By Abdulrahman Abdulghani<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mozambique\u2019s story is a stark reminder that when Muslims lose control of their institutions, they risk losing the next generation with them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mozambique presents one of the most important \u2014 and least discussed \u2014 stories of religious transformation in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Islam has deep roots in the country, particularly across its northern and coastal regions, where historians note that Muslims once constituted as much as 90% of the population in some areas. Today, however, Muslims officially make up around 18.9% of Mozambique\u2019s population, according to the 2017 census \u2014 a figure disputed by Muslim organisations, which estimate the true proportion to be considerably higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what explains this shift?<\/p>\n\n\n\n My recent visit to Mozambique offered a revealing glimpse into some of the factors behind the decline of Muslim influence and the gradual erosion of Islamic identity within certain communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the areas we visited, we encountered schools, hospitals and other institutions historically established or heavily influenced by Christian missions. This is not to suggest that every such institution is deliberately seeking to convert Muslims. The deeper issue is the power of institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When one community exercises greater influence over schools, scholarships, professional opportunities and social infrastructure, it naturally gains greater influence over the minds, aspirations and futures of the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n History shows that this imbalance was not accidental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Portuguese colonial rule, Islamic education increasingly came to be viewed as an obstacle to the wider colonial project of assimilation. Quranic schools faced restrictions, while Catholic missions became a primary vehicle for educating Africans. The 1940 Missionary Accord between Portugal and the Vatican further entrenched the Catholic Church\u2019s role in education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The consequences were profound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Muslim parents were often confronted with a painful choice: keep their children within limited educational opportunities in an effort to protect their deen, or send them to better-resourced institutions where, over time, their Islamic identity could be weakened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Education, after all, is not simply about acquiring qualifications. It shapes a person\u2019s environment, aspirations, friendships, worldview and, ultimately, identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We encountered a powerful illustration of this in Beira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mauricio Rabbisone is one of five brothers born to Muslim parents. His father was a Sheikh, while his mother was a devout Muslim woman who passed away three years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mauricio was educated through the Catholic Church and later completed a Master\u2019s degree in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He now teaches philosophy in Beira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His eldest brother was also educated through the Church and eventually became a Catholic priest. The opportunities that accompanied his education enabled him to attain a considerably higher standard of living, and he later brought his four younger brothers to live with him in a home far better than the one in which they had grown up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over time, that new environment had a profound effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The family gradually moved away from the faith in which they had been raised. Today, all five brothers, along with their children, are Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mauricio\u2019s experience is not presented as statistically representative of Mozambique, but as one of several family histories we encountered. It illustrates a wider phenomenon that deserves serious attention: religious change does not always occur through direct confrontation or explicit proselytisation. Sometimes, it follows the pathways of education, social mobility and institutional belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question of Muslim education in Mozambique, therefore, is not simply about schooling. It is about religious continuity, communal development and the ability of Muslims to shape their own future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is another concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where Christian institutions are more visible in providing schools, scholarships, healthcare, accommodation and professional opportunities, Muslim communities can remain comparatively disadvantaged in education and income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over time, an unfortunate association can emerge: Christianity becomes associated with opportunity and upward mobility, while Islam becomes associated with poverty and limited prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That perception may have little to do with the teachings of either faith, but perceptions can nevertheless shape the choices and aspirations of young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Muslim response, therefore, cannot be confined to lectures, debates, pamphlets and printed literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Muslims must invest in schools, scholarships, universities, healthcare, vocational training and professional development. Muslim children should be able to pursue excellence in every field while remaining firmly rooted in their deen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer is to build institutions of excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These wider social and economic realities also have consequences beyond religious identity. Poverty, limited access to education, unemployment, marginalisation and the absence of meaningful opportunities have created fertile ground for frustration and instability, particularly in Cabo Delgado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The insurgency that began there in 2017 did not emerge in a vacuum. Years of political and economic marginalisation, deprivation and limited opportunities helped create an environment in which resentment could deepen and armed groups could gain a foothold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When communities are persistently excluded from development and denied a realistic pathway towards a better future, the consequences can be severe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mozambique\u2019s Muslims have endured colonial rule, war, political upheaval and periods of intense institutional pressure. Yet Islam remains deeply rooted in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story is not over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we are serious about preserving the deen for future generations, we must recognise that religious continuity is shaped not only in the mosque, but also in the classroom, at university, in hospitals, through scholarships, in the workplace and within the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lesson from Mozambique is straightforward: if we want future generations to remain Muslim, we must build institutions capable of educating, supporting and empowering them as Muslims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Abdulrahman Abdulghani Mozambique\u2019s story is a stark reminder that when Muslims lose control of their institutions, they risk losing the next generation with them. Mozambique presents one of the most important \u2014 and least discussed \u2014 stories of religious transformation in Africa. Islam has deep roots in the country, particularly across its northern and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,205],"tags":[519,489,840,44,607,405,455],"class_list":["post-8730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","category-trending","tag-1-nation-media","tag-dawah","tag-education","tag-islam","tag-mozambique","tag-one-nation-media","tag-onm"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t