Sunday, March 16, 2008

The First Islamic Elementary School in Korea

Last August I wrote of my surprise when I discovered that there are Muslims in Japan. Most are foreign visitors or diplomats, but some are converts. There aren’t many of them, but enough to have mosques, community centers, and press spokesmen.

This morning I learned about Muslims in South Korea. According to Asia News, the first Islamic Elementary school in the country will open this year:

A Korean Muslim at worshipSeoul (AsiaNews) — The Korea Muslim Federation announced yesterday the planned opening of the first Islamic elementary school, which will open its doors within a year, with the objective of helping local Muslims to understand their religion better, thanks in part to an official educational formation. The federation also hopes to open “within three years” a cultural centre, a secondary school, possibly even a university.

Kim Hwan-yoo, secretary general of the organisation, explains that the institute will be named after Saudi sultan Bin Abdul Aziz: “We will present the official request to the government as soon as possible, but there shouldn’t be any problems. Many Koreans have distorted information about Islam, since many years ago some Muslims did not behave well, forcibly converting some of the natives”.

Ah yes, forcible conversion: Islam’s stock-in-trade. Some Muslims “did not behave well” in the past — presumably they’ve seen the light since then and changed their ways.

Therefore, Kim adds, “the main goal is that of correcting a distorted view of our religion. School is not only for children: for us, it will be a mission”. According to the plan that will be presented to the education minister, the courses will include the study of Arabic and English. In any case, “Students will not be obliged to worship, which will take place twice every day”.

Why is it that Islam is perpetually obliged to “correct a distorted view” of itself? You don’t hear about Christians and Buddhists exerting that much effort to change others’ perceptions of them. Yet the OIC just spent an entire conference worrying about how to correct Western misperceptions about Islam.

When they weren’t condemning the racist and genocidal policies of the Zionists, that is. I suppose they’ll have to exert even more effort to correct our distorted view of that one.

So where is all the money for this coming from?
- - - - - - - - -
The project has “the full support of the Saudi government”. Abdullah al-Aifan, Riyadh’s ambassador in Seoul, has given 500 thousand dollars to the foundation as “a gift on the part of his government”, and has spoken of “active support for all of the upcoming initiatives as well”.

Aha! The Saudis. I might have guessed.

That means there’s a good chance of a reversion to “not behaving well”, since Wahhabist money and violent jihad go hand in hand.

There are about 150,000 Koreans of the Islamic faith: according to the few local mosques, the fault for this low number lies “with society as well, which has not guaranteed the adequate social infrastructure for the development of our religion”.

So the Korean government and people are to blame for there being so few Muslims in the country? Are they obliged to proselytize for a foreign religion? Or maybe just to pay for it?

As a matter of fact, the Korean government already has bankrolled some of the Islamic infrastructure on the peninsula. According to a Korean tourism website:

The first masjid in Korea opened in 1976 in Seoul, on a plot of land donated by the Korean government, which also provided some financial assistance in the building of the mosque.

Situated between Mt. Namsan and the Han River, the Seoul Central Masjid stands today as an expanded three-storey building complete with a conference hall, classrooms, offices as well as boardroom.

This was followed by a mushrooming of more masjids in other Korean cities, including Busan, Gwangju (Gyeonggi-do), Anyang, Jeonju, Daegu and Jeju.

How many of these mosques were funded wholly or partially by government money?

The website goes on to say:

Although the Muslim population stands at a modest 50,000 in Korea today, an increasing number of Muslim restaurants have sprung up in Seoul, mainly in Itaewon and Gangnam-gu.

So according to the tourist office there are 50,000 Muslims in Korea, but Asia News puts the number at three times as many.

Is this figure up for grabs? Perhaps it’s fungible, like the number of Muslims in the USA — two million or three million or six million or seven million, depending on whose figures you believe. Or the number of Muslims in the world: a billion, or 1.3 billion, or 1.4 billion, or — in the latest OIC announcement — 1.5 billion.

