William andrew kopwe the open university of tanzania

5.4 Sharī’a and the Wellbeing of the Country

It was stated earlier that Sharī’a implementation is a reality in the Country because every where a Muslim is, Sharī’a is as well. Sharī’a encompasses everything of a Muslims’ life. Sharī’a shapes Muslims’ life style. Therefore, Sharī’a forms an important part of Tanzanians daily life. By implication this means that Muslims and non-Muslims alike are more or less influenced by Sharī’a in the Country. A society can be explained in the analogy of a human body which has different members with various functions. The members depend upon each other for effective functionality of the body. Everything which touches one member of the body automatically affects the rest of the body members. The Tanzania mainland community is like a human body with various members including Muslims and non-Muslims.²¹⁴ Everything that touches Muslims, more or less touches non-Muslims as well. And the opposite is true.
Since Sharī’a implementation and Islam in general shapes the lifestyle of the Muslims community in the Country, non-Muslims are also affected by the Muslims’ life style as well. Several incidences explain this scenario. The daily call of minaret through horn speakers which wakes up Muslim for early Morning Prayer can be cited as a typical example of such things. The call does not wake up Muslims only. It does so even to the non-Muslims in the Country. Another example,The Ramadhan fasting also affects non-Muslims in the Country. Citing the empirical experience of Tanga town, this researcher’s observation of the Tanga situation was that during Ramadhan fasting, most of the hotels and cafes which sell cooked foodstuffs were closed. There are instances whereby even non-Muslims who rent Muslim houses for hotel businesses are forbidden to operate during such times though they pay for a rent of the whole year including that month.²¹⁵ Though non-Muslims do not fast like Muslims they are automatically affected by the fast.
During this month, people in the town also suffer from the problem of public transport commonly known Daladala during the time of fitri (fast breaking) because the bus owners and operators go for prayers (which are valued by many Muslims during this time) and subsequently go for fast breaking. On the other side of the coin, human beings are social beings and cannot exist independently. They have to socialize with other people in the society. With this regard, Muslims are also affected by non-Muslim in the Country. On several occasions, they find themselves conforming to the religious and social lifestyles of non-Muslim communities in the Country.
Two things are important here as far as the issue of Sharī’a implementation in the Country is concerned. To argue that Sharī’a implementation does not or will not affect non-Muslims in Country is like building a castle in the air. Non-Muslims have been and will be touched by any Sharī’a practice in the Country, especially when the practices are at the public sphere level. Verbal or documented declarations which guarantee that legally Sharī’a won’t concern the non-Muslims will be true at the theoretical level which has and never will it be true at the pragmatic level of its implementation. Secondly, Non-Muslims are right to question Muslims’ demand and their movements toward Sharī’a implementation in the Country. Because Sharī’a implementation cannot be limited to Muslims and Muslim community only, Sharī’a implementation is an agenda for all religious groups in the Country. Sharī’a implementation concerns their wellbeing in the Country. At this point, this study identifies with Sheikh Basalehe who called upon understanding between religious in such issues as the reintroduction of |§∙ī Courts whereby he argues that:

This [|§∙ī Courts] issue has stirred up hot debate between Christians and Muslims in the Country. However apart from those who discuss the issue by arguments, there are those who seem to be emotional in this discussion. First of all there are Muslims, especially the Muslim leaders, who have been heard saying that this issue in not concerned with Christians or non-Muslims. Therefore they [non-Muslims] should not argue or ask questions. And others have said that those who do not like the |§∙ī Courts do not have goodwill with Islam. These are not arguments. This could be counted as emotions. We must give opportunity to the non-Muslins to question Muslims’ need of reintroducing |§∙ī Courts which will be dispensing Islamic law while the Country Government is a secular. This is a challenge to us Muslims and we must answer it in a way that our fellows shall understand us.²¹⁶

It is clear from this argument that, the issue of Sharī’a implementation, especially at the public space of the Country, calls for engagements in constructive dialogue between religious groups for their well-beings. And the Government should moderate the undertaking.

