Homosexuals Observed Jumat Prayer In South Africa New Mosque

Tag Hargey

Against a global background of rising Islamist militancy, A new mosque in South Africa has opened its doors to Christians and even gay people. Women are also treated equally to men. Although there were threats of violence to the opening of the unconventional mosque, it however opened peacefully in Cape Town on Friday, with the first Juma’ah prayers at the ‘Open Mosque’ drawing more media crews than worshippers or protesters.

The mosque was launched by Muslim academic Taj Hargey, the South African-born director of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford. Police were on hand in case of trouble outside the newly-painted green mosque, a former panel beating workshop sandwiched between two similar motor vehicle repair operations on a backstreet in the Wynberg suburb. A handful of protesters told AFP they were waiting for reinforcements and would “stop this thing, no matter what”.

The Friday prayers however went ahead largely unhindered apart from the occasional protester’s cry of “You will go to hell”. Hargey has described his mosque as a “religious revolution” following on from the political revolution led by late former president Nelson Mandela when democracy replaced apartheid rule in South Africa in 1994. In his sermon Hargey condemned the increasing hatred in the world between Muslims and Christians.

He blamed this on “warped theology” from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan which he said gave rise to “fanatical” groups like the Islamic State organisation, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Boko Haram in Nigeria. He said “contaminated Saudi money” was used to promote “toxic and intolerant manifestations of Islam”. Hargey told reporters outside the mosque earlier that he had been subjected to physical and psychological threats since he announced his plans.

“There’s been threats about castrating me, beheading me, hanging me upside down. But South Africa has the most liberal constitution in the world — they cannot stop us opening today.” Asked about his qualifications as a religious leader he said: “I have a PhD in Islamic studies from Oxford University, unlike my opponents who went to some donkey college in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia.” Hargey is not new to Islamic controversy  in Britain he has launched a campaign to ban the burka. Burka is a one-piece veil that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.