Indonesian mosque blocked to ‘radical’ Muslims.
The largest mosque on the Indonesian island of Java has been blocked by local people who fear that radical Islamic militants including radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir have been using it to promote their teachings.
Indonesian media said that people in the city of Surabaya have blocked the entrance to the Al Ihsan Sabililla mosque for three days before agreeing to reopen it.
Bashir, one of the key leaders of the Al-Qaeda linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, is among those who have visited the mosque recently and gave several sermons
The ‘no pagans’ rule is being strongly enforced.
Conrad Barwa 3:20 am on June 25, 2009 Permalink |
Actually, I do have a question here in my ignorance – do Shia and Sunni Muslims have any restrictions on what denomination of Muslims can worship at their mosques? I haven’t heard of anything like this but my knowledge approaches close to zero here.
Len 3:42 am on June 25, 2009 Permalink |
Besides the strange glares you’ll get because of the differences in prayer style…not really AFAIK.
johnpi 5:27 am on June 25, 2009 Permalink |
It varies. A nearby city to me only has one large Sunni mosque, but they have welcomed Shi’ites to come in for Friday prayers (the Sunni community seems to have had a lot more money in the US than the Shia community to do things like build mosques and schools). But at a small Islamic school near me that holds Friday prayers open to the public, I’ve never seen anyone other than a Sunni.
bingregory 7:07 am on June 25, 2009 Permalink |
Of course the largest masjid in the US is a Shia mosque.. I think the issue is more one of population to support a mosque, not the money on a per capita basis.
johnpi 10:59 am on June 25, 2009 Permalink |
That’s a good point. Where is that mosque? Also, does anyone have a breakdown of Shias vs Sunnis in the US?
abunoor 1:53 pm on June 25, 2009 Permalink |
Dearborn. And apparently the largest mosque in Canada is an Ahmadi mosque in Calgary. Both of these were opened in the last five years.
I have never seen a breakdown of Shi’a vs. Sunni population in the U.S.