Maputo, Mozambique - A controversy over how to respond to the publishing by a local newspaper of the controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, has highlighted differences within Mozambique's Muslim community.
The independent weekly Savana last month reprinted 8 of the 12 cartoons that first appeared in the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten last year. Most Muslims in Mozambique were united in their outrage, with spontaneous protest occuring outide the newspaper's offices, but the community has been divided over what action to take subsequently.
Last Saturday, over 2,000 Muslims staged a peaceful and orderly march through the heart of the capital, Maputo. "We didn't force people to come, they just came on their own," said Sheikh Cassimo David, a member of the Islamic Council of Mozambique.
However, while some Muslims feel the apology made by Savana over publishing the cartoons was sufficient, others are insisting there should be a boycott of the paper until Savana's director, Kok Nam, and its editor, Fernando Goncalves, are dismissed.
"We traditionally have a good relationship with Savana, so we're trying to sort this out together," said Sheikh Cassimo. "There may be people who want to put fuel on the fire. But we're religious, and human too, so we can forgive them [Savana]. Soon we will be publicising our conclusions on what we will do."
Most analysts acknowledge Muslims are influential members of Mozambican society, accounting for far more than the 18 percent of the 18 million population identified in the last census. The majority live in the northern provinces of Nampula, Zambezia and Cabo Delgado, but there has also been a more recent influx of Muslims from south Asia, who dominate the retail trade in Maputo.
A Western diplomat, who asked not to be named, said he was concerned a less tolerant form of Islam was seeping into society.
He said there was a notable presence of young, wealthy Muslims from the Asian subcontinent in the demonstration outside the Savana offices, which degenerated into sporadic scuffles and some chants for violent action.
Sheikh Cassimo disagreed. "Those Muslims who have come in from outside don't decide [things] here. It is the Mozambican Muslims in the country that decide the issues. Those that react radically around the world, it is because they have a lot of pressure in their own countries - Mozambique's situation is different."
He also dismissed any division based on wealth, as "the rich can't decide without the poor in religious matters. There is no split, there is unity among us."
However, Bayano Valy, a Mozambican journalist and a Muslim, said over the past decade "there has been underlying racial divisions between the rich people of Asian descent who appear to be talking on behalf of the African Muslims".
He alleged that "The debate on whether to accept Savana's apology is being hijacked by radical elements, and the moderate voice is not being given the opportunity to express itself." Valy noted that traditionally, Mozambican Muslims had followed a liberal school of thought.
Mikail Neto, a self-proclaimed fundamentalist, agreed the cartoon controversy had opened "a distinct rift in terms of strategy. Islam now has to find its place in the national dialogue, but there is a difference in opinion regarding the correct direction for Islam to take".
"It doesn't mean that the differences of opinion are irreconcilable, but it does require a lot of transparency and clarity of vision on the part of the leadership," he said.
Neto, a European-born African Muslim, said that in Mozambique, "the traditionalists, the older generation, want a more discrete Islam, but we the younger generation want civil society to give more access to Muslims, and to recognise our identity".