Perceptions of Marginalization: Muslims in Contemporary Tanzania

Abstract

African countries with Muslim populations can be divided into three categories. In countries of the first kind, such as Senegal, Muslims form a clear and undisputed majority of the population. Religion (Islam) is an accepted part of daily life, and there are no major conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims. National conflicts are mostly related to political, economic, social, ethnic, or communal issues and do not necessarily acquire religious connotations. Religious disputes among Muslims are largely over matters of ritual and the interpretive authority of religious scholars or competing Islamic religious movements.