Becoming Muslim in Mainland Tanzania, 1890-2000

We know that many people converted to Islam in colonial East Africa, but the why and how remain obscure. Recently, these Muslim congregations have come under scrutiny for producing Islamic radicals, but again the causes are poorly understood. This book traces the history of Muslim congregations in a mainland Tanzanian region from their inception in the early twentieth century to the early 2000s, using the records of governments and missions as well as hundreds of interviews. It argues that rural villagers became Muslim of their own initiative, in the pursuit of more equitable relations with Muslim townspeople and among themselves. The egalitarian ethos of these rural Muslims resonated with that of Tanzania's movement forindependence, in which they strongly participated. The current conflicts among Muslims are rooted partly in their shifting and problematic relationship with successive post-independence governments, but also in the transitions in gender relations, education and ritual observance to which Islamization hascontributed.

This is a highly valuable book, which covers a lot of ground and is based on extensive archival research, including German colonial and missionary records. It also draws extensively on oral history - including about 300 interviews with local informants., Becker gives a thorough and balanced analysis... This book is quite an achievement and will be a great resource for both students and academics alike in this field of study., Felicitas Becker gives us a balanced understanding of the rise of Islamic radicalism among the Tanzanian Muslim youth, a very informative study which sheds light on both the cultural and historical factors that have informed teh spread of Islam in rural and urban locations in the region.

Felicitas Becker is Assistant Professor of African History at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.