After three bitterly contested polls in the politically volatile Tanzania’s offshore state of Zanzibar, religious and political leaders fear that the island’s Muslim population may turn to radicalism to vent their frustration.
The thrice-beaten opposition Civic United Front (CUF) party has intensified claims that the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) or Revolutionary party fraudulently won the last three elections.
Such incidents of violence and allegations of poll irregularities, peppered with opposition frustration, increase the chances of extremism, according to religious and political leaders.
”The democratic process has failed for the third time. Some people are very disappointed. When you have lost hope and your future, you can do anything,” said Juma Othman Juma, a senior CUF official.
”We have to be prepared to face the challenge of al-Qaeda,” Juma added, referring to a network headed by Osama bin Laden, who has been blamed for several terrorism activities around the world.
The CUF, Tanzania’s main opposition party, lost Zanzibar’s October 30 elections to CCM amid claims of massive irregularities.
Prior to the polls, CUF chief Seif Sharif Hamad warned that he would lead a popular Ukrainian-style revolt if the elections were rigged. He is yet to make good the promise.
”The elections were not free and fair. It is the same as in 1995 and 2000,” said Mussa Ame, an official with Zanzibar’s Organisation of Islamic Propagation, a religious body.
”Multipartism cannot work here,” he added.
”The power [government] wants to make sure that opposition does not win.”
”There might be a group of fundamentalists that can use the youths who have no hope of doing anything,” Ame said. ”The situation has to be rescued before it is too late.”
About 98% of Zanzibar’s one million people are Muslims, the majority of whom are moderates, but officials say that chances are that radicalism may creep in if democracy fails to deliver their aspirations.
”When you fail to voice through the proper channels, you use other channels,” said Bishop Douglas Toto, maintaining that a government of national unity would be the only way through the current situation in the semi-autonomous isle of Zanzibar.
Tanzania has been a target of terrorist attacks. In 1998, a bomb exploded near the United States embassy in Dar es Salaam in an al-Qaeda-related operation in which five people were killed and several others injured.
Two suspects of the bombing were Zanzibaris and have been arrested by the United States authorities, while Britain and the US have repeatedly warned their citizens against risks of al-Qaeda attacks in Zanzibar.
However, since the 1998 bombing, there have been no other attacks in the island, save for explosion of home made bombs in hotels and bars in this holiday destination.
Nonetheless, the US embassy in Dar es Salaam acknowledge the possibility of a turn to religious extremism, but said they would not pre-empt what would happen.
”This is a concern we share. But we do not want to speculate on the future action of the young Zanzibaris,” an embassy official told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.
”We are concerned about the young people who travel,” added the official.
But the government downplayed such a possibility, saying that the worst case scenario would only be vandalism and petty thuggery by the idle youth.
”What I expect after these elections is maybe sabotage of the electricity or water system,” said Sheikh Fadhil Soraga, a government official. – AFP
