Muslims in Swaziland / eSwatini have accused local
government councillors of being ‘xenophobic’ because they refused to allow a
mosque to be built in Matsapha, one of the kingdom’s major industrial towns.
They said councillors told them that they were of the
Christian faith and therefore they could not allow the mosque to be built.
This was stated during a commission of inquiry set up by
the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development into the affairs of Matsapha Town
Council.
Newspapers in Swaziland reported that the plan for a
mosque was made in 2017 and rejected. The Times of Swaziland reported, ‘They [the
Muslims] labelled the council as having a xenophobic attitude after it threw
out their application.’
The Swazi Observer reported, ‘The
community submitted that the councillors told them that
they were of the Christian faith, therefore, they cannot allow the construction
of that mosque.’
The Observer
added, ‘All they wanted from the Council was to be granted permission to build
the house of worship. They explained that the construction site or plot legally
belonged to them, they were not asking for land.’
The Observer
added other towns in Swaziland had allowed mosques to be built.
Muslims in Swaziland, who are almost all of Asian
heritage, have faced prejudice in the past.
In November 2016 the Observer on Saturday reported Swaziland’s Director
of Public Prosecutions Nkosinathi Maseko saying, ‘most nationals of Asian
origin were associated with terrorist activities’. It reported he told this to a parliamentary select
committee set up to investigate what the newspaper called an ‘influx of illegal
immigrants’ into the kingdom.
The newspaper reported Maseko had said, ‘it was public
information that most nationals of Asian origin were associated with terrorist
activities; and their continued entry illegally put the country and its
citizens at high risk of being a nucleus for terrorist activities.’
Maseko and the Observer
gave no evidence to support this.
In September 2016 it was reported undercover police
were infiltrating Muslim mosques to attend Friday prayers. The Times, reported that undercover police
were also suspected
of monitoring the Muslim community.
‘We do not understand the perception of the local
people regarding the Islamic religion,’ one source told the Times. He added that Muslims were
perceived as people who wanted to perpetuate violence.
At about the same time, the Muslim community in
Swaziland were under
attack by Christian leaders for distributing meat to needy people.
President of the League of Churches Bishop Simon Hlatjwako was among Christian
leaders who told people not to attend a special Muslim ceremony at which meat
was distributed. Hundreds of hungry people ignored the instruction.
The Imam of Ezulwini Islamic Centre, Feroz Ismail,
said guests had visited the kingdom from across Africa for a graduation and
Jasla Ceremony. The Times reported
him saying the guests, ‘were abused while in the country. They informed me that
they were terrorised by the police while visiting some tourist attraction areas
including the glass and candle factory.’
He said police demanded that the visitors produce
their passports and other documents required for visitors to be in the country.
The Times
reported Ismail saying, ‘They were ferried in police vehicles to their hotel
rooms as the officers demanded that they immediately produce documents which
proved that they were in the country legally.’
In 2017 the Swazi Government, which is not elected but
appointed by King Mswat III, who rules as an absolute monarch, announced
that Christianity would be the only religion to be taught in schools.
When the present Swaziland
Constitution which came into effect in 2006 was being drafted it was decided
not to insist that Swaziland was a Christian country. This was to encourage
freedom of religion.
According to the CIA World factbook
religion in Swaziland is broken down as Zionist (a blend of Christianity and
indigenous ancestral worship) 40 percent, Roman Catholic 20 percent, Muslim 10
percent, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30
percent.
See also
All
Asians banned from Swaziland
Asians
evicted from home
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