Country: Tanzania

Group: Zanzibar Arabs

Date Finalized: 10/11/2023

Team: Gordon Kok (lead), Emily Allan, Esha Kubavat, Hannah Lux, and Kelly Hashiro

Content Warning: Violence

Approximate Time Period: January 1964 – 1970s

The Shirazi in Tanzania subjected Zanzibar Arabs to lethal violence, according to substantial evidence. Additionally, evidence indicates that the Shirazi currently discriminate against Zanzibar Arabs.

The Zanzibari Arabs are an ethnic minority group in Tanzania that migrated to the island in the 1600s involved in the trade of slaves, ivory, and spices. During Portuguese, German, and British colonization, colonial powers reinforced an ethnic class structure with the minority Zanzibar Arab population holding most of the wealth and power.  Meanwhile, people of African and mixed ethnicity, known as Shirazis, were primarily laborers and were regularly mistreated. In December 1963, Zanzibar gained independence as a constitutional monarchy. At independence, Arabs constituted less than 20 percent of Zanzibar’s population but were economically and politically dominant (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). In January 1964, one month after independence, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) led a popular revolt that ousted the Al-Bu Saidi Sultan and his primarily Arab government, killing thousands of Arabs. Almost 800 ASP followers overwhelmed the nation’s small police force and overthrew Sultan Abdullah (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). Furthermore, ASP followers killed an estimated 17,000 people, which resulted in thousands of refugees fleeing to Oman and other countries (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). Following the revolution, the new President of Zanzibar Abeid Karume removed many racially biased government policies and sought to combine Zanzibar with Tanganyika to form Tanzania, which he accomplished on April 26, 1964 (Minority Rights Group, n.d.).

Racial tensions between Arabs and Shirazi still persist, with many Arabs supporting movements to separate Tanzania back into their former countries and with many Shirazi advocating for increased autonomy (Eddoumi, N, 2021). The national government has harassed the main Tanzania opposition party the Civic United Front (CUF), which is primarily composed of Arabs. For example, in the aftermath of January 2001 protests, the national government killed 35 protesters (Minority Rights Group, n.d.). Reports from Human Rights Watch during Zanzibar’s 2020 election show that the Tanzanian government has not held security forces or aligned militias responsible for mass violence. Between October 26 and 30, 2020, “armed men in civilian clothes tear gassed and shot crowds”, while also “arbitrarily arresting, detaining, and torturing opposition supporters” (Human Rights Watch, 2021).

Data Quality: 3/3 There is an adequate amount of relevant information on this issue available that is peer-reviewed and from reputable sources.

Sources

  • Human Rights Watch (2021). Tanzania: No Justice for Zanzibar Election Violence https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/29/tanzania-no-justice-zanzibar-election-violence
  • Eddoumi, N. (2021, November 29). The Zanzibar Revolution of 1964 •. BlackPast. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/events-global-african-history/the-zanzibar-revolution-of-1964/
  • Minority Rights Group (n.d.). Shirazi and Arabs of Zanzibar. https://minorityrights.org/minorities/shirazi-and-arabs-of-zanzibar/