Mozambique: 13 Islamic organisations protest to Frelimo

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Mozambique: 13 Islamic organisations protest to Frelimo

6:52 CAT | 14 Sep 2018

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A group of 13 Mozambican Islamic organisations has written to the ruling Frelimo Party in protest against a remark by the Frelimo General Secretary, Roque Silva, which seemed to compare President Filipe Nyusi with God.

Speaking in the central city of Quelimane a fortnight ago, Silva declared “this country is being led by a great man, a great man who can only be compared with God or with Allah. This man is called Filipe Jacinto Nyusi”.

According to a report in Friday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”, the 13 islamic organisations said they had heard Silva’s words “with surprise, stupefaction and manifest displeasure”.

Silva’s words were even more serious, they said, because they were said in an election context by somebody with very senior responsibilities.

The writers of the letter recognised the leadership qualities of Nyusi and hoped that Silva’s declaration only reflected a “personal” viewpoint. They described his statement as a “gratuitous expression of the personality cult which is absolutely unacceptable in democratic societies such as Mozambique”.

They believed that Silva had offended the religious sensitivities of Mozambicans, and urged him to have the courage to retract his words. Such a retraction could limit the damage that his statement had done to Frelimo.

Among those who signed the letter are the Islamic Community of Mozambique (CIMO), the Moslem Association of Mozambique, the Jamait Ulama (Council of Theologians), and various provincial Islamic bodies.

But the Islamic Council of Mozambique, often regarded as the largest and most significant Islamic body in the country, did not sign the letter. Its president, Sheik Sheikh Aminuddin Mohamad, told “Mediafax” the Council did not sign because it had already met with Roque Silva “who expressed his regret and his ignorance about divine concepts”.

“Since he recognised this, we thought it irrelevant to sign the letter”, he said.

Source: AIM