S. Africa's 'Open Mosque' marks Christmas

By Anturi Tofa

CAPE TOWN

 Four days to Christmas, South Africa's controversial "Open Mosque" organized a special Christmas celebration attended by approximately 40 persons, mostly Christians.

"We are serving society tonight," Open Mosque founder Taj Hargey, said, adding that the event marked the "first Christmas celebration held in a mosque."

Meals were served at tables set along the side of the mosque that physically resembled a storage area.

Addressing the gathering, Hargey asserted his belief that the hadith – the sayings of Prophet Muhammad – were unnecessary.

He stated that one must simply "accept a sovereign creator who can be called by any name" in order to be considered a believer and find acceptance in his "Open Mosque."

Hargey also criticized South Africa's Muslim community.

"Muslims fail to do good deeds and good works…a group is special not just because they are part of the Islamic ethos," he said.

The call to Maghrib (evening) prayers was given by the Malawian caretaker and a total of nine Muslims stood in the same line and performed prayers.

No headscarves were worn by the women during the prayer as the "Open Mosque" views the hijab as a means of oppressing women.

Christian onlookers carried on with the social event as the nine Muslims performed their prayers.

Pastor Roux Malan of the Unitarian Church spoke to the congregation about "generosity" being the key to reconciling the two faiths.

Hargey then introduced Anthea Abrahams to sing the Christmas carol "O Come All Ye Faithful," going on to proudly proclaim that this was "the first time a Christmas carol is sung in a mosque."

He announced that Christmas would become an annual celebration at the "Open Mosque."

There were no protests against the event.

Controversial

The "Open Mosque" was built three months ago by Derek Hanslo, Hargey's childhood friend, who also manages it.

The land on which it sits had been previously used by auto mechanics.

The "Open Mosque" now draws into its congregation those who believe that present-day Islam oppresses women.

Rachel Cogill, a non-religious Christian who has been attending the "Open Mosque" since it opened, criticized what she described as social pressure from Muslim males outside the congregation.

"I have never seen such discrimination in other religions and was shocked to see that this still happens," she said.

Two youths present, Ruby and Chelsea, said they were attending because their parents were friends of Hargey, whose main support base among the youth consists of close friends and associates.

When he opened his "Open Mosque" in September, Hargey denounced South Africa's Muslim Judicial Council, a non-profit umbrella body of Islamic scholars, as a "self-appointed, unaccountable and non-transparent body of often poorly trained clergy."

Hargey and his "Open Mosque," however, have drawn the ire of the majority of South Africa's Muslim community.

One mosque considered more liberal in its approach, the Claremont Main Road Mosque, for one, has reiterated non-support for the "Open Mosque."

The Cape Town-based Muslim Judicial Council, however, has been most vocal in its opposition.

"We strongly advise our community to absolutely refrain from attending the so-called 'Open Mosque' based on their interpretation of aspects of Islam that clearly contradict Quranic and Prophetic directives, as well as centuries of Islamic scholarship," Council President Maulana Ihsaan Hendricks declared in a statement.

The council insists that Hargey's institution be referred to as "place of worship" rather than "mosque."

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