When infidels need to be soothed and reassured, there are very few Muslims, just a handful here and there, a misunderstood and discriminated-against minority.

But when it’s time to intimidate the kuffar, 7.39 sextillion angry and offended Muslims are ready to take to the streets and set things on fire.

Visit the Korean Muslim Federation to find out more about Islam in Korea. Their website has a section in English.

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Finding out about Korea and Japan made me wonder about Muslims in other places I wouldn’t normally think about. For example, the last figure I heard for Iceland was 300.

What about North Korea? Or Uruguay? Or Sri Lanka? How many Muslims are in Panama? Or Laos? Or Zimbabwe? Or Cuba?

However many there are, I’ll bet they’re offended.

And also demanding government subsidy.


Hat tip: insubria.

18 comments:

SEOULDIER13 said...

I was a military brat in my younger days. I used to look up from the government housing area, and see the one that opened in 1976
in the distance. I sure wish to blow away the mosque and all muslims in that country since I am part Korean. I am shamed to know that how big that faith is going to grow in Korea. I am proud to say though, that S. Korea has one of the most, if not the most churches in the world. There are more red crosses seen in the air then any other. I wish I was in Korea to protest in front of the Congress building and the mosques to do away with them and kick everyone of those dogs out of Korea. I would often stroll through Itaewon on the way from the Hannam Village military housing to Yongson Army Garrison and bump into those nasty rags. I am sorry to say the last statement if that offends and goes against this website Baron, but please, I was just expressing my disgust for them not sticking to thier own lands. Wanting to come to Korea to make a living, thats okay, but don't forcefully coercie others to your faith. If I did't have to worry about prison, or destroying the good name of my employer. I would otherwise have waged my own jihad in a physical way to oust these parasites to the human civilization. It pains me to get kicked out of a South Korean citizenship since I didn't serve in their military due to me already serving in the U.S. army. Yet, they allow these rats into thier country and build for them what they want. I am deeply enraged at the stupidity of the Koreans. On behalf of the CHRISTIAN Koreans I apologize to you of GoV.

spackle said...

Ah yes, those rich Saudis. Here is a little example of how the Saudis have affected my life. Yesterday I filled up my gas tank to the tune of $55. I was so POd at this highway robbery and the fact that my money is going to the people who want to kill us I wound up driving too fast and got a speeding ticket a couple of miles away from the gas station. My first ticket ever! So now I have to cough up another $200 in fines and God knows what will happen to my insurance rates. The law of unintended circumstances.

KGS said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
KGS said...

Thanks for the post Baron, as always something new that can't be found elsewhere!

I took a peek at the English portion of the website and found the first paragraph to be an interesting twist on the history of Islamic expansion.

"It has not yet to be determined when Muslims had their first direct contact with Koreans. According to various sources, Arab Muslims attempted to make contact with the Korean peninsula for the first time during the mid-ninth century. Since Islam had started in the mid-seventh century, Arab-Persian Muslims have contacted with China continuously, and in the ninth century their sphere of activities was enlarged to the Korean peninsula by sea route during the Unified Shilla Dynasty."

How do you like that? The marauding Mohammedans "contacted" the Korean peninsula, and have "contacted continuously" the Chinese.

Like they conducted all their communications and transactions with the outside world, through friendly "but persuasive" diplomats and cultural exchanges!

turn said...

Saudi money?
What Saudi money? They're just redistributing the money that the developed world sends them in wheelbarrows.

Sorry about your speeding ticket, spackle. But don't blame the Saudis--blame the sh*tforbrains here at home that won't let us drill for what God saw to it that we have.

Gaeidhil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gaeidhil said...

Seoul Central Masjid is the home of the "Korea Muslim Federation"

Visit:

www.islamawareness.net/Asia/KoreaSouth/ks_article002.html


Visit:

haram.wordpress.com/category/freedom-to-worship/

Head to the very bottom of the page
Take note of this image:

english.chosun.com/media/photo/news/200405/200405280041_02.jpg

Notice the saudi flag emblem of the crossed swords below the palm tree.


