Berkley Center

It was around five in the morning the night after I arrived in Arusha and I couldn’t sleep at all, both because of the dogs barking in the neighborhood and the jet lag from what was essentially a two day trip to Tanzania. It was in this exhausted state that I heard faintly in the distance the adhan, the Muslim call to prayer. While I am familiar with some Muslim practices and aware of the practice of praying five times a day, including early before sunrise, this was the first time I heard it so publicly exclaimed, so that everyone in the city could hear it.

At that moment, the adhan reminded me first of the fact that I was no longer on the Hilltop, on a continent I have never been to before. But, shortly after this, I came to appreciate the great religious diversity in Tanzania, built upon by a rich history of Western and Arabic influences over hundreds of years. And certainly, at times this diversity has and still incites violence and conflict bred a rich culture closely tied to religion.

As early as 1000 CE the East African coast had been visited by Greek and Roman and Arab traders from the Persian Gulf and Western India. This trade continued over the years and it was through this trade with the Arabs that the Swahili language was born as a mix of Arabic and the local Bantu languages. More significantly, these exchanges were accompanied by religious exchange and the introduction of Islam to East Africa.

The oldest Islamic building dates back to a mosque built on Zanzibar in 1107 CE, and on the mainland there was an Islamic settlement and trading port in Bagamoyo from the 1200s. However this influence was primarily isolated on the coast of Tanzania and failed to spread inland. Thus when Portuguese explorers and missionaries arrived in the 1500s, Christianity spread on the coast and throughout the mainland where there were no pre-existing Muslim communities.

The next major religious influence in Tanzania came in the form of an Omani kingdom which had conquered Zanzibar in the eighteenth century, ousting the Portuguese rulers. The Omani rule further solidified the influence of Islam on the coast of Tanzania that still exists today. These different events and influences culminated into the Tanzania that exists today and continues to influence the role religion plays in politics and society.

After such a diverse history, the current religious dynamics of Tanzania reveal an interesting approach towards the existing religious pluralism taken both by the government and the broader society of Tanzania. In order to encourage the formation of a national identity, the Tanzanian government historically has sought to mitigate the importance of religion for a person’s identity. Thus, the Tanzanian government has not taken a census that included religion since 1967, though the government conveniently claims there are equal amounts of Muslims and Christians in Tanzania.

In recent years, the government has played a more active role in acknowledging this diversity, especially in response to several acts of religious-based violence in Zanzibar. However, much of this work has been taken up by FBOs with the support of the government, while the government hasn’t directly been involved. Despite this approach taken by the government, religion continues to be an important, and in many ways public, affair in Tanzania.

Just walking down the street one would find many women wearing hijabs or other forms of covering, and men with taqiyahs on. Additionally it is not unusual to see long processions going through the city for weddings and funerals, typically accompanied by some musicians. While the government has attempted to downplay religion in Tanzania, people nonetheless place it front and center in their public lives.

Fortunately, the public nature of religion, particularly in Arusha, has not fostered any division or tension but rather understanding and acceptance. Just one block up the road from the main cathedral in Arusha, you would find an equally large mosque with as many people engaging their faith. By being forthright about who they are, the people in Arusha have been able to admit their differences yet still coexist and live together.

While this relationship is not perfect, and I myself would like to see greater attention given to interfaith dialogue in Tanzania, these people in Arusha have made it work. They show that interfaith dialogue is not about ignoring our differences, but about embracing those differences and moving forwards together.