wfn.org | Christian-Islamic relations remain unshaken by violence

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Sunnite groups exploit youth in Tanzania

GENEVA, 30 April 1998 (lwi) - Good relations continue uninterruptedly
between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) and the Islamic
council in Tanzania despite the recent violence against Christians by
fundamentalist Muslims in Dar es Salaam, says ELCT Bishop Samson Mushemba.
He spoke at the recent annual forum of the Lutheran World Federation
Department for World Service (LWF-WS) held April 19-22 in Montreux,
Switzerland. The perpetrators belong to a Sunnite group which also is
condemned by the Shiite Muslims in Tanzania, LWF-WS Program Committee
Chairperson Mushemba explained.

The ELCT regularly invites Muslim representatives to its synods to foster
interreligious relations in Tanzania, Mushemba said. But, he emphasized,
little can be done against the infiltration and aggressive conduct of
Sunnite missionary groups from Sudan.

Duane Poppe, LWF-WS field office director in Tanzania, said that he
suspects socio-economic reasons lie behind the bloody attacks against
Christians. According to Poppe, fundamentalist Islamic groups are taking
advantage of the difficult economic situation and high rate of unemployment
among youth. Of the population of 23 million in Tanzania, about 35 percent
are Muslim, mostly Shiite, and 46 percent are Christian.

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Lutheran World Information
Editorial Assistant: Janet Bond-Nash
E-mail: jbn@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/