Mosque debate flares up again
New attempts are being made to halt the building of a mosque on land donated to the Thaba Tshwane Islamic Centre Trust in Valhalla.
A war of words about the erection of a Muslim place of worship in the residential suburb of Valhalla in Centurion has flared up again.
Attempts have been revived to scupper plans by the Thaba Tshwane Islamic Centre Trust to build a mosque on land donated by the Tshwane metro for this purpose. The land, on the corner of Hammerfest and Finus Streets, is currently a neglected public park.
Valhalla residents received a flyer this week – hand delivered to their mail boxes – urging them to support yet another petition to halt the building of the mosque. The flyers contain no contact numbers or details of who was behind this latest campaign to keep Muslims from worshipping in the traditionally white suburb.
Only an SMS number, a closed group on Facebook and an email address are provided on the flyers, which already have some residents up in arms, with one referring to the document as “blatant racist trash”.
The flyer says: “Do you support the building of a mosque in the heart of Valhalla’s residential area when residents have overwhelmingly said no? If not, here is what we suggest you do.”
Residents are then urged to sign a petition, fill out a referendum form and make themselves available for public action.
The flyer concludes: “Make your voice heard, it is your Constitutional right to have your own cultural, religious and linguistic community!”
The last public meeting about the issue was held in August. A petition, signed by 2 647 Valhalla residents against the mosque, was handed to the Tshwane Metro early in October.
Residents have been objecting, saying that their suburb will be “overrun” by Muslims and that the chanting of adhaan, the Muslim call to prayer, five times a day will constitute noise pollution.
They agreed with Democratic Alliance councillor for the area, Ina Strijdom, that the land had been zoned for use as a public open space and that the metro had not followed due process by donating the property without consulting residents.
Islamic Centre Trust chairman Yaseen Abdul earlier said there were more than 100 Muslim families living in Valhalla.
Currently, Valhalla has six Christian churches.
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Also read: Mosque report put on hold
Council responds to mosque battle
Public participation meeting a mockery
