Ejaz Bhalloo
Brief Profile
Br. Ejaz Bhalloo Member and an active member of Dar es Salaam Jamaat and author of several books was invited by the Florida International University as a guest speaker at the Religious Freedom Colloquium. As an ambassador of goodwill, he represented Tanzania at the symposium. Ejaz’s remarks revolved around religious manuscripts promoting dialogue between adherents of different faiths.
Speaks at Religious Freedom Colloquium in Florida International University
Professor Dayyab Gillani, Professor Carlos Grenier, Professor Iqbal Akhtar, Dr. Shiraz Hajiani, and several other notable speakers delivered presentations at the Colloquium. Various fascinating discourses were brought to light for instance; the persecution of Ismailis in Tajikistan, blasphemy laws in Pakistan, diversity and societal harmony in Tanzania, and how Islam grew amongst African American communities within the United States of America.
Below is an extract from Ejaz Bhalloo's remarks
“Tanzania has always been the embodiment of peace and societal harmony, a nation where individuals are allowed to freely practice and profess their faith. Politicians do not weaponize religion, nevertheless they use it as a means of establishing unity and inter-faith interaction. The father of the nation, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere had expressed in one of his addresses that using religiosity and identity politics is anti-thetical to Tanzania's value system.
March 13,1995 Mwalimu Nyerere emphasized not to introduce religion into the leadership of the country:
“We want our president, being a Christian, to know that we are not electing him because of his Christianity. If he is a Muslim, he should know that we are not choosing him because of his Islam. We are not electing him to be the president of the Christians or the Muslims, and we want him to know and accept it sincerely and manage it."
President John Magufuli during his tenure as President of the United Republic of Tanzania in a historic gesture, vitalized the existing cordial Christian-Muslim relationship by using a Church event to raise funds for the construction of a mosque in Dodoma City.
Walking his talk that religion should by no means cause dissension and divide people into religious fractions, President Magufuli, a staunch Catholic, initiated the fundraising to bankroll the building of a mosque at Chamwino area. In addition, Tanzania is home to numerous places of worship, and welcomes endeavors its utmost to create an environment where adherents of all faiths are comfortable with regard to expressing themselves.
In terms of the constitutional framework of the union government of Tanzania and the constitution of the semi-autonomous government in Zanzibar, both prohibit religious discrimination and provide for freedom of religious choice. The law prohibits the formation of religious political parties.”
On behalf of the Chairman of Africa Federation, Alhaj Amine Nassor, the Office Bearers and the Education Board of Africa Federation congratulates Br. Ejaz Bhalloo on his achievements and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.
Secretariat
Africa Federation Education Board
REF: EB/NL/38/22-23
DATE: 28th December 2022
