The Islamic Movement of Mozambique

The Islamic Movement of Mozambique actually has a history of four centuries of struggling  between the Portuguese and Muslims in Mozambique. It was these relentless struggles that angered the Portuguese and led them to brutally massacred Muslims and throw Muslim leaders alive from planes to Muslim settlements. Portuguese colonialism, for the basic fight against Islam, which was an obstacle to its plunder, banned the teaching of the Arabic language and the teaching of the Holy Quran through legal approval, and punished various people through programs and exiled Islamic scholars, and set up camps for the Muslim Mujahedeen so that to keep them away from Muslims.

Nevertheless, the Muslim resistance against the Portuguese colonial rule did not become weak, and although some people were killed and a large group migrated to Malawi and Tanzania. Finally, the Muslims of Mozambique united and formed the Mozambique Liberation Front in 1962, which waged an armed struggle against the Portuguese aggressors.

The Islamic Movement of Mozambique

The Muslims of the northern region of Mozambique formed the "Islamic Resistance Movement" in early 1955 to free themselves from the captivity of the Portuguese and to liberate their land. All relevant Muslim organizations and institutions became members of this movement; But before this organization could do anything, its secrets were revealed and the leaders of the Islamic Movement were arrested and transferred to the "Savacumi" camp.

Despite all these pressures, the spirit of liberation did not die down and in 1962, the Mozambican Liberation Front "Frelimo" was formed with the aim of expelling the Portuguese occupiers from this country, and for this purpose, it started its armed struggle. This front, which was founded in the beginning by the efforts of Muslims, was gradually pushed towards Marxism and against Islam due to the influence of Christian leaders in it.

Background

Mozambique is one of the countries in Southeast Africa, which is located in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean and in front of the island of Madagascar. This country, like other lands of the Black Continent, is rich in natural resources and enjoys a special strategic position. Despite the abundant natural and God-given wealth of this land, unfortunately, its people live in poverty and ignorance and are deprived of any blessings and comforts. Its population in 2024 was 34,881,007 people.

In the 8th century AH Islam came to Mozambique peacefully by Muslim merchants and sailors from the Persian Gulf and Arab countries and was welcomed by the people of that region. According to the report of "Akhbar al-Alam al-Islami" publication: "Shia groups in Mozambique gradually fell apart due to the lack of sufficient organization and religious missionaries, and the Sunni brothers increased their influence and power day by day due to the support of Muslim Arabs.

Of course, a group of Pakistani and Indian Shias live in this land, but the native and local people mostly follow the Sunni religion, and some people who came from the island of "Mauritius" follow the Ismaili sect".

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Mozambique liberation movement

The economic boom in Mozambique made the Portuguese invaders greedy and they entered this land between 1505 and 1506. Since the arrival of the Portuguese in Mozambique, freedom resistance was formed, and especially in the northern regions of this land, where most of the inhabitants are Muslim, the resistance was more intense.

The Portuguese could not suppress the liberation struggle of the Mozambican people until the beginning of the 20th century. The struggle for freedom continued for four centuries; During this time, the occupying forces failed to enter the north of this land. In 1916, with the defeat of Eliav, the ruler of the region, the Portuguese achieved their long-standing dream and completely controlled the northern region.

From the beginning of their arrival in Mozambique, the Crusader colonists began fighting against Islam and started killing and persecuting Muslims. African Muslims were oppressed and pressured more than anywhere else in Mozambique, and despite the suffocating and suffocating atmosphere, the Muslims of this land did not stop struggling.

In order to put more pressure on Muslims, the Portuguese established special regulations that included preventing Muslims from traveling abroad and holding their Hajj ceremonies. "In 1954, countless numbers of Muslim people were arrested and sent to camps due to correspondence and communication with Islamic countries and receiving religious books and publications, and then another group was detained and then exiled due to carrying photos of the leaders of the Islamic world."

The Muslims of the northern region of Mozambique formed the "Islamic Resistance Movement" in early 1955 to free themselves from the captivity of the Portuguese and to liberate their land, and all relevant Muslim organizations and institutions became members of it; But before this organization could do anything, its secrets were revealed and the leaders of the Islamic Movement were arrested and transferred to the "Savacumi" camp.

Despite all these pressures, the spirit of freedom did not die down and in 1962, the Mozambique Liberation Front "Frelimo" was formed with the aim of expelling the Portuguese occupiers from this country, and for this purpose, it started its armed struggle. This front, which was founded in the beginning by the efforts of Muslims, was gradually pushed towards Marxism and against Islam due to the influence of Christian leaders in it.

