Publications
Partners
Globalization seems to arrive as property developers and the religious. Soon, Allah will be visiting next door to a pub near you in Knysna.
Being a small town, there has been discontentment but if Christians can build churches, freemasons lodges, developers islands and gay people a festival, there’s no reason for Muslims not to build mosques in Knysna.
Then again, the least seemingly benign sentence of all time may be, “All’s fair in love and war.”
Hopefully The Vineyard Church, St. Georges Church, The Rock etc. will look to what they have in common i.e. the definition of “Muslim” is from Arabic meaning “to submit to the will of God.” So few Christians do in Knysna but they should at least remember that’s what they’re also supposed to do.
I’m hoping that the mosque levels the playing field and holds an annual fete too – i do like fetes…and the mosque may be the only place i will find a copy of 50 Shades of Grey that no one wants.
Yes, i’m making fun…not for fun’s sake but to point out the ridiculous oxymoron that religion is i.e. It Divides. My appeal is that if the mosque does get all its funding together, that Knysna acts and treats them with decency. We don’t need more hate in Knysna. We already have the cops and politicians for that.
On a personal note, i don’t fancy the contradiction between the fact that Islamic law does not require men and women to be separated yet Knysna’s thread of Islam practices that. Yep, sexist! As frustrating and cheating and Woolworths-card grabbing as women can be, i believe in them being treated differently BUT AS EQUALS.
No matter how voyeuristic i will stare at both sexy Dutch tourists in short shorts or Muslimas in niqabs or hijabs (i battle with burkhas) walking the streets of Knyna, my fantasies, unfairly, will not gain equal rights for both as human beings.
Secondly, before the mosque is granted a building permit, it must be agreed that there will be no loudspeakers calling followers to prayers 5 times a day. That would be noise pollution and an invasion of the privacy of agnostics, atheists and the pretend faithful…and at least 2 of those would object if the Anglicans did the same.
Thirdly, i hope that they know that i would fight for their rights the same way i fight for others…and expect my freedom of speech to be respected in turn.
Outside of those last 2 paragraphs, i ‘pray’ for some of John Lennon’s “peace, love and understanding” and that the Knysna Municipality gets off its arse and starts understanding minorities such as the Muslims and the Chinese who are obviously growing communities in our town. Seek neighbourliness lest the already existing walls grow thicker until we are all isolated from one another which will only result in poorly directed fingers of blame when some shit or other hits the fan…and blocks an illegal storm drain connection and drowns us in our bowl of micro-climate emotion.
After a 2-year struggle, at this morning's Mayoral Meeting, i witnessed the Mosque come close to gaining final approval. Read ‘Knysna’s Mosque Landing Soon'.
Being a small town, there has been discontentment but if Christians can build churches, freemasons lodges, developers islands and gay people a festival, there’s no reason for Muslims not to build mosques in Knysna.
Then again, the least seemingly benign sentence of all time may be, “All’s fair in love and war.”
Hopefully The Vineyard Church, St. Georges Church, The Rock etc. will look to what they have in common i.e. the definition of “Muslim” is from Arabic meaning “to submit to the will of God.” So few Christians do in Knysna but they should at least remember that’s what they’re also supposed to do.
I’m hoping that the mosque levels the playing field and holds an annual fete too – i do like fetes…and the mosque may be the only place i will find a copy of 50 Shades of Grey that no one wants.
Yes, i’m making fun…not for fun’s sake but to point out the ridiculous oxymoron that religion is i.e. It Divides. My appeal is that if the mosque does get all its funding together, that Knysna acts and treats them with decency. We don’t need more hate in Knysna. We already have the cops and politicians for that.
On a personal note, i don’t fancy the contradiction between the fact that Islamic law does not require men and women to be separated yet Knysna’s thread of Islam practices that. Yep, sexist! As frustrating and cheating and Woolworths-card grabbing as women can be, i believe in them being treated differently BUT AS EQUALS.
No matter how voyeuristic i will stare at both sexy Dutch tourists in short shorts or Muslimas in niqabs or hijabs (i battle with burkhas) walking the streets of Knyna, my fantasies, unfairly, will not gain equal rights for both as human beings.
Secondly, before the mosque is granted a building permit, it must be agreed that there will be no loudspeakers calling followers to prayers 5 times a day. That would be noise pollution and an invasion of the privacy of agnostics, atheists and the pretend faithful…and at least 2 of those would object if the Anglicans did the same.
Thirdly, i hope that they know that i would fight for their rights the same way i fight for others…and expect my freedom of speech to be respected in turn.
Outside of those last 2 paragraphs, i ‘pray’ for some of John Lennon’s “peace, love and understanding” and that the Knysna Municipality gets off its arse and starts understanding minorities such as the Muslims and the Chinese who are obviously growing communities in our town. Seek neighbourliness lest the already existing walls grow thicker until we are all isolated from one another which will only result in poorly directed fingers of blame when some shit or other hits the fan…and blocks an illegal storm drain connection and drowns us in our bowl of micro-climate emotion.
After a 2-year struggle, at this morning's Mayoral Meeting, i witnessed the Mosque come close to gaining final approval. Read ‘Knysna’s Mosque Landing Soon'.
