US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO1236

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001236 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR R, P, AF/S - HTREGER AND AF/PD - LMING 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2015 
TAGS: EAID, KDEM, KPAO, PHUM, PREL, KMPI, Islam 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: COMBATING EXTREMISM 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 159129 
B. MAPUTO 836 
C. MAPUTO 1045 
D. MAPUTO 1112 
E. MAPUTO 1160 
Classified By: AMB LA LIME. REASONS: 1.4(B) AND (D) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY. Mozambique presents unique opportunities in 
the Global War on Terrorism, as its significant 
Muslim-minority community remains moderate and open to 
cooperation, discussion and exchange with the U.S. and 
Mission elements. In the past year, Post has successfully 
expanded its outreach efforts, focusing on (a) initiating a 
dialogue and establishing relationships within the Islamic 
community and (b) sharing and explaining American values and 
messages. END SUMMARY. 
 
RELIGIOUS OUTREACH WORKING GROUP 
2. (U) In October 2004, the Ambassador established an 
interagency Religious Outreach Working Group chaired by the 
Public Diplomacy Officer and including elements from across 
the Mission, most notably a cadre of Muslim locally employed 
staff (LES). The group was charged with organizing the 
first-ever Iftar at the Ambassador's residence. Teams from 
the group, including at least on American and one LES, met 
personally with each of the invitees prior to the event so 
that the effort could be put into an appropriate contextual 
framework and personal relationships could be established. 
The group also coordinated the delivery of gift baskets to 
ten mosques in poorer neighborhoods as a "zakat" offering 
from the Embassy. As the results described below indicate, 
Post's Ramadan initiatives have had tremendous success at 
establishing relationships between the Islamic and American 
communities in Mozambique. The country's leading Imam, Sheik 
Aminudin Mohamed, gave impromptu remarks at the Iftar 
thanking the Ambassador for the initiative and her steps to 
build a bridge between the two communities. 
 
MISSION SPEAKERS INITIATIVE 
3. (U) The Ambassador's Mission Speakers Initiative (MSI) 
sends teams of Mission personnel to speak at area secondary 
schools. During the past year, it has directly reached over 
1,000 high school students at 12 high schools. Several 
months after the Iftar, as part of the MSI, the Ambassador 
and PAO, accompanied by an American Muslim, visited the Hamza 
Institute, an Islamic school run by Sheik Mohamed. Prior to 
the Iftar, Post had been unable to schedule a speaking 
program at an Islamic school. The Ambassador fielded 
questions from Islamic students on the entire gamut of 
American foreign policy. Both the Ambassador and the PAO 
appeared on Islamic radio immediately after the event. The 
presence of an American Muslim at the event helped connect 
with the students. 
 
INTERNATIONAL VISITOR PROGRAM 
4. (U) Three International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) 
nominees were identified from the Ramadan outreach efforts, 
including a prominent Muslim journalist and two leading 
Imams. After one of the Imam's return from his program 
entitled "Religion and the Community," he agreed to appear on 
local Islamic radio with the PAO to answer questions about 
America. He then agreed to speak about Islam in America at a 
roundtable hosted by the Public Affairs Section. The direct 
audience of forty included several influential Muslims as 
well as young Muslim scholars, and the presentation was 
broadcast live by Islamic radio, reaching perhaps an audience 
of 15,000. The Imam's presentation was a hit. He spoke 
warmly and openly about his program, underscoring that he 
witnessed a highly religious nation, pluralistic and 
respectful of faiths, regardless of tradition or practice. 
He was impressed by Americans' rights of freedom of speak and 
expression, commenting on protests he saw against President 
Bush and the Iraq conflict. In addition to the radio 
broadcast, the Imam's program received coverage in several 
publications. It also prompted a three-page analysis of 
Islam and the West in an influential weekly. 
5. (U) The IVLP also demonstrated its long-term success when 
IVLP alumnus and Muslim journalist Jafar Buana wrote an op-ed 
in the Nampula-based weekly Lurio entitled "Is America to 
Blame for Everything?" The fact that much of Mozambique's 
Muslim population lives in the Nampula area magnifies the 
importance of this article. In it, Buana chided both his 
readers and civic leaders around the world for blaming 
America for all the world's ills, arguing that "America 
extends its hand to us in almost every way." 
 
