Islam in Mozambique
Mozambique is an independent, secular nation located in southeast Africa, northeast of the Republic of South Africa. It has a coastline along the Indian Ocean. Muslims constitute approximately one-sixth of the population, with Sunnis and Isma’ilis being the major factions. There has been a Muslim presence in Mozambique for centuries. There is a large ethnic Indian Muslim community in the north and scattered communities of mixed African, Arab and Portuguese ancestry in the rest of the country. These groups have been relatively isolated, both geographically and in terms of the practice of Islam. The Indian community tends to be rather strict in its observance of Shariah law and reading of the Quran, while the African communities are much less rigorous, tending to mix Islamic observance with traditional religious practices.
After Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975, those Muslims who cooperated with Portugal were discredited, while those who had been in opposition gained the ascendancy. However, the civil war that ensued shortly after independence and lasting until 1992 was not kind to the Muslim community (or to religious communities in general). The Marxist FRELIMO faction tended to suppress all religions, while the resistance faction, RENAMO, was more supportive. Aid from foreign enclaves of Islam, for example, from Oman, was sent to RENAMO. Many Muslims began to organize as political action groups with an ostensible agenda of mutual aid, athletics, and cultural and social interests.
In 1990, Mozambique Muslims joined the Organization of the Islamic Conference in an attempt to present a unified front. Muslims in Mozambique are concerned with the ability to observe Sharia law in matters of marriage, inheritance and property rights in a secular society. While cooperation with other religions has not been a problem, ethnic differences among Muslims has stifled unity in Islam in Mozambique (Von Sicard 473).
Islam in Botswana
Botswana is an independent, secular, landlocked nation located near the southern tip of Africa just north of the Republic of South Africa. Formerly Bechuanaland, it gained its independence for the United Kingdom in 1966. Islam is a relatively new religion on Botswana, with Christianity as the leading religion, followed by numerous indigenous beliefs. Most of the approximately 10,000 Muslims in Botswana (constituting less than one percent of the population) originated from India and Pakistan. They act as local businessmen and have a large presence in the national library service. The vast majority are Sunnis, with a small Shia community established in 1971. Muslims in Botswana have not been active in proselytizing or as a social force, with few native African converts. Despite their small numbers, they coexist peacefully with the citizens of other religions.
Islam in Kenya
Kenya is a secular nation located in eastern central Africa bordering the Indian Ocean. Kenya is religiously pluralistic, with Muslims being in the minority.
Disputes exist between differing Muslim sects. Control of Islam in Kenya is more of a local affair than the centralized control in Arabic Muslim nations. There are struggles to control a mosque committee and the right to appoint the imam. Ethnic diversity among different Muslim sects in Kenya contributes to this divisiveness. For example, different languages, ethnicities and secular customs exist between the Somali and Swahili communities. Different organizational structures of Islam exist between those Muslims on the Indian Ocean coast, who present more of a united front, and those of the interior, who are more scattered.
Disputes with the government concern matters such as dietary laws, dress, places to pray, marriage laws, laws concerning inheritance and the right to follow a separate Islamic law. Land disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims involve sacred ground upon which mosques and Muslim cemeteries may stand, but land disputes are endemic in Kenya.
While there have been clashes between Islamic and Christian factions
in Kenya, even some involving the burning of churches by Muslims, Muslim and Christian leaders have found common ground. Both groups support a number of charitable endeavors, while opposing family planning initiatives.
There is no strong support for the Islamic Party of Kenya, which has received most of its support from the disenfranchised, such as the unemployed and the youth. The party has so little national support that it has not even managed to become registered. In-fighting among Muslims in Kenya has stifled Islam’s progress in Kenya (Sperling).
Works Cited
Von Sicard, S. “Islam in Mozambique: Some Historical and Cultural Perspectives.”
Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 28.3 (2008): 473-90. Print.
“Shia-Ithna Asheri Muslims in Botswana.” Panjetani Muslim Association of Botswana.
Web. 27 Feb. 2012.
Sperling, David C. “Islam and the Religious Dimension of Conflict in Kenya.” Tulane
University Law School’s Payson Center for International Development. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.
