Pray for Mozambique

The beautiful tropical country lying on the coast between Tanzania and South Africa is Mozambique. After centuries under Portuguese colonial rule, Mozambique achieved independence in 1975 but fell into a long civil war, which finally ended in the early 1990s.

The northern half of Mozambique is courted by foreign Islamic groups. Islam arrived in the area in the 12th century through Arab traders and has influenced the population of the northern coastal strip ever since, as can be seen in the use of Arabic phrases in various local languages. But it is mixed with traditional religion too. In many cases, the leader of a mosque and the local witchdoctor are one and the same person.

Most of the locals in northern Mozambique live in fishing villages, where they have fished and hunted for generations. Diseases of poverty – malaria, cholera, and malnutrition – are the main reasons for a high death rate, especially among children.

Read: Muslims celebrate Ramadan amongst violence

But since 2017, the northern province of Cabo Delgado has also been terrorised by armed groups of Islamist extremists. Several thousand have been killed and a million others have been displaced by violence caused by the group known as Al Shabab (“the youth”) because of their strategy of forcefully enlisting young people and children.

Half of the population of Mozambique are Christian, and many believers are choosing to stay in the troubled north to serve their communities, despite the danger.

How to Pray

• Pray for the small, but growing, number of Muslim Background Believers (MBBS) among the Muslim communities in Mozambique. May they grow strong and be bold in sharing their faith.
• Pray for traumatized children and refugee families from Cabo Delgado who have witnessed horrors from attacks by Al Shabab. (Psalm 23:1-6)
• Pray for extremists, who have political and religious motives, to be subdued, to repent and work to restore their nation. (2 Peter 3:9)
• Pray for Christians in Northern Mozambique, including MBBs, to be protected, and to be a light in the darkness.(John 1:4-5)