William andrew kopwe the open university of tanzania

4.4.2 Christian Elements in the Constitution

Though people in Tanzania usually hang on the issue of the Constitution when they discuss the issues of the Constitution, Muslims have not been happy with it. The reason behind this is the nature of Tanzania’s Constitution. Tanzania’s Constitution follows a British model because of the British colonial legacy, which emphasized secularism and democracy (Makaramba, 1991). This situation makes Tanzania to be more influenced by Western philosophy than African philosophy. Because of this, Muslims consider Tanzania as a nation which is led by following a Christian ethos. A Muslim scholar argues that:

Our Constitution is a Christian oriented one. And even the Country follows Christian way of life. Look here, the day of rest in this Country is Sunday, the month of holidays for schools and colleges is December… You know that Christmas is not a state holiday. It is a Christian holiday. But for a long time now, it has been traditions that during Christmas Government’s offices are decorated by flowers and other ornaments using states money. ¹⁴⁴

Therefore, when one hangs on the Constitution as a reason for not implementing Sharī’a he hangs on Christian understanding of Government-religion relation. The current state-religion dualism is disputed by legal scholars in the Country saying that, it leaves the Islam-Arabic religious and cultural values by clinging only to the Western-secular philosophy. This is a deficiency which has to be reconsidered.

The deficiency of Constitutional elements of Islam in the political set up of the Tanzanian state which promotes every religion on an equal footing is largely attributable to the historical development of the Constitution itself, which has as its basis the Westminster model. The Westminster model reflects the duality of state and the church as a result of a specific development in European history and this does not hold true of Islamic society where the state and religion are inseparable. Nevertheless Muslim way of life guaranteed by individual rights of religious freedom lead us to consider how the Tanzanian society has to be organized, being secular, pluralistic and democratic one (Makaramba, 1991:287).

Two challenges are posed to the Government here. One is that while many people think secularism is a way of creating parity among religious groups in the Country, it automatically discriminate Muslims by introducing a system of life alien to their religio-cultural values. The second is that the parity provides for the application of Sharī’a in Country in whatever manner the Muslims would choose to. In all these, the bottom line is that Sharī’a implementation in the Country is possible without infringing on the Constitution. But this could be done as a private matter for Muslims in the Country. Being private means that, citizens should not be forced to abide by Sharī’a being Muslims or non-Muslim because people have freedom of worship. They should neither be coerced by the Government nor their religious institutions. This will be a fulfillment of Constitution.

4.4.3 Secularism of Tanzania

From the beginning, the thesis of the study was that the best way to understand Sharī’a implementation in Tanzania is to perform analysis of Tanzania in it is peculiar context. Constitutionally, Tanzania is secular and not a secularizing Country. Hofer (2004) summarizes the debate on the meaning of secularism saying that the concept of secularism is thus applied on different levels, each invoking a profoundly different mode of operationalisation. Most dictionaries would provide us with three definitions of the term, the first, secularisation, referring to the appropriation of church property by the state in 18^th and 19^th century Europe, the second, a legal definition referring to the institutional separation of church and state, and thirdly, an ideological definition, which is more tricky but also more relevant here: in its ideological meaning, the term may be understood, in a more narrow sense, as the detachment of political hierarchy from divine legitimacy. This ideological claim forms the basis of the juridical claim of institutional separation of church and state. It implies a perception of the political as restricted to the secular realm, in that the political order is not a priori associated with divine order.
Even though Tanzania is a secular Country, her people are religious. Religion still holds very important position in the Tanzanian society and the Government at large. Because of this, Tanzania is said to be a secular and secularizing:

Although secularism and secularization are closely related, they nevertheless differ because they do not necessarily offer the same answer to the question of the role of religion in society. Secularism argues generally for a sphere of knowledge, values, and action that is independent of religious authority, but it does not necessarily exclude religion from having any authority over political and social affairs. Secularization, however, is a process which does involve such exclusion.¹⁴⁵

As it shall be shown later, in Tanzania, religious organizations and umbrella bodies posses some power over the Government. Religious leaders in the Country advise in several matters or sometimes rebuke it if the Government goes against what they think it is the right way. Being the case therefore, Tanzanian model of state-religion-society relations is quite distinctive in the world. Though Tanzania is a secular Country pragmatically, its leaders who are religious have not been able to separate religion and the state. Some university scholars like Hamduni a lecture at the Morogoro Muslim University identifies with these views saying that:

