By Best Masinire
The Sub-Saharan African country of Angola has taken a pre-emptive action and decided to ban the Muslim religion, which they consider a cult, not a religion.
The authorities in the country say they see what Muslims are doing to non-Muslims, especially in Africa, and are taking steps to prevent the same from happening in Angola.
“Regarding Islam, the legalisation process has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Therefore all mosques would be closed until further notice, “said Angola`s Minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva.
The Angolan government has since made closing of all mosques a priority and the only two mosques located in Luanda have already received a warning document signed by the mayor of the municipality of Viana José Moreno.
The provincial governor of Luanda, Bento Bento, said on the airwaves of a local radio that “Radical Muslims are not welcome in Angola and the Angolan government is not ready for the legalization of mosques.”
Minister Silva also explained that the law on freedom of religion will be reviewed given the current national context, noting that his Government will redouble its efforts to fight relentlessly against religious cults like Islam which are contrary to the customs of Angolan culture.
This decisive action taken by the Angolan head of state is based on a desire to guard against the rise of the Wahhabi ideology that has created havoc, death and destruction in Africa and elsewhere.
The banishment comes barely a month ago when the Muslims living in Luanda in the municipality of Viana Zango`s minaret of their mosque dismantled into pieces on the ground without permission.
On Thursday 03 October in the morning, the Angolan authorities decided to destroy the mosque Zango located in the urban district of Viana 17 km.
95% of Angola’s population is Christian. A quarter belongs to Protestant churches founded during the colonial period, including Congregational evangelical church.
According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2008, Islam in Angola is a minority religion with 80,000 – 90,000 adherents, composed largely of migrants from West Africa and families of Lebanese origin.
The Muslims comprise between 2.5 to 3 percent of Angola’s overall population of 17 million people, most of them Christians.
In the last decade, but especially during the last few years the Muslim community in Angola has grown appreciably and Islamic activities have become more common in major cities.
Mosques have sprung up in a number of places and Qur’anic schools have been built to provide Islamic instructions and teach Arabic language to adherents.
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