Islam and Chiefship in Northern Mozambique

Abstract

Muslim leadership of Northern Mozambique historically has incorporated Islamic authority and chiefship at once. Throughout the colonial period, Muslim chiefs defended their version of Islam against non-local conceptions of Islam, such as Sufism and Wahhabism. After independence the links between chiefship and Islam in northern Mozambique became less visible. This resulted primarily from the policies of the post-colonial government, which saw African chiefship and Islam as two separate spheres. Islam was viewed as an “organized faith” similar to Christianity, while chiefship was understood to represent African “traditional authority.”