File Under WTF:



Ahead of Iraq Deployment, 37 Korean Troops Convert to Islam

February 18, 2007 at 3:42 pm

Filed under Freedom to worship, Korean reverts,Shahadat, War in Iraq,
congregation, current affairs, enchanted with Islam, islam, kuffar, news,
occupation, politics, prayer, purification of the soul, religion, repentance,
worship

Ahead of Iraq Deployment, 37 Korean Troops Convert to Islam

“I became a Muslim because I felt Islam was more humanistic and peaceful than
other religions. And if you can religiously connect with the locals, I think it
could be a big help in carrying out our peace reconstruction mission.” So said
on Friday those Korean soldiers who converted to Islam ahead of their late July
deployment to the Kurdish city of Irbil in northern Iraq. At noon Friday, 37
members of the Iraq-bound “Zaitun Unit,” including Lieutenant Son Hyeon-ju of
the Special Forces 11th Brigade, made their way to a mosque in Hannam-dong,
Seoul and held a conversion ceremony.

See Image:

english.chosun.com/media/photo/news/200405/200405280041_01.jpg

Captain Son Jin-gu from Zaitoon Unit recites an oath at ceremony to mark his
conversion to Islam at a mosque in Hannam-dong, Seoul on Friday. /Yonhap


The soldiers, who cleansed their entire bodies in accordance with Islamic
tradition, made their conversion during the Friday group prayers at the mosque,
with the assistance of the “imam,” or prayer leader.

With the exception of the imam, all the Muslims and the Korean soldiers stood in
a straight line to symbolize how all are equal before God and took a profession
on faith.

They had memorized the Arabic confession, ” Ashadu an La ilaha il Allah,
Muhammad-ur-Rasool-Allah,” which means, “I testify that there is no god but God
(Arabic: Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” Soldiers from Zaitoon
Unit pray after conversion ceremony at a mosque in Hannam-dong, Seoul on
Friday./Yonhap

Moreover, as the faithful face the “Kaaba,” the Islamic holy place in Mecca,
Saudi Arabia, all Muslims confirm that they are brothers.

For those Korean soldiers who entered the Islamic faith, recent chances provided
by the Zaitun Unit to come into contact with Islam proved decisive.

Taking into consideration the fact that most of the inhabitants of Irbil are
Muslims, the unit sent its unreligious members to the Hannam-dong mosque so that
they could come to understand Islam. Some of those who participated in the
program were entranced by Islam and decided to convert.

A unit official said the soldiers were inspired by how important religious
homogeneity was considered in the Muslim World; if you share religion, you are
treated not as a foreigner, but as a local, and Muslims do not attack Muslim
women even in war.

Zaitun Unit Corporal Paek Seong-uk (22) of the Army’s 11th Division said, “I
majored in Arabic in college and upon coming across the Quran, I had much
interest in Islam, and I made up my mind to become a Muslim during this
religious experience period [provided by the Zaitun Unit].”

He expressed his aspirations. “If we are sent to Iraq, I want to participate in
religious ceremonies with the locals so that they can feel brotherly love and
convince them that the Korean troops are not an army of occupation but a force
deployed to provide humanitarian support.”

spackle said...

Turn,
Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. As to drilling American oil,Besides ANWAR where is there any oil left in US territory? And from what I understand all the oil in ANWAR would keep us going for a very short time. I do believe however if we became really serious about developing new technologies with the $$ to back it up we could get off oil within a couple of decades.

spackle said...

And dont get me started on nuclear power. I am all for modern nuclear power plants. Sorry to go O/T.

Henrik R Clausen said...

And dont get me started on nuclear power.

Oh. Please get *me* started, I love the subject! Modern plants don't explode, it was just el-cheapo Russian designs that did that.

Apart from the advantages of conventional nuclear power, there's also a new kind that needs research and prototype construction: Electrostatic Fusion.