Saying Tanzania is secular state is a confusing statement because I do not see any separation of what you do as religious and what you do as not religious. Although it is documented that Tanzania is a secular Country, I do not believe it to be so. I still see some religious issues in the Government because as an official working in the Government institutions, when issues arise to me I have to think according to my religion. I will be confronted by my religion or my religious belief. If you are a Christian you will be sometimes moved by your Christianity, the same to a Muslim will be moved according to Islam. So you may say you separate religion from state, but in reality you may not do so practically.¹⁴⁶

Religious convictions are deep-seated in the heart of one’s personhood. This guides ones worldview and philosophy of life. Ones philosophy of life may automatically affect the whole institution or the Country at large. Therefore, Sharī’a implementation as a Muslim totality of life is something one cannot overlook in the nation’s daily life. A Muslim who is in Government or any public institution will apply Sharī’a in his or her life even if it is private Sharī’a, which will automatically affect the whole society.
Paradoxically, while Tanzania claims to be secular Country, several events show that invocation of divinities or divine power is apparent in the state all over. It is not easy to present everything which shows this situation in Tanzania. Doing so will mean another research undertaking. The following selected examples show that religion is inseparable from the state in Tanzania. The most conspicuous thing of the invocation of God is found in the national anthem, which goes this way:
Swahili Version English Translation

Verse I

Mungu Ibariki Afrika God Bless Africa

Wabariki viongozi wake Bless her leaders

Hekima umoja na amani Wisdom, unity and Peace

Hizi ni ngao zetu These are our shields

Ibariki Afrika, Ibariki Afrika Bless Africa, Bless Africa

Tubariki watoto wa Afrika Bless the Children of Africa

Verse II

Mungu Ibariki Tanzania God bless Tanzania

Dumisha uhuru na umoja Maintain Freedom and Unity

Wake kwa waume na watoto Women, men and children

Mungu ibariki God Bless

Tanzania na watu wake Tanzania and her people

Ibariki Tanzania Ibariki Tanzania Bless Tanzania Bless Tanzania

Tubariki watoto wa Tanzania Bless us the Children of Tanzania.¹⁴⁷

Content analysis of the song shows that the song is a prayer of petition. The prayer is directed to God. And as far as the major three religious groups in Tanzania (African religion, Islam and Christianity) are concerned the song is religiously neutral.¹⁴⁸ The most important thing for this study is the whole issue of invoking God in the public space-Government. This shows that the Government does not have religion, but it has God.
Several special national occasions are linked to God or religion in the Country. For instance, before starting a Parliamentary seating, the Speaker prays. The Speaker prays for the nation and for the Parliament. Parliament is a house of representatives of people. Everything happening in the Parliament reflects the state and society at large. The act of praying shows the Government’s acknowledgement of the divine power which has ability to lead and guide the sittings and decisions made therein by the house.
Similarly, the state leaders and representatives swear-in before assuming their responsibilities to lead the Country. Swearing-in has two implications here. Firstly, it makes the leader feel that he or she has obligations to people but is not hundred percent free. Some divine power above him or her is closely watching every move taken and action done within the leadership realm of his or her mandate. But on the other hand, swearing-in creates confidence to the society that their leader will try as much as possible to be right and do justice because God see the leader. The idea of swearing-in to God goes as far as to the military arena. The last statement of the military swearing is “may God help me”. Therefore, the idea of God’s control of the Country is found even in the nation’s force. One can name several more instances of spirituality and religiosity of the Government in Tanzania.
The above few examples are sufficient to explain the underlying concept of disentanglement of religion from the society. One may ask if Tanzania is really a secular state. Ludwig (1995) views this state of invoking God in Government occasions like Parliamentary sessions as a new religion which he calls a ‘civil religion’. He may be right that in Tanzania religious convictions touches the public space and Governmental issues, but the researcher does not agree with his conclusion that that is a civil religion. This is “secularism”. This is the kind of secularism which is found in the Tanzania context. Influence of religion in the Country’s Government is explained against the whole history of the Country especially during the time of struggle for independence. Nyerere and other nationalist received a lot of support from religious groups.¹⁴⁹ Though at the beginning, some Christians seemed to be reluctant in the movement for independence, they later joined their Muslim fellows to claim for their freedom.
The power of religion in the Country was prominent when Nyerere introduced the Ujamaa philosophy after some years of independence. He received a lot of opposition from the religious leaders because they thought he wanted to introduce Marxism in the Country. Nyerere had to convene a meeting with religious leaders in Tabora to explain what he meant with Ujamaa in the context of Tanzania. This was a sign that religion held an important part in the politics of this Country. That is why every time, when a religious group feels that its interests or rights are about to be trodden by the Government, it threatens to stop its support of the Government or even campaign against the state.