LUANDA
Angola's
government on Tuesday denied it had banned Islam and close mosques in
the country, after speculation that sparked outrage among Muslims
worldwide.
"There is no war in Angola against Islam or
any other religion," said Manuel Fernando, director of the National
Institute for Religious Affairs, part of the ministry of culture
"There
is no official position that targets the destruction or closure of
places of worship, whichever they are," Fernando told AFP.
Reports
that Angola, a traditionally devout Catholic nation, would crack down
on Muslims had drawn condemnation from the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation and others.
In Egypt, mufti Shawqi Allam
said such a move would be "a provocation not only to Angolan Muslims but
to more than 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world".
The oil-rich southern African nation has a population of about 18 million people, several hundred thousand of whom are Muslim.
Religious organisations are required to apply for accreditation in Angola, which currently recognises 83, all of them Christian.
In October the justice ministry rejected the applications of 194 organisations, including one from the Islamic community.
David
Ja, a spokesman for local Muslims, challenged the government's account
and said that a number of mosques had already been closed.
Ja condemned what he described as "political persecution" and "religious intolerance."
"A
mosque was closed last week in Huambo (in the south) and we have been
subjected to pressure this week regarding a mosque in Luanda," he said.
According
to the ministry of culture these closures were related to a lack of
necessary land titles, building licenses or other official documents
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