Free Republic

- Ahmed Khalifan Ghailani, a/k/a "Foopie," is a diminutive Tanzanian with an Uzbeki wife, six children and a deep hatred of America and Western culture in general. A devout Muslim who plays a mean game of soccer but never learned to drive a car, Ghailani is also believed to be a key al Qaeda player who U.S. agents think is involved in a percolating terror plot aimed at disrupting America's upcoming elections. He had a $25 million price on his head as the FBI's No. 7 most-wanted terrorist - the same amount as the bounty for the capture of Osama...

ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AFP) - Organizers of a 60th gala birthday party for the late Zanzibar-born rock star Freddie Mercury, have cancelled the weekend event after outraged Muslims threatened to disrupt it. Faced with fierce opposition from Islamists, who complained the flamboyant Queen lead singer's lifestyle was offensive to many on the overwhelmingly Muslim archipelago, organizers said they had no choice but to call it off. "We have decided to cancel the party after misleading and erroneous information was spread about it," said organizer Simai Mohamed Saidi, who runs a Freddie Mercury theme restaurant in the capital. "I urge Muslim groups...

A huge beach party to honor late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury must be stopped because the Zanzibar-born rock star was gay, a Muslim leader said Thursday. Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1991, violated Islam with his flamboyant lifestyle, said Azan Khalid of Zanzibar's Association for Islamic Mobilization and Propagation. "That's why he was branded a Queen," Khalid said, adding that anything linking Mercury with Zanzibar's Muslim population would be offensive.

American Family Vacation African Safari Spring 2006 Kenya and Zanzibar Seriously abridged version - April 5th, 2006 In my opinion, an African Safari has something for everybody. True, Mowgoli and I are big Animal Planet and Discovery Channel fans, but Dr. Livingston also enjoyed getting out and seeing everything from the animals to the beautiful sunsets. One of our safari books took the idea of making multiple visits to Africa, first to see the big game, then on following visits to pay more attention to the smaller animals, the birds, the plants, and the people. I disagree so I think...

PEMBA, Tanzania — It's springtime on this green, hilly island, and the pungent, sweet smell of cloves spices the air. Zaharan Salim's father, who crossed the turquoise water from Oman to settle here nearly 100 years ago, taught him as a boy that the annual bouquet signaled harvest time. His father planted a small grove of clove trees to support the family, and Salim expanded the plantation into one of Pemba's largest, with more than 2,000 of the tall evergreens sprouting from the fertile soil. But it's unclear whether the family business will last into a third generation. The groves...

CHAKE CHAKE, Tanzania (Reuters) - Mohammed Juma starts to sweat and fidget as he recalls his rape by Popo Bawa, the most feared spirit-monster of the Zanzibar spice islands. "We believe reading the Koran is our only defense, nothing else," says the 41-year-old driver and father of four. "But Popo Bawa is real, and well prepared." Vacationers on the Indian Ocean islands tend to smile dismissively at accounts in guidebooks of the bat-like ogre said to prey on men, women and children. But for superstitious Zanzibaris a visit from the sodomizing gremlin is no joke. Although no one ever has...

ZANZIBAR (Reuters) - Zanzibar has banned gay sex and set prison terms of up to 25 years for those who break the law. The law sets a penalty of life imprisonment for sodomizing a minor. The penalty for homosexual sex between men is 25 years' jail and seven years for lesbian sex. That compares to death for murder in Zanzibar and 30 years for violent robbery or rape. *BREAK* "How can you have different jail terms for man-to-man relations than those for women-to-women relations? And in any case, where is the sancrosanctity of the body?" said Issa Suleiman.

Zanzibar outlaws homosexual acts Tourism is blamed for a demise of traditional values Zanzibar's parliament has passed a bill that outlaws homosexuality and lesbianism. The bill imposes stiff penalties which include up to 25 years imprisonment for those in gay relationships. The overwhelmingly Muslim Indian Ocean island is a key tourist destination on the East African coast. The attorney-general said they were determined to prevent Zanzibari culture from being corrupted. The president is expected to approve the bill into law. Rare union Correspondents say the number of homosexuals and lesbians is on the rise in the Indian Ocean Island. The...

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....

FEW readers of The Economist (or many FReepers too), one would imagine, have seen a one-eyed dwarf with bat-like wings, pointed ears and sharpened talons. Even fewer are likely to have been sodomised by one. Many of the people of Zanzibar, however, sincerely believe in Popobawa, an incubus who supposedly rapes men who doubt his existence. Isolated sightings are reported every year. Locals say that Popobawa appears accompanied by a puff of smoke, usually on Pemba, the smaller of the spice islands that make up this semi-autonomous part of Tanzania. At times of stress, Popobawa seems to go on a...

US issues Zanzibar terror warning The United States has issued a warning about a possible attack against visitors to the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. The State Department in Washington said it had received information that a terrorist group may be planning an attack on an unspecified location frequented by Westerners. It said the targets might include restaurants, night clubs or hotels in Zanzibar. "American citizens visiting Zanzibar or other nearby coastal locations in Tanzania are cautioned to take appropriate measures and carefully evaluate their security posture," the statement said. The US authorities issued a similar warning on 18 December last...