In 1964, Mozambican Muslim and nationalist groups launched a joint attack against the Portuguese by forming the "National African Union of Mozambique". The leaders of this organization, by intensifying the armed struggle, announced that they will struggle until the complete freedom of this country. The Mozambican Liberation Front, which formed the major part of this union, led most of the guerrilla attacks, and this caused the Organization of African Unity to recognize the Liberation Front.

This transformation had a significant impact on the process of people's struggles and the Mozambique Liberation Front, and the activities of this front were very successful until 1969, and Muslims also helped it by maintaining solidarity. With the assassination of "Edward and Mandelan", the leader of the front in 1969, it was suffered a serious failure  and the front was divided.

After a short period of time, the Muslims and the Front were able to control their differences and choose "Samura Mashel" as the new leader. With "Machel" coming to power, the front's guerrilla attacks on the Portuguesenot only  did not stop, but also  the struggle of the Mozambican Muslim people continued stronger than before.

Finally, the liberating uprising of the Mozambican people, by maintaining their solidarity, selflessness and sacrifice, won after ten years of armed struggle against the Portuguese colonialists and enduring problems and difficulties, and the Mozambican people achieved their country's independence on June 25, 1975.

Features of the Islamic Movement of Mozambique

Muslims in Mozambique have been struggling for more than four hundred years to preserve their Islamic identity and eliminate injustice in their country. Even now, the power is in the hands of the Christians and they have kept the Muslims under restrictions. All the rights of Muslims are ignored and their connection with the Islamic world is at a low level.

Despite these pressures, what was able to keep the flag of Islam raised in this land were the features that existed in the Islamic movement of Mozambique, and we point out the most important of them as follows:

1-   Islamism: The history of the struggle of the Muslim people of Mozambique against  the Portuguese actually goes back to the confrontation between Islam and Christianity and the growing trend of Islamism in this land. The Portuguese invaded Mozambique with the aim of preventing the influence of Islam, and after entering this African country, they did not hesitate to take any criminal action against Muslims.

To achieve their goal, they carried out many massacres in Muslim areas and forced them to do hard work; But none of these could make a break in the resistance of the liberating Muslims. It was this relentless campaign that angered the Portuguese and caused them to brutally massacred Muslims and throw Muslim leaders out of airplanes over Muslim-populated areas.The Land of Islam: Recognition Islamic Countries and Muslim Areas of the World.

Undoubtedly, what caused Muslims to be so selfless and sacrifice were the spirit of Islamism and their adherence to Islam and its anti-tyranny teachings.

2-   Popular support: The Islamic Movement of Mozambique enjoyed wide support from different fields of the people. This provided the ground for the solidarity and integration of social groups and institutions and increased the stability of the warriors.

3-   Struggle against  Western culture: Mozambican Islamic groups and organizations are sensitive to social issues and the spread of vulgar Western culture in this country. Even today, they are making significant efforts to promote Islamic culture and destroy Western culture and confront foreign cultural invasion in their country. Indian and Pakistani Muslim financiers also donate sums to Mozambican religious groups and associations every year to do this.

4-   Giving priority to cultural activities: Mozambique is one of the poor countries in East Africa, where 70% of its people are illiterate. For this reason, religious, cultural and promoting publications have been very prosperous and are being followed seriously by institutions and organizations related to Muslims and Christianity, under different names. In this cultural competition, where dozens of organizations and institutions are present, the activity of Muslims is very impressive.

Such cultural activities have made the cultural and promoting  publications to be widely welcomed by the people of this country, especially the youth, and many of them have been converted to the holy religion of Islam as a result of the cultural and promoting activities of Islamist groups.

Positions of the Islamic Movement and the Islamic Revolution

The Freelimo Liberation Front, which has been in power since independence, has a good relationship with Iran's Islamic Revolution. Until now, the officials of these two countries have visited Tehran and Maputo, including the Supreme Leader when he was the president of Iran, after his trip to Africa, he also visited Mozambique (1985). In general, the authorities of the two countries are trying to expand their economic, political and cultural relations.

In order to fulfill this demand, the cultural activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been taken into consideration in the memorandums of understanding signed between the two countries. One of Iran's most effective measures is the establishment of the "Ahl al-Bayt School" in Maputo, where Mozambican students of religious studies in this school.

One of the Mozambican officials praised Imam Khomeini, may God have mercy on him, and considered the realization of his thoughts and ideas to save humanity from the current troubles of the world and says: " Let's use this great leader and the guidelines he left behind for humanity as a powerful tool in the way  of  continuing the high thoughts that lead to material and spiritual happiness.