Islamic Insurgency in Northern Mozambique and its Regional Implications

About the lecture: Mozambique is facing Islamic insurgency partly due to social, political, and economic factors. Instead of addressing these underlying issues of the conflict, the Mozambique government has exacerbated it by the heavy-handed security response. Has the government mishandled or miscalculated the threats posed by these Islamic insurgents groups in northern Mozambique? What role can the US policy play in aiding Mozambique so that this doesn’t spill over to other regions? About the moderator: Professor Hashem Mekki, MA, has taught Arabic Language, Culture & Middle East Media at IWP since 2012. He is the owner of Bridge Language Solutions, providing an array of language translation, interpretation and teaching services to the Washington DC metropolitan area, and the founder of Kele Global, a nonprofit organization that promotes education, health, and economic empowerment in Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan. Mr. Mekki volunteers with the IWP Center for Human Rights and International Affairs by providing Arabic translations & strategic cultural perspectives on North Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Mekki previously worked with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and served on the board of Voices of Sudan, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. About the panelist: Martina Perino is the Program Manager for the Great Lakes and Southern Africa at the International Republican Institute. Originally from Mozambique and Italy, she has 10 years of democracy and governance experience in Mozambique, DR Congo, Zambia, and Kosovo. In Zambia, she was the Governance and Social sectors Program Manager at the European Union Delegation. There Ms. Perino designed and managed the electoral support project, an Access to Justice project and worked closely with local CSOs and other donors or human rights issues and local governance. In 2017 she joined USAID/Kosovo as the Democracy and Governance Strategic Planning Specialist where, among other tasks, she designed several projects including a local governa