Johannesburg: Administrators of a mosque in the coastal city of Durban, South Africa, that was the target of a foiled bombing attempt, vowed Wednesday to continue prayers there, saying the attack would not deter the Muslim community from practicing their faith.
Police were called on Monday after a mosque security guard approached a man exiting a vehicle that had entered the mosque entrance, Yusuf Desai, administrator of Musjidur Rahman, told local media on Wednesday. in the Durban North suburb.
The vehicle accelerated as the guard approached, but the man threw something into the mosque first.
South African Police Services spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker confirmed that bomb squad technicians identified a homemade explosive device made from commercial explosives at the mosque site with a long fuse, but that it was not prepared. to explode.
Desai told local media that the attack would not deter the Muslim community from practicing their faith or engaging in dialogue with other religions.
Muslim organizations in the country denounced the attempted attack as an “Islamophobic terrorist attack.”
The Jamiatul Ulema (Council of Muslim Theologians) of South Africa, as well as the Sunni Council of Ulema, have denounced the attempted attack as “an Islamophobic attack” against a community that has used the mosque it built as a community center with social projects that They benefit everyone in the area.
Durban North, once an elite suburb reserved for South Africa's white minority only in the apartheid era, now has a large number of sixth and seventh generation citizens of Indian origin who have established their own mosque there.
This has also been the case in many other former “white” suburbs across the country, often leading to tensions with neighbors of other faiths over the Azaan (call to prayer) heard over loudspeakers five times a day.
Previous incidents have included the throwing of pigs' heads at mosques and loud altercations between religious opponents and followers, but this is believed to be the first time a bomb attack has been attempted at a mosque.
Police were called on Monday after a mosque security guard approached a man exiting a vehicle that had entered the mosque entrance, Yusuf Desai, administrator of Musjidur Rahman, told local media on Wednesday. in the Durban North suburb.
The vehicle accelerated as the guard approached, but the man threw something into the mosque first.
South African Police Services spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker confirmed that bomb squad technicians identified a homemade explosive device made from commercial explosives at the mosque site with a long fuse, but that it was not prepared. to explode.
Desai told local media that the attack would not deter the Muslim community from practicing their faith or engaging in dialogue with other religions.
Muslim organizations in the country denounced the attempted attack as an “Islamophobic terrorist attack.”
The Jamiatul Ulema (Council of Muslim Theologians) of South Africa, as well as the Sunni Council of Ulema, have denounced the attempted attack as “an Islamophobic attack” against a community that has used the mosque it built as a community center with social projects that They benefit everyone in the area.
Durban North, once an elite suburb reserved for South Africa's white minority only in the apartheid era, now has a large number of sixth and seventh generation citizens of Indian origin who have established their own mosque there.
This has also been the case in many other former “white” suburbs across the country, often leading to tensions with neighbors of other faiths over the Azaan (call to prayer) heard over loudspeakers five times a day.
Previous incidents have included the throwing of pigs' heads at mosques and loud altercations between religious opponents and followers, but this is believed to be the first time a bomb attack has been attempted at a mosque.
