Christians on Tanzanian island fear for their lives

ZANZIBAR, Tanzania — On Tanzania’s semiautonomous island of Zanzibar, Christians live in a climate of fear.  

Yusuf Abdalla, 23, fled to Moshi, mainland Tanzania, after a beating from family members left him with injuries to his head, hand and torso, as well as a serious mouth wound and substantial loss of blood, said an area pastor who requested anonymity.

In Kiembesamaki, near Zanzibar city’s airport, area pastors said 28-year-old Ramadhan Hunda Tuma earlier this year entered a guilty plea to charges that he burned the Quran rather than face an enraged mob calling for his death. More than 50 Muslims had packed into the courtroom to hear the judge’s Feb. 21 ruling on Tuma, whose landlady had ordered him to burn his trash after evicting him for his conversion to Christianity; he was not aware that among the trash was a small copy of the Quran used by beginning students in madrassas, or Islamic schools, area pastors said.

“Due to the conditions prevailing then, Tuma pleaded guilty because he feared for his life,” said another pastor, who requested anonymity. “He chose to go to jail rather than to be released only to be killed.”