Tanzania: My Christian Father, My Muslim Mother, and My Country's Truth

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By H.E. Dr. Elsie Sia Kanza, Ambassador of Tanzania to the United States and former Head of Africa at the World Economic Forum

My father is a devout Lutheran. My mother is a practicing Muslim. I was educated at a Catholic school. This is not an unusual story in Tanzania – it is a very ordinary one.

I begin with my family because I want you to understand something about my country that may not match what you have heard.

Tanzania is not a place where Christians and Muslims eye each other with suspicion. We share meals. We share families. We share holidays. Right now, our President is Muslim, our Vice President is Catholic, and our Prime Minister is Lutheran. They serve together. This, too, is ordinary.

In late October, Tanzania held elections. There were protests. People died. Families are still grieving, and a Commission of Inquiry is working to establish what happened and why. I will not pretend to have all the answers.

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But I must address something I have seen in American coverage: the suggestion that what happened was religious persecution.

It was not.

The protesters who took to the streets were Muslim and Christian. So were those who died. A video circulating from that day shows a young man lying in the street, gravely wounded, while the person filming him recites a Muslim prayer. The Archbishop of Dar es Salaam held a memorial Mass for the victims – all of them. This was a Tanzanian tragedy, not one faith's tragedy.

So why were they on the streets? Over 10 million young people aged 15 to 24 are grappling with uncertainty about their path forward. They share the same reason young people are restless across the globe: dignity and opportunity. We have a young population hungry for jobs, and a government racing to build an economy that can feed their ambition. That is a challenge of development, not theology. It is a friction born of growth, not hate.

I understand why the persecution framing has gained traction. In some parts of the world, Christians are targeted for their faith in ways that should trouble every believer. But applying that lens to Tanzania misreads what happened – and risks obscuring the places where Christians truly are persecuted for their faith.

I welcome scrutiny of my country. Tanzania needs accountability, and partnership with nations that hold us to high standards matters. But I am also asking for precision. What happened on October 29th demands answers. The question of religious freedom is not one of them.

My mother and father raised me to believe that faith is a bridge, not a wall. Tanzania, for all its challenges, taught me that Christians and Muslims can live as neighbors, as family, as one nation.

That is the country I represent. It is the country I know.

I pray it is the country we remain.