ENGLISH ACCESS MICROSCHOLARSHIPS 
6. (U) Post has launched its English Access Microscholarship 
Program in Nampula, which is situated in the predominately 
Muslim northern reaches of Mozambique and is the country's 
third largest city and a center for commerce and industry. 
The program is key to expanding the Muslim outreach efforts 
across Mozambique, as great care was taken to include an 
American element in the program. The classes will be taught 
by an American and use American educational materials and 
include visits to the American Corner at Mussa Bin Bique 
University. Post anticipates that this program will grow 
quickly from its current allotment of sixteen students and be 
a primary vehicle for exchange in the underserved North of 
Mozambique. 
 
EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS 
7. (U) Although USAID is not directly targeting the Muslim 
community, Mozambican Muslims are likely beneficiaries of all 
USAID programs. These include projects to increase rural 
incomes and labor-intensive exports, to improve the quality 
and accessibility of basic health care, and to strengthen 
governance at the municipal level. USAID is also filling a 
key role along with other USG agencies in the President's 
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to reduce the prevalence of 
HIV/AIDS and care for persons infected and affected by 
HIV/AIDS. USAID's activities are implemented primarily in 
central and northern Mozambique, examples of which include: 
the delivery of business development services (e.g., training 
in marketing and management) to farmers' associations and 
rural enterprises; expansion of the tertiary road network 
throughout the Nacala corridor; the promotion of tourism in 
three provinces - Cabo Delgado, Niassa, and Nampula; work at 
the community and district level to increase access to and 
demand for proven and effective primary health care services, 
including child survival and reproductive health; and 
building good democratic governance at the municipal level by 
strengthening the capacity of local administration, improving 
transparency in municipal operations, and creating 
opportunities for citizens to participate in local 
decision-making and community management. At the national 
level, USAID is implementing anti-corruption activities with 
the GRM's Anti-Corruption Unit and a prominent Mozambican 
NGO, as well as policy reform efforts in all sectors 
including reforms to improve the business environment. USAID 
is also offering to all qualified Mozambicans a limited 
number of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study 
in Mozambique, the U.S. and third countries. 
 
GRM ACTIVITIES AND ACTION 
7. (U) Due to limited institutional capacity and its lack of 
perceiving a threat from Islamic extremists, the GRM has done 
little to combat extremism but remains open to cooperation in 
connection with USG programs. 
 
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE ENGAGEMENT 
8. (U) Post's Religious Outreach Working Group is already 
planning to expand this year's Ramadan efforts. Other 
officers at Post have volunteered to host Iftars, permitting 
this direct outreach event to reach dozens of other prominent 
figures in the Mozambican Muslim community. Post is also 
exploring the option of hosting an Iftar in the Northern 
parts of the country, where outreach is difficult due to 
resource constraints. The Public Affairs Section will also 
host Ramadan outreach events, including an additional 
roundtable by an IVLP alumnus and inviting a local Imam to 
give a lecture on "Islam in Mozambique" to an American 
audience. By reversing roles and inviting the Islamic 
community to teach the American community, Post hopes to 
strengthen already expanding ties between the two. 
 
9. (C) COMMENT. Post has achieved great successes through 
its Religious Outreach Working Group but has also encountered 
some difficulties. These include: lack of sufficient human 
and financial resources to do meaningful outreach upcountry; 
lack of resources and mechanisms to take full advantage of 
opportunities that arise to support targeted groups with 
grants or other outreach; and lack of Portuguese language 
IVLP projects. Post anticipates that with increased 
programmatic and human resources, it would be able to 
substantially increase its outreach activities. END COMMENT. 
La Lime