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African Muslim Preacher Jailed for
"Jesus Not God" Remarks
DAR ES SALAAM, Aug 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Tanzanian police Friday dispersed hundreds of demonstrators protesting the jailing of a Muslim preacher convicted of disturbing the peace by "disparaging" Christianity, news agencies reported.
Riot police armed with batons, tear gas and water canons clashed with hundreds of Muslims who attempted to take part in the demonstration, which was declared illegal on Thursday.
Muslim groups had called for countrywide demonstrations to protest the conviction and 18-month jail term handed down on July 31 to Khamis Rajab Dibagula for allegedly disturbing the peace by uttering remarks alleged to be insulting to Christianity.
"Who said it is illegal to profess your religious conviction in public?" asked Maryam Jibril, secretary general of Al-Muballighat, one of the Islamic groups protesting.
"Where is the law saying it is crime for me to say that Jesus Christ is not God?" she added in a statement.
Muslims reject the divinity of Jesus, known in the Qur'an (the Muslim holy book) as 'Isa (PBUH), but believe that he was a prophet who received revelation from God and preached monotheism, and they afford him great respect.
But even as police were clashing with demonstrators, the high court was ordering Dibagula's release, saying that his sentence had been "manifestly excessive." The release order has not yet been executed.
Dibagula was accused in a magistrate's court in the central region of Morogoro of making public remarks, in March last year, deemed to be "provocative and blasphemous to Christians."
Muslims said the conviction was unfair and infringed on freedom of worship and the right to profess one's religious faith in public.
Al-Muballighat and other Muslim bodies called for more protest demonstrations countrywide on Friday. In Dar es Salaam, Muslims said they planned to march to the offices of Attorney General Andrew Chenge next week.
Mahita warned that any more planned demonstrations could spark violence and advised Muslim leaders instead to appeal Dibagula's conviction.
"Demonstrations will not help resolve the matter or get Dibagula out of prison," Mahita added.
Tanzania has been spared the internal strife that has blighted many African states over ethnic and religious grounds. However, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world, heavily reliant on foreign aid, with many of its people living below the World Bank poverty line.
Islam and Christianity are the two main religions in this African country of 32 million people.
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