Islam in Tanzania

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-Commonwealth more than just the Games
- New report shows intra-Commonwealth exports valued at over $225bn a year
-Research suggests room for more growth in trade
-Heads of Government urged to capitalise on the historical culture of co-operation
-Targets improvements in trade infrastructure for developing countries
The Commonwealth is more than just the famous “Friendly Games” – it generates more than $225bn a year in export trade for member states, a new report shows.

The report “Trading on Commonwealth Ties”, to be published on the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kampala, Uganda (23rd to 25th November), argues that the Commonwealth offers significant trading opportunities for its members.

The report’s author, Professor Chris Milner, from GEP – the Globalisation and Economic Policy Centre - said: “The Commonwealth represents almost a third of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s governments, united by a shared inheritance of language and institutions. The volume of trade taking place between Commonwealth nations shows that its value extends far beyond friendships and the Commonwealth Games.”

He added: “This trade is substantial. For a significant number of low-income and island economies, intra-Commonwealth trade is of considerable economic importance – for some countries, like Botswana, Namibia, Papua New Guinea and Samoa, it represents in excess of 70% of their international trade.”

And he said there was still further scope to increase trade between individual and regional groupings of Commonwealth countries.

Professor Milner said: “Looking at the wider picture, intra-Commonwealth trade represents just 16% of Commonwealth countries' total exports. The opportunity exists to recapture and capitalise on the culture of co-operation within the Commonwealth to build trade between many Commonwealth states that will benefit member state economies.”

The GEP research, commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Economic Affairs Division specifically for this month’s meeting of heads of government, identifies some of the opportunities for improving trade between member countries, but argues against setting up a Free Trade Agreement across the whole Commonwealth now.

Professor Milner said: “Enormous amounts of political energy can be expended in negotiating trade agreements which reduce tariff barriers between alliances of countries. For some the idea of trying to build a Free Trade Agreement that covers the whole Commonwealth may hold enormous appeal, but it is fraught with legal, administrative and probably political difficulties.”

He said the research showed that while some individual countries and regional groups of Commonwealth countries would benefit from negotiating favourable tariff deals between themselves, the best way to improve intra-Commonwealth trade was to focus on the problem of infrastructure in the developing country member states.

Professor Milner said: “If you look at the roads and rail networks in many African countries, for instance, you can see where the real barriers to trade lie. Our economic model shows that in a country like the host nation Uganda, a 10% improvement in trade-related infrastructure would raise the volume of exports to other Commonwealth countries by about 62%. These are large effects.”

He said improving roads and investing in things like rail and port facilities for freight in developing countries would encourage exports to non-Commonwealth countries too, and that specific trade infrastructure improvements would also reduce the costs and increase the speed of importing raw materials, which would help Commonwealth countries develop competitive manufacturing industries.

Professor Milner justified the focus on export activity, citing other research by GEP colleagues showing that exporting improves a country’s productivity. He said: “The research shows that individual firms improve their own productivity by exporting, and even in just preparing to export; that in turn encourages rival firms to become more productive to compete, raising standards across the whole country.”

Mr. Ransford Smith, the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, who also oversees the trade policy work of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Economic Affairs Division, said: “This is a timely and significant study that examines trade within the Commonwealth, and provides possible directions for the future. While the Commonwealth comprises some of the major global trading partners from both developed and developing countries, a large number of countries from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions have been lagging behind in trade growth and haven’t benefited as might have been expected from the robust trends of recent years.’

The situation – he said – calls for measures to address this challenge. “‘This study provides important information and perceptive analyses as well as practical recommendations for consideration by the Commonwealth —individually and collectively. We will be consulting widely with a view to reaching an agreement on effective follow-up measures that need to be taken.”
Background information:

Professor Chris Milner, the author of the report, is a Professor of International Economics. He is a research fellow at GEP - the Globalisation and Economic Policy Centre – and Head of the School of Economics at the University of Nottingham.

GEP - The Globalisation and Economic Policy Centre - is the major centre in Europe studying the impacts of globalisation and economic policy. One of the biggest of its kind in the world, the centre has an impressive international reputation, with its academics advising the Treasury, the OECD, the World Bank and the WTO. GEP is based at the University of Nottingham, England, and is substantially funded by grants from the Leverhulme Trust. In January 2008 a branch of GEP will open at the University of Nottingham’s Malaysia campus.

The University of Nottingham has strong links with the Commonwealth. It has a campus in Malaysia and around 2,300 of its students in the UK come from other Commonwealth countries. The University is Britain's University of the Year (The Times Higher Awards 2006). Its academics have won two Nobel Prizes since 2003. The University also has a campus in China.

The Commonwealth Economic Affairs Division
The EAD’s work in trade encompasses national and international economic policy issues and focuses on consensus building, advocacy, advisory services and capacity-building. The Division has a track record of both anticipating and responding quickly and effectively to emerging issues that affect Commonwealth developing members, particularly the least developed countries and small states.

MAULID CELEBRATIONS BY TANZANIA LONDONERS -UK Photo: Ayoub mzee

Milad-un Nabi or Maulid (Mawlid) is the birthday celebration of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) and is celebrated by Tanzania Muslims in the UK every year as Eid-e Milad.

