Understanding the religiously motivated violence in Cabo Delgado , Northern Mozambique

Abstract

Since October 2017, an Islamic insurgency has spread extreme suffering across the predominantly Muslim province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique. More than 2,000 people have been killed, hundreds of villages have been burned, farms have been destroyed, and nine municipalities have been controlled by Muslim extremists. The severe violence is the result of various factors in northern Mozambique and neighbouring Tanzania, including a wealth of natural resources, illicit trade, widespread government corruption, and the skill of the extremist movement in disseminating and promoting its ideology. This article examines the characteristics of the people of northern Mozambique, who is behind the killings, why they are doing it, and the impact on Christianity in the region.