In Search of an Islamic Party
Part Two
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| Members of National Alliance for Mass Advancement (NEMA) The Party was refused registration for being suspected of being founded by Muslims With a Muslim Agenda |
But
the most imaginative and daring attempt to organise Muslims as a political
force was through the National Alliance for Mass Advancement (NEMA) which was
registered on 19 May, 1994. [1]
Different to any of its predecessors, NEMA was relatively better off in
resources. After receiving its
preliminary registration the party was able to establish contact in almost
every region in the country. This was possible because the party had among its
leadership the executive of Baraza Kuu. But what bogged down earlier parties
with Muslim inclination the same malaise also affected NEMA. The party did not
have the leadership which people could identify with any political authority.
However the party captured the imagination of young Muslim intellectuals and
activists throughout the country. But since membership drive was done in clandestine,
not many people came to know much about the party and what it represents. The
party received its free publicity when the Christian Lobby started to work on
NEMA. But NEMA as UDP and UPDPD before it did not escape infiltration of the
State Intelligence agents. The party was subverted from within. NEMA had all
the traits of a Muslim party not only because of its all Muslim leadership but
even its membership was almost all Muslim. One of the leading anti-Muslim
papers under control of the Christian Lobby, Shaba accused NEMA of being a Muslim party. [2] Although
NEMA tried to deny its identity, it was not completely successful.[3]
Strange
was the fact that much as almost all the other parties had a predominantly
Christian leadership, the press did not attack these parties as being
religiously motivated. Papers were instructed to begin to accuse NEMA as a
Muslim party and a possible mainstay for Muslim challenge against the ruling
party the CCM. The party was feared would unite all Muslims against the Christian
hegemony which had ruled the country since independence. NEMA was poised to reintroduce Muslim
sentiments in politics which had guided nationalist politics of 1950s. History
shows that Muslims in Tanganyika had fought and resisted all kind of oppression
since 1900s. It was worrying the Christian Lobby that NEMA was going to become
a popular mass party supported by Muslims as TANU was. The question was, was
Tanzania about to witness a civil upheaval, and was Muslims on the path of
forming a militant movement of agitation against the status quo? The answer was
not difficult to guess.
The
registrar of political parties did everything within its powers to frustrate
the party. A year after the party had applied for permanent registration the
registrar did not respond. Eventually NEMA was refused registration on the
pretext that it did not fulfil the requirements laid down by the law. This was
the most serious blow to Muslim activists because NEMA was a brainchild of
Prof. Kighoma Malima and Mwalimu Bori Lila supported by the intellectuals of
the Muslim underground movement going back to the days of Warsha and Sheikh
Hussein Malik and it was very unlikely that the government and ruling party
were unaware of this. Attempts were made to link NEMA with Prof. Malima and
with Dar es Salaam University Muslim Trustee (DUMT). But there was no solid
evidence to support the allegations. It should be bearded in mind that these
efforts by Muslim activists were not co-ordinated, each party worked on its
own. When NEMA failed to get full
registration for a time it was thought as if Muslims would participate in
multi-party elections without a Muslim candidate they could identify with their
cause. But NEMA was a decoy. Prof. Malima knew exactly what would eventually
happen to the party. He had a contingent plan moving parallel with the NEMA.
Even his most close confidants were kept in the dark.
In mid May, 1995 the
one of the leaders of UPD who had gone to Zanzibar to seek alliance with UPDP,
contacted Abubakar Olotu, the chairman of the National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA).
The activists went with a proposal that they want to provide NRA with UDP
members and strong leadership before elections. At that time NRA was in
existence in name only. It had scanty membership and some executive positions
were not filled. Another meeting was soon to follow. This time a top delegation
of the UDP went to Olotu’s residence for further discussion on how to
invigorate the party. In this meeting Olotu offered some of the vacant
executive posts to UPD leadership which were accepted. It was here that it was
hinted that someone important would be available but the name of Prof. Malima
was not mentioned. The response from the emissary was that the signs were
encouraging but a lot of ground work needed to be done before a definite answer
is given. Soon after this response Prof. Malima was given a code name “John “of
which he was referred to in all communication with or about him. The committee
which dealt with the recruitment of Prof. Malima swore itself to secrecy. While
contact with Prof. Malima was made, the Chairman of NRA Olotu was kept in the
dark. He was kept in the dark until the
very last minute when they were waiting for Prof. Malima in his sitting room
and Prof. Malima appeared to receive them. That is when Olotu realised that
they were in Prof. Malima’s house. And even then he did not know what was to be
discussed. Prof. Malima had met the other members of the committee except
Olotu. The two were introduced after which he took them to his special room,
the zawiyya-a sanctuary prayer room.
This was the room which Prof. Malima received his important guests and a room
which he used for prayers.
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| The Late Sheikh Ali ''Mudeer'' bin Abbas One of the Founder Members of NEMA having his membership reviewed at Arnatouglo Hall in 1994 |
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