Religious radicalisation is on the rise in Tanzania, two studies have revealed.

Separate studies done by the Tanzanian military and a non-governmental organisation linked the radicalism of youth to unemployment.

Head of Tanzania Defence Intelligence Maj-Gen Venance Mabeyo said a military assessment had shown that  religious radicalism had risen to stage four — the fighting stage. However, the extremism was not linked to foreign religious militant groups.

Maj-Gen Mabeyo said the military had learned that the youth joining radical groups in the country were being enticed with promises of better wages, adding that the recruiting groups were exploiting the difficult social-economic challenges, which many young people in Tanzania are facing.

In one case in Dar es Salaam, recruiters picked up a newspaper vendor and enticed him into joining a jihadis group in exchange for money.

Radicalised youths are indoctrinated to sacrifice even their own lives to serve a “superior God.”

The recruits are further indoctrinated to accept orders from commanders to destroy anything perceived to stand in the way of the “superior God.”

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Maj-Gen Mabeyo said recruitment groups appear to have political motives but use religion only as a cover up.

A separate research by the British Broadcasting Corporation confirmed the military findings.

BBC researchers working under BBC Media Action Project surveyed the rise of radicalism in Arusha, Tanga, Dar es Salaam and Morogoro where religious radicalism and acts of terrorism had been reported.

The BBC report indicated that radicalism was on the rise due to political and social-economic problems as well as other grievances. Religion was only used as a cover for the underlying issues, the study concluded.

A study published by Kevin B Goldstein, in 2005 observed that lack of political freedom is a key catalyst of terrorism.

Fatma Aloo, a Zanzibari who identifies herself as a socialist, associates the rise of religious radicalism in the country with the  spread of capitalism.

“During the former president Julius Nyerere’s regime the youth readily found jobs. They felt cared for,” she said.

“The individualistic capitalist system has changed all that, and the result is unemployment,” she added. 

“Where do weapons come from?” She asked. “Governments and terrorist groups are buying arms from the same source,” she asserted. Tanzania’s National Bureau of Statistics says the overall unemployment rate in the country decreased marginally from 10.7 per cent in 2011 to 10.3 per cent in 2014.  Youth unemployment is reported to have decreased from 14.9 per cent in 2006 to 13.7 per cent in 2014.

But the income gap has been widening, according to the study.  The economic fairness index, also known as the GINI co-efficient shows income inequality  has increased in Tanzanian.

The inequality increased by 14 per cent between 1985 and 2013 when the unfairness measure  jumped from 33 points in 1985 to 37.6 points in 2013. The current measure is 37.8 points.

First attack

The first major terror attack in the country happened in July 1998, when a suicide bomber exploded a homemade bomb at the US embassy in Dar es Salaam. The bomb destroyed the embassy, killing 11 people, leaving 85 others injured. More recent terrorist attacks and have been witnessed in Zanzibar, Arusha, Geita, Songea, Morogoro, Dar es Salaam and the Coast Region.

According to a study by Twaweza — a non-governmental organisation — 10 per cent of Tanzanians feel the country has become insecure a result of threats posed by radicalism.

The Twaweza study found that 88 per cent of Tanzanians were aware radicalism was on the rise in the country, but believe the country is still a safe place to live in compared with other countries in the region.

Aidan Eyakuze, Twaweza’s executive director, said  nearly 50 per cent of  Tanzanians believe that police, the military and intelligence services should  intensify crackdown on extremist groups.

Mr Eyakuze said their research found that over 60 per cent of Tanzanians felt secure because of confidence in the country’s security organs. However, Major General Mabeyo said the solution to this problem must involve the general public instead of leaving it to the military and other security forces.