Two items of interest...mosques are being banned in Moscow, and in the predominantly Christian south African country of Angola in an effort to curtail the spread of Islam.
In Moscow, the mayor, Sergei Sobyanin has banned the construction of any new mosques in the city beyond the four that already exist.
The mayor claims that the mosques are chiefly used by migrant workers from Central Asia who do not have residence permits, and that building more mosques would just increase their number.He claimed that between 60 and 70 percent of Muslim worshipers are migrants. "We cannot provide for all comers. I think it's not necessary," Sobyanin said.
There are 2 million legal Muslim residents in Moscow currently, and none of the four existing mosques can accommodate more than 10,000 people.So this is obviously an attempt to restrict th eamount of Muslims in Moscow and suppress the practice of Islam.
There is apparently one more mosque in the middle of construction, but Mayor Sobyanin made it clear that there will be no more."No new building permits will be issued. I think that's enough mosques for Moscow,” Sobyanin told Russian daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.
This is noteworthy considering the simmering tension between Muslims and non-Muslims in Russia, which has a 400-year-old history. Something like 70% of births among native Russians end in abortion, and th emain segment of the population that is growing is Muslim. The demographic changes have already led to violence between Muslim and non-Muslims in the military and ethnic clashes throughout Russia. Mayor Sobyanin would almost certainly justify his ban on mosques on those grounds.
In Angola, there's a different variation of the same thing going on. Angola is not only banning the construction of any mosques, it is demolishing the existing ones.
Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said Sunday "this is the final end of Islamic influence in our country."
Angola's ban was first announced last Friday, when Angolan Minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva said "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."
India Today reports Silva's statement was made at the 6th Commission of the Angolan National Assembly, and that the ban includes orders to demolish mosques in the country.
Silva reportedly said the ban was necessary since Islam is "contradictory to the customs of Angola culture."
Angola's population of 16 million is predominantly Christian, with only 80,000-90,000 Muslims, the majority of whom are migrants from West Africa and families of Lebanese origin, according to the US State Department.
The crackdown on Islam comes as Christians in the Middle East are being forced from Muslim countries.
This is obviously a de facto attempt to ban the organized practice of Islam in Angola. Given the violence that seems to be inherent in many countries once the percentage of Muslim residents reaches a certain percentage, it will be intersting to see whether this becomes a growing trend.
1 comment:
This actually goes further than what I've long advocated. I've simply advocated increased monitoring of Islamic groups and a moratorium on immigration on people from predominately Islamic countries. It makes little sense to invite people into your house who don't like you and wish to harm you. The same thing applies to a country as well.
With what I've long advocated for actual construction of mosques and peaceful activities by Islamic groups would not be curtailed. Of course Islamic groups would not receive preferential treatment which would probably cause them to howl with rage as they are currently receiving preferential treatment in America by both major political parties but I'm getting off topic.
I actually think the Russian approach is better than what I've suggested. While Russia does appear to have a problem with Islam, it is limited to the ability to destroy a few buildings, perhaps kill a few hundred people, and cause major challenges for the Russian people who are at risk of being killed, and a major inconvenience for the Russian government and this is a VERY bad situation no doubt.
The Islamists who are attacking America pose a far greater threat than the ones threatening Russia do. Essentially the Islamists threatening America have the potential to kill millions of our people, lay waste to major cities, and in general make our country all but unlivable in. Russia's challenges with Islam pale in comparison to those faced by America.
With all of this said, Russia's steps here are actually an encouraging development. Should America ever grow a spine and elect and or develop good leadership, we can now do the same. If we were to attempt such a thing as banning mosque construction right now, we would not doubt face crippling economic sanctions that would further devastate our economy. Since Russia has taken this step, we simply point out that what is good enough for Russia is good enough for us as well. It's going to make things harder for people to criticize and attack us.
As for Angola, while I'm not exactly familiar with their situation, it seems likely that it is similar to that faced by Russia. Eliminating existing mosques seems to be a good place for them or any civilized people to start. We should study their approach and see if it is something we can implement. If a country ever was justified in eliminating existing mosques and halting the construction of new ones, it would be the United States of America. Just hope and pray we get the right kind of leadership that can make this happen. Now that Russia has taken this step, it should make our task easier.
I would expect much criticism though. After all there is one set of standards for most nations of earth and there is another more stringent standard for America and Israel. That's just how things are right now. Until something is done to change the narrative about America and Israel both countries will likely remain universally despised.
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