Photo: Ayoub mzee

Prophet Muhammad was born Arabia in the city of Mecca on the 12th day of Rabi-ul-Awwal, which was Monday the 20th day of April, 571 A.C

Photo: Ayoub mzee

The earliest concrete evidence of Moslem presence in East Africa is the foundation of a mosque in Shanga on Pate Island where gold, silver and copper coins dated AD 830 were found during an excavation in the 1980's. The oldest intact building in East Africa is a functioning mosque at Kizimkazi in southern Zanzibar dated AD 1007.

Photo: Ayoub mzee

The great expansion of Islam in the interior of Tanganyika began during the German colonial era. After having conquered the coastal area the Germans started hiring Swahilis as civil servants thus creating a cadre of literate Swahilis who accompanied the Germans into the interior

Photo: Ayoub mzee

After World War I, when the British took control over Tanganyika, the growth of Islam decreased somewhat. The British system of local government, Indirect Rule, favoured local chiefs rather than Moslems from the coast

Photo: Ayoub mzee
When the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was founded in Daressalaam in 1954, coastal Moslems played an important role. Even in spheres where Islam played a minor part Moslems could hold strategic positions in TANU

Photos: AYOUB MZEE

When the People started to organize themselves in political entities during the British rule through various associations, Muslims in Dar es Salaam formed the African Association in 1929 and Jamiatul lslamiyya fi Tanganyika in 1933.

Reference:

Extracted from Abdulaziz Y. Lodhi and David Westerlund African Islam in Tanzania).
1. August H Nimtz Jr Islam and Politics in East Africa, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1980, p. 11 . Also see Jan Pvan Bergen, Development and Religion in Tanzania, Madras, 1981 p.23.
2. See P. Gerold Rupper, OSB, Pugu Hadi Peramiho: Miaka 100 Ya Wamisionari Wabenediktini Katika Tanzania, Benedictine Publications, Ndanda - Peramiho, 1980, pp. 31-42.
3. See Yusuf Halimoja, Historia ya Masasi, East African Literature Bureau, Nairobi, 1977, pp. 163-175. For the linkage between Islam and Mali Maji War see Nimtz op. cit., pp. 12-13.
4. See "Kiongozi’ No. 6, June 1950. For more information on missionary penetration in East Africa see M. Langley & T. Kiggins:
A Serving People, Oxford University Press, Nairobi, 1974, p. 19.
5. See Daisy Sykes Buruku "The Townsman: Kleist Sykes’ in Iliffe (ed.). Modern Tanzanians, East African Publishing House 1973, p. 1.06.
6. For a detailed account of the strike see John Iliffe, "History of Dockworkers of Dar es Salaam" in Tanzania Notes and Records (Dar es Salaam) 71: (1970).

A WEEK IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

• In Somalia, this week, the Transitional Federal Parliament endorsed the recommendation of the National Reconciliation Congress to allow non-MPs to hold the post of Prime Minister or become members of the Cabinet. This was proposed by the National Reconciliation Congress in August. Following the resignation of Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi on October 29, Parliament began discussion of the Congress’ recommendations. President Abdullahi Yusuf announced at the end of the Congress that he would accept and accordingly implement all its recommendations. The decision to allow the President to choose a prime minister from outside the ranks of Parliament is expected to offer a wider choice for the establishment of an effective and efficient government. A new prime minister has to be appointed within a month of Prime Minister Gedi’s resignation. The choice is expected to be made from members of the Hawiye clan. In a recent interview on Voice of America, US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Jendayi Frazer said that it was important that the new prime minister had the confidence of the international community and of the Somali parliament, but most importantly he should have the confidence of the Somali people. The prime minister she said has to be the key to national reconciliation. She thought President Abdullahi’s choice should fall on someone who is committed to the Transitional Federal Charter, and the transition in 2009, who has capability, political skill and who could demonstrate readiness to work in the interest of the country as a whole not in his personal interest or that of his clan, but in the interest of the Somali people.
• In the Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State, UN agencies have begun to deploy staff in the new UN offices in Kebridahar and Degehabur. These include the World Food Programme, the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Food and Agricultural Organization. Around a dozen NGOs have also been accredited to work in the zones of Degehabur, Gode, Fik, Warder and Korahe. This follows the agreement between the Government and the UN last month on measures to ensure that aid reached those in need in the region. The UN and the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Agency (DPPA) have also decided to set up joint support centers in areas of need to facilitate the logistics of delivering food, medicine veterinary services and other support. 190 food distribution points have been agreed. These moves follow a UN exploratory mission to the Somali Regional State in early October which reported on a need for increased aid to the region, to ensure a free flow of commercial and humanitarian food supplies and for greater access for both government and humanitarian service providers. A statement by the DPPA this week said that 11,000 quintals of grain had already been distributed to Fik and Korahe zones last week, and a similar amount was currently being deployed. The Ministry of Defense was providing extra heavy duty trucks to help in the deliveries.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to express its deep sorrow by the death of Professor Kinfe Abraham, President of the Ethiopian International Institute for Peace and Development and well known academic and diplomat. Professor Kinfe passed away on November 8, 2007 after suffering a stroke. The Ministry offers its sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues for this very great loss.