Kristina Chetcuti
Tourists are welcome (but not them Muslims)
The Muslims praying on the Sliema front last week.
Last Saturday, a couple of scores of Muslim men gathered on the Sliema front. They were not being rowdy, they weren't drinking and they weren't swearing. All they had as props were some prayer rugs. Because, in fact, they were only interested in praying together. And they had a police permit to do so.
You would think, Malta being a free democratic country, that this would be a totally non-news event. Bzzz. Wrong answer - not with the racist hysteria gripping the island. For this whole week it's been the most read, most commented and most e-mailed article. Some of the comments to this simple gathering are truly alarming, chilling almost:
"Malta is a Catholic country. They have no right to come here and pray in front of us. I don't care what they do in the privacy of their own home, but not here."
"They should go to a mosque. That is where they belong. Or in some hole somewhere. But not here where I get my children to eat and have a good time."
"I would have had no problem if they were Catholics praying... in Malta we are all Catholics, so it's not a problem, but not them."
"If this happens again there will be trouble."
"I bet that their next step will be to make us remove our icons/crosses and statues from our streets or from schools."
"The authorities should never have given permission, much less protection, at the cost of the Maltese taxpayer."
"This is clear case of arrogance by a small group of men."
I'm sorry? Arrogance? Arrogant was the woman who insisted on walking her dog in front of them, twice. The comments get harsher and harsher. You would think that these men were planning a coup d'etat rather than reciting their Qur'an, or that their prayer beads were weapons of mass destruction.
The reaction, were it not in the context of our society's dark skin paranoia, would have been perplexing. These men simply prayed and then went their way: "We are not here to protest or threaten violence but to express our fundamental human right to gather in prayer," one of the leaders, Bader Zina, said.
They resorted to the Sliema front because the Planning Authority sealed off the Sliema flat where they normally gathered as it did not have a licence to be used as a place of worship. Fair enough. But then, they have every right to get a permit and hit the front.
It's not as if it's never been done before by religious groups. Didn't that touchy-feely, hand-clappy charismatic Edward Spiteri guy and his followers hog the Birzebbuga front for summer weekends on end?
Religion is being used as a poor excuse, a cover-up if you want, for racism. Yet again, the Catholic leaders have chosen to remain silent on the matter. They who should be encouraging the embracing of different religions, they who should be at the forefront of promoting tolerance and acceptance, they who should be reminding all and sundry that Christ after all said 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'
Where is the Church when it needs to voice its disapproval of this unacceptable prejudice?
I've been born and raised a Roman Catholic, but I'm all for French President Nikolas Sarkozy's call for a 'positive laïcité'.
We should all be appreciating the benefits of religion - any religion - and the way it brings about an ethical society which encourages human interaction and a sense of belonging.
A dear family friend is a perfect testimony to this. She was raised a Christian, converted to Buddhism and is now a very serene and very spiritual Gnostic, embracing all religions and free of the conformity set to us by religious dogmas. In her house a little statue of Buddha and a statue of Our Lady sit next to each other, in happy harmonious silence. If only we could take a leaf out of her peacefulness.
Instead, to paraphrase REM's tune, we're losing our religion: to hatred, intolerance and ignorance. "Turists [sic] Welcome" read most blackboards hanging outside our band/party clubs. Soon there'll be small print added, reminiscent of the US in the 1950s: "except 'em coloured ones".
We're fast becoming an irrevocably sad society indeed.
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Joe Xuereb
May 13th 2009, 22:59
@ A. Muscat. Do not tell me that you are one of those misguided (the Bible is only ancient spin don't forget) people who love the sinner but not the sin? Do you realise that so much is at stake, and on the basis of what, exactly? Quite! Thanks for answering the question.
A. Muscat
May 11th 2009, 20:24
@ Joseph Ellul Do you genuinely care about Muslims wives? If so, fair enough. But first, do u have a clue on what the bible says about women and Gays?. Forget about Muslim’s wives in Malta. There are thousands of Christians women have been under occupation and siege for six decades in Gaza. I invite you to have the gut and defend them of at least defend their basic right food and shelter. Charity begins at home I presume they say. Failure to quote Biblical text in connection with gays and women would automatically discredit your comment on the whole matter.
Joseph Ellul
May 10th 2009, 22:20
@Kristina Chetcuti. As everybody can see there were only men praying. Where are their wives and children? Why is it that for the second time these men are there, at the same place, as if to tell the general public that in this group only men are allowed to express their beliefs. If you are current on your international and Iranian news, you will read about gay muslims not allowed to pray in mosques. These gay men are being singled out and beaten by the police. Many have disappeared (maybe they are in Malta) whist others have been killed by their own families because of the shame that comes with being gay in Muslim countries. As there is a place of prayer at Cordin for all Muslims, I suggest that the authorities pick these Muslim men and take them there free of charge with the same police protection that is being offered now. We will see who will stop them from entering the mosque then. I hope that the editor will not stop this comment.
Ramon Casha
May 10th 2009, 18:31
@louise vella: And what if it was a political statement? It was a quiet one, fully compliant with the applicable regulations from what I read, and from published photos left ample room along the front for any other people walking by. It's perfectly legal to make political statements you know.
Louis Gialanze
May 10th 2009, 15:44
Re; my previous comment is to read : LOTOS-EATERS
lgalea
May 10th 2009, 13:34
They are simply doing it in defiance of our laws because no one denied them the right to pray and they have a mosque in Paola, but they want to turn every flat that they want into a mosque to the detriment of the residents as happened in Sliema and Bugibba.
Why are our authorities permitting this blatant abuse of our laws and hospitality especially by FOREIGNERS?
Kristina, you also forgot what Louise has brought to your attention, namely the veiled threat made by Bader Zina.
Peter Aquilina
May 10th 2009, 13:02
We all must respect each other ........whatever our religious belief, but why is this ( Muslim ) prayer meeting being held at such a prominent outdoor location in Malta ?
While one assumes that it is not a defiant reaction to their prohibition from praying inside the Sliema apartment, Its organisers must sensibly know well enough that their "choice" of venue would most probably cause strong objections by others who disapprove of such ( as the latter consider it ) an untraditional function .
One may advise that these prayer meetings be held at an alternative "quiet" location so as its organisers will not be taken as provoking anything undesirable.
Joseph Cauchi
May 10th 2009, 12:01
Let us preserve Malta for our children and children’s children, because with these type of “Liberal” views and “POLITICAL CORRECTNESS”, there will be No Malta as we know it today left for our beloved and treasured heirs!
Malta is definitely NOT France!
../..
John Betts
May 10th 2009, 11:29
Well said, Ms. Chetcuti, and you've raised some points which badly needed to be published.
louise vella
May 10th 2009, 10:38
Choosing a most prominent and high profile place for a prayer that could have been held, even outdoors, in so many other places was a political statement, especially when the organisers knew that their act would be seen as unpleasant by many and as a provocation by some.
The author has also forgotten to comment on the following (quoted from www.timesofmalta.com of 2nd May):
"Although he condemned any type of violence or revenge, he said that if people were discriminated against and hurt, it would become impossible to control a backlash."
"He" was Bader Zina, described as one of the leaders of the group. When one reads this quote, does one need convincing that the Muslim prayer on the Sliema front was a political statement?