Churchgoers on the tiny, Muslim dominated island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania are aware of a growing threat by Muslim extremists suspected of carrying out recent attacks against church facilities.

“There are some people who think they can do away with the Christians, and most of them are coming from outside the country” said Father Arbogast Mushi of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Zanzibar.

Tensions increased on March 5 when the Islamist group UAMSHO (Revival and Propagation Organization) held an illegal rally despite a government ban imposed after previous demonstrations in which UAMSHO distributed jihad-training videos and literature. The group urged killing secular politicians who refuse to impose sharia, or Islamic law. Five days later, arsonists set fire to a Roman Catholic church in the Jumbi district.

The Associated Press quoted police official Hamad Issa describing the attack as
“a deliberate act aimed at inciting religious hostilities in Zanzibar.”