Angola ‘bans Islam, shuts down mosques’

Cape Town – Angola has reportedly become the first country ever to ban Islam and to shut down mosques, according to reports.
Daily Mail quoted the Minister of Culture Rosa Cruz e Silva as saying mosques in the largely Christian country would be closed until further notice.
She described Islam as a sect that would be banned as counter to Angolan customs and culture, the report said.

International Business Times, however, reported that Angola had denied the report saying there was no such ban.
An official at the Angolan Embassy in Washington, DC said the report was “erroneous”, adding that Angola was a country that did not interfere in religion.

Angola is majority-Christian nation of about 16 million people, of whom an estimated 55 percent are Catholic, 25 percent belong to African Christian denominations, 10 percent follow major Protestant traditions, and 5 percent belong to Brazilian Evangelical churches. Only 80 000 to 90 000 Angolans are Muslim, according to the US State Department. – News24.