Scholars of religion, particular Islam, argue that one of the major challenges facing Islam is its utopian nature. Muslim Islamic utopia promises an ideal society. People are already in economic and political instability crises. Hence Sharī’a promises a remedy for the problem. Some established Islamic scholars argue that Sharī’a solves all problems and offers all the answers. This is more of idealistic than pragmatic. This is resonates with comments by Tayub (2009) when interviewed by Kogelmann (2009) about Islam and Sharī’a. Tayub says that there is utopia in Sharī’a implementation that Islamists and some established Islamic scholars argue that Islamic law– Sharī’a – solves all problems and offers all the answers. But the answers are so idealistic that everybody knows that nobody will be able to deal with these things.
Like other citizens, Muslims in the Country are facing economic challenges. Therefore, they are obliged to accept careers which are against Sharī’a by nature. For instance, there are Muslims who work in breweries. From Sharī’a point of view that is abominable.123 But because of their life earnings and daily economic challenges, they are forced by circumstances to work in those companies. To such Muslims, Sharī’a implementation remains a matter of policy and religious teachings idealistically, but pragmatically are not a reality.
Poverty has been another drawback for Sharī’a application in Tanzania. The standard put by World Bank is adopted for analysis of Sharī’a application in the Country. According to World Bank, poverty may be relative or absolute. It is relative when one earns less that $2 per day and it is absolute or below poverty line when one earns less than $ 1.25. Latest report shows that 36% of all Tanzanians live below poverty line (CIA report, 2010). Like other citizens, Muslims suffer severe poverty in the Country. With reality of poverty, immorality and breaking of Sharī’a is normal in the Country. Sociologists of religion argue that people who have good welfare with good living standard tend to be more secular and less religious compared to the poor people.124 This may be true to other areas of life. However, with Sharī’a implementation in Tanzania the issue is different because poverty causes some Muslims to break Sharī’a in order to sustain their lives. For instance, there are Muslim girls who are engaged in commercial sex125 because of poverty. Because of financial constrains, there are Muslims in the Country who are conducting businesses which are forbidden by Sharī’a. Semwaza126 who is a drug dealer revealed that he is a good Muslim attending prayers in the mosque and he knows that what he is doing is wrong. But he commented that he sells drugs because of earning potential.127 Several Muslims in the Country are conducting bar businesses which sell alcoholic beverages which are against Sharī’a.
There are young Muslim women who work in the bars and guest houses for earning their living. Working in the bars and guest houses have not been a big problem with Islamic law. But the problem lies in the perception of the society and those who are engaged in those activities. Traditionally, women who work as bar maids and guest house attendants are considered by the society as commercial sex workers. In some cases this is a stereotype because not all women who work in those areas are prostitutes. But in most cases, those women take the advantage of their job position and turn into being commercial sex workers. Because of poverty, these women are forced to undermine their religious law.128 Corruption is another challenge to Sharī’a in the Country. Corruption in the Country, especially in the lower and middle class civil servants, is due to unsatisfactory salaries they get from the Government or companies where they work. Christians and Muslims alike are taking bribes and infringing on people’s rights because of corruption. This is a challenge to the Sharī’a application in the Country. The people who take and give bribe break Sharī’a law. Corruption is rooted in poverty more than lawlessness. The researcher does not justify corruption because of poverty; neither does he say that those who are not bound by Sharī’a are allowed to be corrupt. They are forbidden to be corrupt by their religions and certainly the state law is clear about forbiding corruption. He rather argues that in Tanzania there are pious Muslims, but they are involved in corruption because of poverty and not irreligiousness. Economists in the Country say that the salaries given to the lower and middle class workers cannot sustain the life of person for the whole month but rather provides for a few days only. For the rest of the days, the workers have to find other means to supplement their life. One of the means is therefore corruption. In such situations Sharī’a can neither help nor be applied rightly because of the low living standard of the people.
Financial constrains and its product-poverty pose further complex questions to the project of Sharī’a implementation. The major challenging question is that will Sharī’a custodians and the whole system be free from corruption? If corruption has permeated the whole society, how will it be prevented from entering Sharī’a decisions and applications? Sharī’a as a religious law is corruption free, but what is about the implementers? Sharī’a faces the same danger which other institutions are facing in the Country.
Popular conviction of people is that, since it is applied by religious leaders, it will be free from corruption. But some respondents argued that both Christian and Muslim communities have witnessed several instances whereby religious leaders are accused of manipulating religion for their personal gains. Some cases of such religious leaders are currently are under the Court of law.129 This is an alarm to the Muslim religious gurus that there is a great challenge of corruption lying ahead of Sharī’a implementation in the Country.
