Engagement of Rwandan Muslims against the genocide
and to aid the victims
Chronology
1884–1916/18: Rwanda was a part of the German colony of
“German East Africa” (today: Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania).
1918–1962: Rwanda was a mandate territory of Belgium.
The Tutsi minority dominated the Hutu majority.
1962: Rwanda and Burundi achieved independence.
1962–1973: Under the first republic of Rwanda,
the Hutu majority took control. Tutsi were massacred and forced to flee.
Thousands of Tutsi took refuge in neighboring countries.
1973–1994: The second republic of Rwanda:
social unrest led to an unbloody military putsch; General Habyarimana,
a Hutu, became President.
1 October 1990: The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF),
composed mostly of exiled Rwandan Tutsi from Uganda, invaded the
country in order to force the return of the exiles by military power.
The RPF occupied parts of northern Rwanda. Muslim authorities in the
country spoke out against ethnic violence and called for non-violence.
4 August 1993: After three years of off-and-on fighting,
the Hutu government under President Habyarimana and the Tutsi rebel army RPF
signed the “Arusha Accord” calling for a permanent cease-fire.
October 1993: In neighboring Burundi, Hutu President Ndadaya was
murdered by the Tutsi and a civil war between Hutu and Tutsi broke out.
6 April 1994: After meeting for negotiations about the carrying out
of the Arusha Accord, the Rwandan President Habyarimana and the new Burundian
President Ntaryamira, both Hutus, were assassinated when their plane was shot
down over Kigali.
6 April – 15 July 1994: The ruling Hutus accused the
Tutsi rebels of having shot down the plane and launched a systematic massacre
of the Tutsi populace. Within 100 days, a million Tutsi (and opposition Hutus)
were murdered. Only 10% of the Rwandan Tutsi population survived, many of them
thanks to interventions by Muslims.
The rebel Tutsi RPF intensified its fight against the Hutu government, which it
held responsible for the massacres, bringing more and more of the country under
its control.
4 July 1994: The Tutsi RPF seized control of Kigali, the capital,
and put an end to the massacres. Two million Hutus fled to neighboring lands for
fear of reprisals.
19 July 1994: The victorious RPF under the leadership of Paul Kagame
created a coalition government with the moderate Hutu Pasteur Bizimungu as President.
At the inauguration of the first Muslim minister, President Bizimungu called on the
Muslims of Rwanda “to teach other Rwandans how to live together”.
