Muslims of northern Mozambique and the liberation movements

Abstract

Despite the fact that the liberation war occurred in northern Mozambique, where a considerable number of Muslims lived, their contribution to the independence struggle has been little studied. This paper focusses on their participation in two nationalist liberation movements, Mozambican African National Union (MANU) and Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO), and demonstrates that the prevailing idea in scholarship about Muslims’ aloofness from the liberation struggle is unjustified. It argues that Muslim support and participation in the liberation movements stemmed primarily from grassroots African nationalism. Like most Africans, Muslims wished to end colonialism and recover their land from the Portuguese. African Muslims of northern Mozambique were well suited to support these movements, because Islam and chieftainship were linked to each other. Chiefs were believed to be the ‘owners’ and ‘stewards’ of the land, and a majority of Muslim leaders, whether traditional chiefs (régulos, in Portuguese) or Sufi leaders (tariqa khulafa’, in Arabic), were from the chiefly clans. Most importantly, Muslims of northern Mozambique had close historical and cultural ties to Tanganyika and Zanzibar, especially through Islamic and kinship networks. The involvement of Muslims in the liberation movements of those regions, in particular in Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), inspired and encouraged the Muslims of northern Mozambique to support MANU and FRELIMO, especially since these two movements were launched in Tanganyika and Zanzibar with TANU backing and the participation of Muslim immigrants from northern Mozambique.

Keywords:

• Liberation movements
• MANU
• FRELIMO
• Islam
• northern Mozambique
• Zanzibar

Notes

1. For religion in general, see Michel Cahen (2000a, 2000b); for Christianity, see Teresa Cruz e Silva (2001), Alda R. Saúte (2004, 2005), Carlos Serra et al. (2000), David Hedges et al. (2000) and E. Morier‐Genoud (2005); for Islam, see Fernando A. Monteiro (1993) and Edward A. Alpers (1999).

2. ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es havidas em Porto Amelia, de 1 de Junho de 1964 à 7 de Junho de 1964, entre um dos adjuntos dos SCII e Yussuf Árabe’ (78 pages), in Instituto de Arquivos Nacionais de Torre do Tombo (hereafter, IAN‐TT), Lisbon, the SCCIM Collection (hereafter, SCCIM), Caixa (Box, hereafter Cx.) 60, No 408.

3. Interviews with Shaykh Abu Dale, 13 July 2007, Maputo, and Mr. Nasurullahi Intizane Dulá, 31 March 2008, Pemba city.

4. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 132). Shaykh Ramadhani was a renowned Qadiri khalifa (Arabic for the leader of a Sufi Order) of African origin, born in Zanzibar to Zigua parents from mainland Tanganyika. He received his ijaza (Arabic for ‘religious certificate’) from another Zanzibari Qadiri of African origin, Shaykh Abdallah Mjankeri ‘Abd al‐Khayr. Shaykh Abdallah Mjankeri was regarded as the successor of Shaykh ‘Uways, who spread the Qadiriyya into rural areas of Zanzibar and Pemba, attracting many Africans of slave and servile status. Shaykh Husayn Ramadhani had his own Qur’anic school and a Qadiriyya centre in Zanzibar since 1910 (see Issa 2006).

5. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 132).

6. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 134).

7. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 134).

8. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 138).

9. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 138).

10. SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 138). Barnabé Lucas Ncomo (2004, pp. 86–87) mentions that relationships between MANU and UDENAMO were not good because MANU had a very limited ethnic Makonde‐orientation.

11. Direcção dos Serviços dos Negócios Indígenas, Processo Administrativo No 4/1960, ‘Administração da Circunscrição de Memba, elementos extraídos destinam‐se ao Centro de Informação’;, IAN‐TT, SCCIM, Cx. 156, No 1071, 1960–61, Processo 2/9/10/9, ‘Atitudes Individuais Subversivas, Suspeitas ou Susceptíveis de Subversividade, Distrito de Moçambique’ (pp. 6–7).

