The National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA) is a leading faith-based Islamic organisation headquartered in
Kinondoni ward of
Kinondoni District
Kinondoni District, officially the Kinondoni Municipal Council (''Halimashauri ya Manispaa ya Kinondoni'', in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of five Districts of Tanzania, districts of the Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania. The district is bord ...
in
Dar es Salaam Region
Dar es Salaam Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions and is located on the east coast of the country. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land and water areas of the nation state of Ma ...
,
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
.
History
BAKWATA registered in 1968.
Organization
The Council has branch offices across Tanzania with a network from the national to grassroots level with 22 regional and 169 district offices served by over 3000 sheikhs.
It coordinates around 10,800 mosques. It owns around 40 acres of land in each of its 22 regions. It operates 32 secondary schools, two teachers’ colleges, 30 theological colleges, and a radio station. It supports numerous madrasas.
Environmental work
From the late 1990s, BAKWATA has organised and facilitated training for its Muslim scholars on environmental issues. Ongoing work on environmental issues includes: environmental education for madrasa pupils in 10 coastal districts, environmental education and management clubs in 10 secondary schools and spreading the use of environmental theological materials in religious ceremonies and sermons on Friday prayers for more than 80 imams and sheikhs throughout Tanzania.
From 2016 BAKWATA offered free education under Mufti Office. This knowledge is offered to Islamic Imams and Qur'an teachers in different regions.
The course is aimed to empower them in computer and information technology and conflict arbitration.
Its headquarters is in Kinondoni Shamba area,
Kinondoni district
Kinondoni District, officially the Kinondoni Municipal Council (''Halimashauri ya Manispaa ya Kinondoni'', in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of five Districts of Tanzania, districts of the Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania. The district is bord ...
,
Dar es salaam
Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
Region.
See also
*
Islam in Tanzania
Tanzania is a Christian majority nation, with Islam being the largest minority faith in the country. According to a 2020 estimate by Pew research center, Muslims represent 34.1% of the total population. The faith was introduced by merchants vis ...
References
{{Reflist
Islamic organisations based in Tanzania