was to destabilise President Mwinyi and undermine his confidence.
During the struggle for independence when Muslims were in control of politics they never allowed Nyerere to be humbled by dissident Muslims. Sheikhs always rose up in unison to defend and protect the political system from religious sentiments.
Such patriotism was not forthcoming from neither from the Church or from Nyerere.
President Mwinyi did not help the situation because whenever he talked about the problem of religious conflict in the country, his speeches were vague, middle of the road type.
He eluded pointing at the source of the problem for fear of aggravating the already volatile situation even further.
[6]
The government paper would report a typical speech by Mwinyi that he has declared war on agitators and the disgruntled. It would be reported that those few misguided would not be allowed to divide the nation along religious lines.
[7]
And by the agitators and the disgruntled Mwinyi meant Muslims.
On the other hand Muslims insisted that the agitation against the Christian dominated government was not directed towards Christianity nor were Muslims struggling to establish sharia in Tanzania.
However the problem of religious conflicts was treated as a case of few misguided Muslim fundamentalists financed by external forces
[8] and was on the rise due to Mwinyi's weakness.
Muslims kept on repeating that they were agitating against discrimination by the government. Their cry fell on deaf ears. The danger signs were on the wall for all to see and take heed.
But all said and done the government was not yet ready to face the realities much as the Christian lobby was not yet ready to accept a Muslim president least of all a Muslim from Zanzibar.
[9]
[1] For more information see MSAUD paper, Vita vya Mchungaji Mtikila Dhidi ya Uislam, 3 February, 1993. Also Rev. C. Mtikila kwa Mwenyekiti Kamati ya Masuala ya Dini Nchini FSC/ADM/370 27 April, 1989.
[2]
Business Times, 22 June 1990.
[3] The Reverend openly declared his mission as that of defending Christianity against Islam. Mtikilas DP manifesto is to break the union between Zanzibar and Tanganyika and to expel Arabs, Somalis and Indians from the country. Conspicuously absent from his expulsion list were Europeans. In his many speeches Mtikila has shown outright contempt to religious tolerance, the union and the ideals of multi-racial society. Strange enough the state-radio provided airtime for the Reverend. At that time more than ten private newspapers under Christian ownership were in circulation and Muslims had nothing. The Christian monopoly in politics and in the media contributed into fuelling religious tension because of its anti- Muslim stand. The press picked on Muslims ministers scandalising them at will. Muslims in the governments were accused by the press for all sorts of offences from praying in their offices to selling the country to rich Arab Sheikhs from the Middle East. Even the vocabulary had to change. People began to be refereed to by the colour of their skins. The press began to identify people as Arabs, Indians and indigenous Africans reminiscent of colonial days; with the exception that during colonialism Africans were then refereed to as natives.
[4] Al-Markaz Sheikh Suleiman Takadir, Barua ya Kisiasa ya Maaskofu: Maaskofu Wana Nafasi Gani Katika Serikali ya Nchi Hii.
[5] Kiongozi, 1-15 January, 1994.In a press conference Nyerere warned of the dangers of to the nation of mixing politics and religion, castigating those who mix the two as conmen, and politically bankrupt. Baraza Kuu unofficial mouthpiece
An-nuur attacked Nyerere in no uncertain terms accusing him of abusing his privilege as president during his 24 years reign as president to subvert Islam. The attack was so fierce and convincing that from that time Nyerere avoided being engaged in discussing Muslim-Christian relations in the country.
[6] The ruling party also was responsible for creating religious tension not so much by ignoring Muslim grievances but by meddling into them. On several occasions CCM had organised seminars purported to create understanding between the government, party and religious leaders on topics the government thought needed participation and support of religious leaders. Whereas these seminars were not a problem to the Church, they posed fundamental problems to Muslims. In reality these seminars were organised as a way to try and subjugate basic teachings of Islam. Between 1988 and 1989 CCM organised two seminars on population control. These seminars funded from Christian powers in Europe had a hidden agenda incompatible with Islam. The party handpicked sheikhs were invited to these seminars. The inclusion of sheikhs had to effects, first it was meant to improve the image of government in the eyes of Muslims and second, the inclusion of sheikhs was to act as rubber stamps to whatever decisions passed.
[7]Daily News, 9 November, 1989.
[8] At the international level the Church wanted the world to believe that the problem was not Islam but Muslim fundamentalists. While visiting Tanzania the Archbishop of Cantebury Dr. George Leonard Carey warned the country of Muslim fundamentalists as a danger to peace. Likewise in a special synod held in Rome on Islam, the Catholic Church singled out Muslim fundamentalism as its greatest challenge.
[9] The Church also tried to improve its relations with Muslims. The Catholic Church made arrangements with a mediocre Muslim organisation, (BALUKTA) Tanzania Council of Quran Reading and the Church was able to present to Muslims the Popes message to mark the 25th anniversary of the World Peace Day. The message was delivered by Popes ambassador to Tanzania, Monseigneur Agostino Machetto and the Secretary of the Apostolic, Father Gabriele Gaccia and Peter Smith, an expert propagandist and resource person in Muslim-Christian affairs in the Catholic Church. The message was received on behalf of Muslims by Tewa Said Tewa and Sheikh Yahya Hussein BALUKTAs secretary and chairman respectively. [9] It is not difficult to understand why the Catholic Church could not dare come out openly and deliver Popes message of peace to BAKWATA. Amidst all this politicking Prof. Malima stood firmly behind President Mwinyi.