Zanzibar Genocide

Part of the Zanzibar Revolution

Bodies of Arabs killed in the post-revolution violence

Location| Sultanate of Zanzibar
Date| January 1964
Target| Arab population of Zanzibar

Attack type

| Genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass murder, genocidal rape, hate crime
Deaths| 13,000 to 20,000
Victims| 100,000 deported
Perpetrators| African rebel militiamen
Motive| Anti-Arab racism and African nationalism

The Zanzibar Genocide took place in January 1964 during and following the Zanzibar Revolution. During this period, the Arab community of Zanzibar was the target group.[1] Arabs were mass murdered, raped, tortured and deported from the island by Black African militiamen under the Afro-Shirazi Party and Umma Party. The exact death toll is unknown, although scholarly sources estimate the number of Arabs killed to be between 13,000 to over 20,000 killed.[2][3]

This event is largely forgotten,[3] and has been denied a genocide.[2] The massacres are largely undiscussed and remain outside of public eye. The Zanzibar Revolution is publicly celebrated on its anniversary as an uprising against slavery and oppression, although slavery had already been abolished decades before. However, the genocide is either downplayed or not discussed at all.[4]

## Background[edit]

Arab settlement in Zanzibar goes back over 1,000 years. Due to the increase of European imperialism in the region, Zanzibar became a colonial possession of the Portuguese Empire for over two centuries. This led Zanzibari elites to invite the Arabs and the Omani Empire to help them in driving out their colonial overlords. The Arabs successfully ousted Portuguese rule in Zanzibar and established dominance there.[5] The Sultanate of Zanzibar was ruled by an Arab sultan and a largely Arab ruling class.

The Zanzibar Revolution was inspired by John Okello, an African preacher and convicted rapist who belonged to the small Christian minority of Zanzibar. His Christianity held no appeal to the largely Muslim African population of Zanzibar, so he found racial hatred a more effective way to motivate people to his side.[3] The revolution was led by the Afro-Shirazi Party and the Umma Party. The Afro-Shirazi Party was Pan-Africanist and attempted to unite the Shirazi people with mainland Africans, whereas the Umma Party was small, radical and Marxist.[1]

By the time of the Zanzibar Revolution, the island had a population of about 300,000 people, including 230,000 Black Africans, around 50,000 Arabs and about 20,000 Indians.[3]

## Genocide[edit]

Motivated by racial hatred and promises of wealth and women, enraged African militiamen went from house to house, murdering, torturing, and raping every Arab they could lay their hands on. Bloody corpses filled the streets of Zanzibar, with cases of mutilated bodies.[3] Arab and Asian women were gangraped, and Arab and Asian property was looted. Many Arab properties were expropriated.[1] Following the targeted slaughter, thousands more were put in camps and later forcibly deported.[5]

## Death toll[edit]

Historian Jonathon Glassman estimated that Zanzibar lost a quarter or more of its Arab population by the end of 1964 due to expulsion, flight or mass murder. Leader of the Zanzibar Revolution, John Okello, claimed that 7,994 to 11,995[1] Arabs were killed and 14,716 to 21,462[1] were detained. Ali Muhsin, Prime Minister of Zanzibar who was ousted by the revolution, Ali Muhsin, estimated that 26,000 Arabs were detained and 100,000 were forcibly deported. Seif Sharif Hamad, a member of the new revolutionary government of Zanzibar, stated that he had been told that over 13,000, mostly Arabs, were killed.[2]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Kuper, Leo (2017-07-05). Race, Class, and Power: Ideology and Revolutionary Change in Plural Societies. Routledge. p. 127\. ISBN 978-1-351-49504-2.
2. ^ a b c Ibrahim, Abdullah Ali (June 2015). "The 1964 Zanzibar Genocide: The Politics of Denial". ResearchGate.
3. ^ a b c d e "What We Forgot To Remember, Part 1: Genocide in Zanzibar". Areo. 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
4. ^ Salahi, Amr (2020-07-03). "Zanzibar's forgotten legacy of slavery and ethnic cleansing". The New Arab. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
5. ^ a b Diwakar, Amar. "Remembering Zanzibar's revolution and its bloody aftermath". Remembering Zanzibar’s revolution and its bloody aftermath. Retrieved 2023-12-09.

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Zanzibar Revolution (1964)

Overview|

| States|

* Sultanate of Zanzibar / People's Republic of Zanzibar
* ASP
* Umma Party

|

Background|

* Cold War
* Decolonisation of Africa
* General elections
* January 1961
* June 1961
* 1963

Responses|

* British response to the Zanzibar Revolution

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