12. Comando Territorial do Norte, Relatório I/172/61, 19 de Julho de 1961, in IAN‐TT, SCCIM, Cx. 60, No 418, Processos 02/11/1959‐28/10/1965 (p. 388).

13. Governador Basílio Pina de Oliveira ao SCCIM, Número do BI 3/62, 29 de Dezembro de 1962; Ivens‐Ferraz de Freitas ao Comando da Região Militar, 1 de Fevereiro de 1963, Lourenço Marques; António Enes, 29 de Janeiro de 1963, Secretário de Governador do Distrito de Moçambique, Nampula, No 11/SDI/63, in IAN‐TT, SCCIM, Cx. 60, No 418, Processos 02/11/1959‐28/10/1965 (pp. 327, 339–342). Distrito de Niassa, Vila Cabral, Agôsto 17, 1962, Chefe do Gabinete, João Maria Bento ao SCCIM; Nota No 985/61/GOV, de 22.12.1962, Governo de Cabo Delgado, extracto; Distrito de Quissanga, Posto‐Sede, ‘Fetichismo e subversividade’, in IAN‐TT, SCCIM, Cx. 221, No 1444, 1960–64, ‘Subversão política e social no Ultramar Africano’, Processo L/9, ‘Fetichismo e subversividade’ (pp. 44, 188, 210–212, 228).

14. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 138).

15. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, “Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (pp. 165–166).

16. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 166–167).

17. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 166–167).

18. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (pp. 170–171).

19. The Mueda Massacre happened on 16 June 1960 in Circumscription of the Makonde, when the colonial administration opened fire against the demonstration of African peasants against Portuguese colonialism, killing and subsequently arresting many of them (see Gentili 1993, Adam and Dyuti 1993, Borges Coelho 1993).

20. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (pp. 170–171).

21. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (pp. 177–179).

22. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (pp. 177–179).

23. IAN‐TT, SCCIM,, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (p. 153).

24. IAN‐TT, SCCIM, ‘Relatório das conversaç[otilde]es’ (pp. 162–163).

25. ‘Extracto de (BI) Boletim Informativo No 27/63, de 25/9/63, Palma’, IAN‐TT, SCCIM, Cx. 60, No 418, Processos 02/11/1959‐28/01/1965 (pp. 282–284).

26. Interviews with Shaykh Abu Dale, 13 July 2007, Maputo and Mr. Nasurullahi Intizane Dulá, 31 March 2008, Pemba city.

27. PIDE, Relatório de Informação No 146, Distrito de Cabo Delgado, 30Set/1966, Assunto: Actividades Terroristas; Montepuez, BI No 1/1966. de 1 de Julho de 1966; SCCIM, Governo‐Geral de Moçambique. 13 de Setembro de 1966, Relatório da Situação No 13, Distrito de Cabo Delgado No 4, período de 1 de Abril a 31de Julho de 1966. In IANT‐TT, SCCIM, Cx. 61, No 410, ‘Islamismo’ (pp. 268–273, 308–316, 359, 362–370, 385–386); Serviço de Acção Psicossocial, Comissão Distrital de Informação. 7 de Dezembro de 1964, Processo Ni 437/A/44, IAN‐TT, SCCIM, Cx. 60, No 418, H/9 ‘Islamismo’ (pp. 30–33); PIDE, Informação No 895‐SC.CI(2), 3/10/66, Assunto; Detecção de agitadores no Concelho de Montepuez, and PIDE, Informação No 902‐SX/CI(2), 7/10/66, Assunto: Islamismo como veículo da subversão não violenta, in Arquivos da PIDE/DGS, IAN‐TT, Processo 6037–CI (2), ‘Unitários ou Wahhabitas’.

28. ‘Relatório da PIDE, 14/9/66, Porto Amélia, No 590/66 – GAB, 27/9/66, Islamismo como veiculo da subversão não‐violenta’, and ‘Relatório da PIDE, 8/8/66, Porto Amélia, No 447–GAB’, IAN‐TT, SCCIM, Cx. 61, No 410 (pp. 359, 362–364).