VZCZCXRO2180
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHDR #0040/01 0220710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220710Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8200
INFO RUEHIC/OIC COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 2773
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3289
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 1217
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1118
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAR ES SALAAM 000040 
 
STATE FOR OIC S/E SCUMBER, AF/E JLIDDLE, INR/RAA FEHRENREICH 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KISL TZ
SUBJECT: RELIGION AND POLITICS IN TANZANIA: DEBATE ON OIC MEMBERSHIP 
A CHALLENGE TO INTERFAITH DIALOGUE 
 
REF: 2008 DAR ES SALAAM 837 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000040  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  During the latter half of 2008, debate simmered 
between Christian and Muslim Tanzanians regarding membership in the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).  Foreign Minister 
Membe sparked the recent round of discussion by indicating that 
Tanzania would seek membership, a position he subsequently sought to 
tone down.  Christian leaders have been the most vocal in response, 
with some even calling for Membe's resignation.  The issue shows a 
divide within the ruling CCM party, while the opposition has kept 
its distance.  End Summary. 
 
Background: Zanzibar's brief encounter with the OIC 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (U) The semi-autonomous and almost wholly Muslim archipelago of 
Zanzibar was admitted to the OIC in 1992.  Zanzibar's OIC membership 
ignited a dispute with the Union (national) government, which 
compelled Zanzibar to withdraw from the OIC the following year on 
the grounds that Zanzibar is not a sovereign state and that foreign 
affairs - including membership and participation in international 
fora - is a national authority.  Some Zanzibaris, especially the 
more nationalistic, remain resentful, because they maintain that 
Zanzibar is in fact a nation, in free association with mainland 
"Tanganyika." 
 
Controversy resumes 
------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) In August, FM Membe's assertion that "no harm" would arise 
from Tanzania's joining the OIC set off a torrent of discussion. 
Christian leaders responded strongly, some opposing even 
consideration of the idea and calling for Membe's resignation (Note: 
Membe himself is Christian).  The Christian Council of Tanzania 
(CCT), which brings together all of Tanzania's Protestant 
denominations, released a statement asserting that "discussion of 
whether or not the country should join the religious organization 
[OIC] could pose a threat to peace and national stability." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Rev. Leonard Mtaita, the CCT's General Secretary, told 
Emboff the CCT opposes OIC membership "especially because of the 
behavior of some Muslims in Tanzania and in the world at large. 
They are not only thinking of peaceful co-existence but also to 
defend their faith, which may sometimes mean intolerance.  Mtaita, 
one of 25 commissioners of Interfaith Action for Peace in Africa, 
organized a CCT-hosted meeting of church leaders in Bagamoyo in 
December.  Catholic and Pentacostal leaders were invited to attend, 
but CCT decided against its original plan of inviting Muslim 
Sheikhs, according to Mtaita "because the air still seems too 
tense." 
 
¶5. (U) Christian leaders and other opponents also justified their 
position on constitutional grounds.  The CCT cited section 19(2) of 
the Tanzanian constitution as drawing a clear line between state and 
religion.  Levina Kato of Tanzania's Legal and Human Rights Center 
echoed the constitutional argument, as did Dr. Sengondo Mvungi, 
Senior Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, who noted that 
"religious affairs are outside the jurisdiction of the government." 
 
¶6. (U) In a Rai (Swahili weekly political paper, circulation 80,000) 
commentary entitled "Let's Not Cheat Ourselves, OIC has a Secret 
Agenda," the author opined that "the founding charter of the 
organization states clearly that the Conference shall be subject to 
and be governed by Islamic values and traditions." 
 
It's Not About Religion? 
------------------------ 
 
¶7. (U) Supporters of OIC membership have tended to play down any 
religious elements.  Hamza Hassan Juma, Minister of State in the 
Chief Minister's office of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, 
told a press conference that "Zanzibar supports the Union government 
in joining the OIC because the issue is not religion.  It is about 
the economy and development of the people."  Most mainstream 
Zanzibaris believe that OIC membership will be an avenue to 
increased development assistance. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Juma was among several supporters to point out that some 
OIC members are secular and had joined without regard for the size 
of their Muslim communities.  An Arab ambassador cited to Poloff the 
example of Uganda as a secular OIC member.  He also asserted that 
OIC membership could result in Tanzania receiving valuable economic 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000040  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
support.  He added that joining the OIC would "quiet some Muslims" 
on Zanzibar with minimal investment of resources or significant 
concessions on the part of the Union government. 
 
¶9. (U) Tanzania's National Muslim Council, BAKWATA, has sought to 
project a neutral stance.  While criticizing the CCT for its 
opposition, BAKWATA committed to following the GOT's decision on 
whether to join the OIC. 
 
Containing the debate 
--------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) Since Membe's initial remarks on the OIC, the Foreign 
Ministry has sought to downplay the issue.  Deputy MF Seif Iddi said 
in an interview that "Tanzania will not be guided by Islamic laws, 
because the OIC, just like any other development organization, has 
nothing to do with Islamic laws."  Membe himself said publicly in 
October that the GOT would "seek the people's consent" before 
deciding whether Tanzania should join the OIC. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The ruling CCM party, whose membership includes both 
Christians and Muslims, is divided on the OIC issue.  One CCM 
insider told us that Membe's remarks on the OIC had been a surprise 
for all of CCM.  A Christian MP from the mainland told Poloff that 
it had been a bad idea for Membe to raise, adding that Parliament 
was a poor venue for discussing the issue. Publicly, the CCM Vice 
Chair has tried to distance the party from the debate. 
 
¶12. (SBU) The opposition has so far been content to leave the debate 
to CCM.  A senior CUF official told us that parliamentary debate 
based on religious sentiment was new for Tanzania and a troubling 
sign.  CUF supports Tanzanian membership in the OIC, but it is not a 
key party platform.  Except in Zanzibar, CUF has largely kept quiet 
during the debate. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Comment: Public discussion of the OIC issue has begun to 
fade for now.  However, taken with the kadhi court issue (reftel), 
the debate over OIC membership has exposed fault lines both within 
CCM and in Tanzanian society as a whole.  Tanzanians are proud of 
their history of tolerance, but many Tanzanians are also fervent 
believers in their differing faiths.  These debates underscore the 
risks, especially to a broad-based party such as CCM, of tackling 
issues bound to offend substantial parts of the populace.  CUF's 
relative quiet on this issue may stem from CUF's efforts to shake 
its image as a party for Muslims. 
 
ANDRE