Religious tensions mar Tanzania’s census
DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA -Tanzania kicked off the population and housing census on 25th August that was to take a period of five days and later given an extension of up to 8th September this year.
The population and housing census was marred by Islamic religious sects who had wanted the religious section to be included in the census claiming that it was important for them to know the status of their population.
These claims however were received by mixed feelings from both the government and other religious sects claiming such inclusion was not important to a country like Tanzania that had no experiences in religious and tribal segregations that were being experienced by other countries.
The census was aimed at knowing how best the government will be able to implement its development plans and not otherwise.
Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete was quick to note in his national address that there were sections of people circulating words, inciting and discouraging them from participating in this years' population and housing census.
The president noted that there was a group of Islamic religion who had sought for the addition of a question on religion in this year's population and housing census from the National Bureau of statistics office to include a religious section in order to be identified according to their faith saying such a racist questions was abolished for the census inclusion soon after independence as it aimed to divide Tanzanians.
These queries for including the religious section in this years' census was raised after the release of the population statistics from the Catholic Bishops Council of Tanzania, Tourism Board and Broadcasting Corporation Commission claiming Christians in the country were outnumbering Muslim a thing that was opposed by the section of Islamic faith in the country querying about both the accuracy and justification of such statistics.
However, despite the President's speech urging all people especially of the Islamic faith and the head of Islamic faith in Tanzania, also Chief Sheikh Shaaban Issa Simba urging all the Islamic religious people to participate fully in this year' population and housing census, there were still reports of many Tanzanians of Islamic faith not wishing to participate in the census.
It was reported in different local media houses in Tanzania during the weeks of the census about the arrest of Islamic sections who had refused to be counted in this year's population and housing census and most of them were being brought to court to answer charges of going against the directives of the state.
Speaking last week in Dar es Salaam, the Commissioner for Population and Housing Census Ms Hajat Said pointed out that there were several arrests that were made by the police force for failing to abide by the laws of the land.
Other regions includes Kilimanjaro also lying to the northern part of Tanzania where according to the Commissioner for the census the police information said that it was leading in the number of those who refused to be counted and several arrests were made. Mtwara located to the south of Tanzania also was reported with five arrests.
According to the Commissioner this year' population and housing census have had several challenges and insisted that this years' census was like a "war" which the government had made all the preparations to make sure that the whole exercise proves a success.
Ms Said pointed out that for experts, taking too long in the census exercise means that the statistics being collected will have doubts due to "memory lax" which she said with a longer duration of the exercise people tend to be registered on the last minute thereby coming up with incorrect figures.
She again pointed out that the aim of the census was nothing to do with the government wanting to know ones religion and or the population for every religion in the country but rather to see on how best the government can distribute social services to its community with regards to the available peoples' population.
She however noted that Tanzania law permits every individual and or organization to conduct a census and come up with his own statistics while noting that such statistics are not being included for use by the state because the government had its own way of carrying out its population census. Some tribes like the Hadzabe refused to be counted unless they were provided with Bhang, illicit brew (Gongo) and monkeys' meat.
The question is; Will Tanzania have the correct figures of this year' population and housing census with some members of the Islamic faith still refusing to be counted?
The population and housing census was marred by Islamic religious sects who had wanted the religious section to be included in the census claiming that it was important for them to know the status of their population.
These claims however were received by mixed feelings from both the government and other religious sects claiming such inclusion was not important to a country like Tanzania that had no experiences in religious and tribal segregations that were being experienced by other countries.
The census was aimed at knowing how best the government will be able to implement its development plans and not otherwise.
Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete was quick to note in his national address that there were sections of people circulating words, inciting and discouraging them from participating in this years' population and housing census.
The president noted that there was a group of Islamic religion who had sought for the addition of a question on religion in this year's population and housing census from the National Bureau of statistics office to include a religious section in order to be identified according to their faith saying such a racist questions was abolished for the census inclusion soon after independence as it aimed to divide Tanzanians.
These queries for including the religious section in this years' census was raised after the release of the population statistics from the Catholic Bishops Council of Tanzania, Tourism Board and Broadcasting Corporation Commission claiming Christians in the country were outnumbering Muslim a thing that was opposed by the section of Islamic faith in the country querying about both the accuracy and justification of such statistics.
However, despite the President's speech urging all people especially of the Islamic faith and the head of Islamic faith in Tanzania, also Chief Sheikh Shaaban Issa Simba urging all the Islamic religious people to participate fully in this year' population and housing census, there were still reports of many Tanzanians of Islamic faith not wishing to participate in the census.
It was reported in different local media houses in Tanzania during the weeks of the census about the arrest of Islamic sections who had refused to be counted in this year's population and housing census and most of them were being brought to court to answer charges of going against the directives of the state.
Speaking last week in Dar es Salaam, the Commissioner for Population and Housing Census Ms Hajat Said pointed out that there were several arrests that were made by the police force for failing to abide by the laws of the land.
Other regions includes Kilimanjaro also lying to the northern part of Tanzania where according to the Commissioner for the census the police information said that it was leading in the number of those who refused to be counted and several arrests were made. Mtwara located to the south of Tanzania also was reported with five arrests.
According to the Commissioner this year' population and housing census have had several challenges and insisted that this years' census was like a "war" which the government had made all the preparations to make sure that the whole exercise proves a success.
Ms Said pointed out that for experts, taking too long in the census exercise means that the statistics being collected will have doubts due to "memory lax" which she said with a longer duration of the exercise people tend to be registered on the last minute thereby coming up with incorrect figures.
She again pointed out that the aim of the census was nothing to do with the government wanting to know ones religion and or the population for every religion in the country but rather to see on how best the government can distribute social services to its community with regards to the available peoples' population.
She however noted that Tanzania law permits every individual and or organization to conduct a census and come up with his own statistics while noting that such statistics are not being included for use by the state because the government had its own way of carrying out its population census. Some tribes like the Hadzabe refused to be counted unless they were provided with Bhang, illicit brew (Gongo) and monkeys' meat.
The question is; Will Tanzania have the correct figures of this year' population and housing census with some members of the Islamic faith still refusing to be counted?
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