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1.
Islam
in Mozambique
[By
WIKIPEDIA
]
Islam in Mozambique is the religion of approximately four million
Mozambicans, or about 17.8% to 20% of the total population. This figure is
disputed by some Muslim clerics, who say Islam is practiced by a much larger
number of people. The vast majority of Mozambican Muslims are Sunni,
although some Ismaili Muslims are also registered. The Muslims consists
primarily of indigenous Mozambicans, citizens of South Asian(Indian and
Pakistani) descent,and a very small number of North African and Middle
Eastern immigrants.
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The Taqwa mosque in
Maputo. |
2.
Mozambican
Mosques Battle AIDS
[By
IslamOnline(IOL)]
Alarmed by the high HIV/AIDS infection in the
southern African country, mosques in Mozambique are championing an undaunted
campaign against the killer epidemic and managed to curb its spiraling rates
in the predominantly Muslim north.
Official estimates indicate that some 50
percent of Mozambique's 19 million people are HIV positive, while
international figures put the percentage at only 16.
On Friday, Sebai delivered a fiery sermon on
AIDS, exhorting Muslims to shield themselves against it through religion.
"Islam calls for modesty and chastity among
all Muslims, married or unmarried, and strictly prohibited adultery," he
told the faithful through an Arabic-Portuguese interpreter.
After the prayers, Muslim youths started
handing out glossy anti-AIDS leaflets in Portuguese, Mozambique’s official
language.
Muslims make up 50 per cent of Mozambique’s 17
million people in the former Portuguese colony.
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3. International Religious Freedom Report
[2003
(U.S DEPARTMENT of STATE)]
The country has a total area of 308,642 square miles, and its population is
approximately 17 million. According to the National Institute of Statistics,
half of the population does not profess to practice a religion or creed;
however, scholars at local universities assert that virtually all persons
recognize or practice some form of traditional indigenous religion. Of
the approximately 8 million persons who profess a recognized religion, 24
percent are Roman Catholic, 22 percent are Protestant, and 20 percent are
Muslim. Many Muslim clerics
disagree with this statistic, claiming that Islam is the country's majority
religion
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