Via The Citizen:
Violent clashes erupted in Dar es Salaam’s Mbagala suburb yesterday when scores of Muslim youth stormed a police station and demanded that a 14-year-old boy accused of urinating on the Quran be handed over to them.
In the aftermath of the confrontation, at least five churches were attacked, several car windows smashed and passersby injured as the angry mob moved from street to street at Mbagala Kizuiani protesting the desecration of the holy book. […]
A source told The Citizen on Saturday that the origins of the clashes could be traced back five days to an incident in which a Christian and Muslim boy got into an argument over the power of the Quran to turn anyone who defiled it into a snake.
According to those reports, the Christian boy swore he would not be harmed if he played with the Quran while his Muslim friend maintained that he would turn into a snake or run mad if did so.
The Christian boy then urinated on the book—and set off a chain of events that would turn the area into a battleground for what the Muslims described as a defence of their faith.
The protesting group initially arrested the boy at around 9am on Monday and took him to a police station. The incident turned deadly after the angry Muslims mobilised more support during Friday prayers, reportedly in an attempt to grab the boy from the police station and behead him. […]
Protesters attacked the Catholic Church at Mbagala Zakhem and broke down the door and an Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania was torched in the same area.
At Mbagala Kizuiani, reports which were later confirmed by ACP Misime further say, the Seventh Day Adventist, Tanzania Assemblies of God (TAG), Moravian and Anglican Church and two other catholic churches were attacked and properties destroyed. During the fracas, which was made worse by vandalism, the windows of a vehicle belonging to Clouds Media Group were smashed.
HT: ROP