No religious intolerance in Mozambique, says Macamo

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No religious intolerance in Mozambique, says Macamo

3:12 CAT | 03 Aug 2020

Veonca Macamo in Nampula, at the launch of Sustenta program in the province. [Photo: Ministério da Agriculture e Desenvlvimento Rural]

There are no problems of religious intolerance in Mozambique, and the violent attacks in the northern province of Cabo Delgado are not a religious question at all, but acts of terrorism, declared Foreign Minister Veronica Macamo, on Friday.

Speaking in the northern city of Nampula, at a meeting with cooperation partners and national and international NGOs who work in Nampula province, Macamo declared “Mozambique is under attack, and terrorist attacks are claiming victims. Using arguments about religion to justify terrorism makes no sense”.

An Islamic fundamentalist group, known locally as “Al Shabaab” (but with no clear connection to the Somali group of that name), has been launching murderous raids in some of the northern districts of Cabo Delgado since October 2017. The group also uses the name Ansar al-Sunna, and claims that mainstream Mozambican Islam has betrayed the teachings of the prophet Mohammed.

The group has now become part of the international terrorist network known as Islamic State (or ISIS), and Islamic State publications have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks in Cabo Delgado.

“What is happening in Cabo Delgado is simply terrorism. It is killing and destroying”, said Macamo. “In this country, we don’t have any problem of religious intolerance. All citizens are free to practice whatever religion they choose”.

The Mozambican Constitution is clear, stressed Macamo. It defines the Mozambican state as a lay state, which does not prioritise any one religion above others.

The violent attacks in Cabo Delgado “are terrorist acts, and we cannot say they have anything to do with any religion”, she insisted.

Currently, 52 NGOs are working in Nampula plus various United Nations agencies. Macamo asked them to help the government to provide assistance to displaced people, who have fled into Nampula to escape the terrorism in Cabo Delgado. An estimated 10,150 displaced people are currently taking shelter in Nampula.

Governador e Secretário de Estado de Nampula, apresentam a Verónica Macamo a linha de comboio de Cuamba à Nampula:https://t.co/YK0Ju29dp7 #Mozambique #Nyusi @FRELIMO_ pic.twitter.com/2tKZEyQSVe

— Nachingwea Frelimo (@NFrelimo) August 3, 2020