Commentary - Rise of Terrorism in Mozambique: First Islamist Attack Shock the Region

"Mozambique has significant Muslim population mostly concentrated along the northern coast, ranging from somewhere between an official eighteen percent of the total population to the unofficial figure of thirty percent. What could have motivated the local Al-Shabaab to launch these concerted attacks remains hazy till date. At the time of rule of FRELIMO in the Marxism-Leninist phase the Muslim faith was originally discouraged. In the early years of the 1990’s, with a shift to multi-party democracy, there was a change in the policy where all faiths were tolerated. Questions over the kind of education and various other issues although existed at that time. Like the Boko Haram in Nigeria, the local Al-Shabaab also rejects western style of education, particularly to boys and girls being taught in the same classroom. For FRELIMO, on the other hand, boys and girls should be taught together. "