Angola 'Bans Islam', Dismantles Mosques, According To News Reports

[jsr]

Source: IBT

A number of news outlets have reported that Angola has "banned" Islam and started to dismantle mosques in a bold effort to stem the spread of Muslim extremism.

Weekly French-language Moroccan newspaper La Nouvelle Tribune published an article on Friday sourcing "several" Angolan officials, including the Southwest African nation's minister of culture, Rosa Cruz, who reportedly offered the following remarks, which have been translated from French: "The process of legalization of Islam has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Their mosques would be closed until further notice."

The media reports have not described why Islam would need to be legalized, considering its presence in the country for many years.

OnIslam.net reports that the African economic news agency Agence Ecofin wrote that Cruz made the statement at an appearance last week before the 6th Commission of the National Assembly. The website goes on to note that, "According to several Angolan newspapers, Angola has become the first country in the world to ban Islam and Muslims, taking first measures by destroying mosques in the country."

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/angola-bans-islam-dismantles-mosques-according-news-reports-1483660

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. I'm sure this is going to work out just swell.

[Grins]

4. Yup!

Hey! What could go wrong?

[AtheistCrusader]

2. Huh.

This seems like one of those solutions that is counter-productive to the desired end result.

[Berlin Expat]

3. Yeah, it worked

so well for the Roman Empire in their sporadic persecutions of the early Christians.

*headdesk*

[christx30]

10. When I read your comment,

I had a mental flash of the president of Angola becoming a Muslim.

[Bradical79]

5. Yeah...

While I'm a little surprised this hasn't happened sooner, I don't see how this actually solves anything. In fact it probably escalates the situation as you share the continent with a lot of Islamic extremists and have just painted a big red target on your country, not to mention probably turned some of your own native population into angry "freedom fighters".

[AtheistCrusader]

6. I can't think of a place/time it has worked, even for non-religious ideas.

[jessie04]

7. Disgusting.

They think by doing this they can avoid whats going on in Europe but they have a big surprise.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. That's really alarming

This is the final end of Islamic influence in our country. -- Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos

Final solution, eh?

[CJCRANE]

9. Is the IBT a reliable source? This could be a fake or exaggerated story.

The main language in Angola is Portuguese so if anyone knows Portuguese look for a story in that language.

[jsr]

11. Angolan Embassy denies ban:

http://www.ibtimes.com/angola-denies-it-banned-islam-destroyed-mosques-1484898

Angola became a hot topic in the international media over the weekend, as news outlets around the world wrote about reports that the Southwest African nation had banned Islam and had begun to dismantle mosques.

But an official at the Angolan Embassy in Washington, D.C., who did not want to be identified while discussing the sensitive matter, said that there is no such ban, and that the reports are erroneous.

“The Republic of Angola … it’s a country that does not interfere in religion,” the official said via telephone Monday afternoon. “We have a lot of religions there. It is freedom of religion. We have Catholic, Protestants, Baptists, Muslims and evangelical people.”

News of Angola’s supposed ban on Islam originated in the African press, which went so far as to quote the nation’s president and minister of culture offering statements that suggested the premise of the reports was accurate.

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. Who is right? The president and culture minister, or the ambassador?

[Posteritatis]

13. That sounds incredibly made-up. (nt)

[Enrique]

14. the government has begun destroying mosques

but no pictures of any such action, nor any witnesses to any such action, nor any mention of any attempt to find such witnesses. This makes me think it's not happening.

[madeline_con]

15. Angola government denies it tried to ban Islam

http://www.news.com.au/world/angola-government-denies-it-tried-to-ban-islam/story-fndir2ev-1226768582895


FWIW