5.5 Freedom of Choice and Sharī’a

At this juncture, the theory of religious economy matters a lot. Talking about the ‘Religious Economy Model’ it was found that religious ideologies as commodities have to be sold to people who have the power of rational choice. Sharī’a has been subjected to the market contest which is in Tanzania. As a secular Country Tanzania has a free market for religious commodity. The free market has given chance to the Muslims and non-Muslims to make choices to follow or not to follow religious precepts. Throughout this study, it was found there are vast numbers of Muslim who choose not to live according to Islamic law. They do not choose even those parts of Sharī’a which are allowed in the Country’s legal system. Because of market competitions, some secularists Tanzanians convince or influence other people not to follow Sharī’a or feel that Sharī’a is a life style which is against Human Rights and human freedom. Also, because of free market system, under secularism, no one even their religious leaders, can force Muslims to follow Sharī’a.
Sometimes the Muslims choose not only to deny practicing Sharī’a, but also choose to convert to Christianity. Within such state of affairs, Sharī’a patronage is weakened. Furthermore, because of the free market system other religions in the Country exert pressure by teaching and preaching freely to the Muslims. This makes those Muslims to have alternative view of religion. This creates questions about adhering to strict Sharī’a law. As a result, some Muslims either interpret Sharī’a loosely or quit Sharī’a implementation in their life. This situation complicates the practicality of Sharī’a implementation in the Country.
Also, Tanzanians have found themselves to be a battle-field for a clash of civilizations. The Arab-Islamic civilization and Euro-American-Israel civilizations are contending for space in the Country. The clash has a very long history in the African continent and Tanzania in particular. Its genesis can be traced back to the time of the coming of Christianity to the Country. One good example was the idea behind the coming of Europeans to Africa. If you analyze their aim of coming here you can see that among other objectives of their coming was to drive out the Muslims in the continent. Simon (1955) is quoted showing the aim of King Leopard’s messengers to visit African. Five reasons were given but one is paramount for this study. That was to “fight against Islam and introduce Christianity” (Lutahoire, 1974:5).
It was unfortunate that the aim of those Europeans was not to come and coexist with already established Muslims in the Country, but they came to remove them. Such sentiments created resentment which left a legacy of antagonism among the two communities which is felt even today. In Tanzania today, the clash of civilization has gone as far as to the extent of understanding partisanships of the Christian as partisans of Israel, while Muslims are partisans of the Arabs. These international partisan conflicts are then transmitted to Tanzania and translated to be religious issues. The Country has witnessed several demonstrations, especially by Muslims who support Arabs or condemn Israel and the West for what is happening in the Middle East.²¹⁷
The contention for political space in Tanzania contributes to Christians becoming very cautious with every Muslim move like the resolution in the Abuja communiqué. It is because of this cautiousness that Christians vehemently oppose Tanzania joining the OIC and IAO. Reciprocally, the Muslims are condemning the Country becoming pro-West and Christian because of presence of some Christian influence in the Country. The most cited one being the presence of Vatican Embassy which represents the Pope and Tanzania’s membership to the Commonwealth which is considered a Christian organization, especially the Anglican Church. Those contentions are endangering the long existing amicable Christian-Muslim relations which need to be given due attention.
Sharī’a needs assistance from state enforcement for its implementation. One good example of this is the matter of Muslims’ patronage to the existing personal Islamic law. According to the Country’s legal framework, Muslims are allowed to adjudicate their marriage cases according to Islamic law. But this is not compulsory; Muslims can choose which law to follow in such cases like inheritance distribution. Most of the ‘so called Muslims’ in the Country use secular common law to distribute their inheritance. Because of secularity of the Country, neither the Government nor the Muslim community has the right to coerce them to use Sharī’a in this case. Therefore, Sharī’a implementation remains in theory only.