It runs off hydrogen, lithium or boron, produced electricity directly, doesn't produce highly toxic waste, cannot melt down and is cheap to build. Oh, it burns off waste from traditional fission plants, too.

I checked the nuclear processes taking place, together with a friend who also knows nuclear physics. It's solid, and has nothing to do with that 'cold fusion' thing we laughed about a decade ago.

Since it runs off dust collected in the desert, noone is able to monopolize the fuel for it, and in contrast with ITER, the size is manageable, every mid-sized town could have one, eliminating the single point of failure problem with the huge fusion plants.

Promoting this for research into ending our oil dependency is a recommended Sunday evening activity.

ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ said...

Spackle,
Sorry to see you have bought in to the environazi propaganda. The environazis have downplayed the amount of reserves in ANWR for the specific purpose of justifying their opposition to drilling there Nancy Pelosi notwithstanding. The recent discovery of a HUGE field in the Gulf of Mexico US waters is estimated to cover domestic demand for 3 or more decades. Proven reserves of hundreds of millions of barrels off the west coast have been placed off limits by Congress and the California legislature and additional exploration has been prohibited by law. Permits for deep drilling in the existing California fields are routinely denied. At the behest of the environazis Bill Clinton placed billions of barrels in the tar sands of southern Utah off limits for production with the stroke of the pen. Even the Canadian tar sands which are economically feasible with the price of crude over $45.00/barrel [currently $105.00/barrel] cannot be developed due to legislative prohibition of refining processes which exceed the legal allowable generation of CO2 due to "global warming".

It is not the fault of the Saudis that you are "robbed" at the pump. It is the environazis who are filling the coffers of the wahabbi zealots.

A FORMER California oil man

Yorkshireminer said...

Dear Henrick,
Bussard who originally did the research for the Navy died a couple of months ago. If I remember properly he was in his 80s and died of cancer. He is famous or infamous for the Bussard Ram jet something you will know about if you are a Sci-Fi fanatic. He was a brilliant man, he was invited to Google and gave a lecture which is on the internet. I will post the link if any of you are interested. The Government I think have reactivated the research with a grant of $40,000,000. there are by the way a couple of other means of getting low energy fusion that are also being researched at the moment and are below the Radar. Paul Allan of Microsoft fame is supporting one system. Don't dismiss cold Fusion, Pons and Flieshman have been proved right what ever the thugs at M.I.T might say. I have been following alternative energy development for the last couple of years, it will most likely be the silver bullet that saves the world from Islamic domination. Once oil is reduced to a commodity like iron gold or silver and not used as an energy source, islam can go to hell and will. I in fact think that we have turned the corner. The seven sisters will not be able to resist or suppress the introduction of these new energy sources which they have previously done now we have past peak oil production $110 a barrel and it is not coming down. America is especially rich in start up ventures that will change the world in a couple of decades, did you know that there is an American firm that is selling a car that does 350mpg and it is coming out this year. I could write a book about what is going on and all seems to be falling in place. Denmark has been able to resist the Islamic blackmail because it was energy independent, not only have they been able to resist the blackmail but have turned the tide. The spokesman or should I say spokesperson for the Islamic faith society in Denmark resigned the other day. He complained about getting death threats and receiving cartoons through his E-mail one a drawing of Mohamed having sex with a camel, that is at least better than having sex with a nine year old. The left never came to his defense and he has resigned. Imagine what would have happened two years ago. I also gather that the Danes are having some problems that most countries in the west would love to have. I saw on the Danish news that people were complaining that traffic was getting jammed up because the heavy transport needed to transport all the windmills the Danes are producing to the Docks were causing traffic chaos. This is one thing the Counter jihad never seems to take into consideration, they always see things in political terms when it is technological breakthroughs that really determine how the world will develop.


Bussard

spackle said...

"Spackle,
Sorry to see you have bought in to the environazi propaganda."

I have not bought into anything I was merely posing a question to which you have given me some useful information. I still think Nuclear and other future alternatives as Henrik suggested are our greatest hope.I think everyone would agree a world without oil would be a positive thing no? And I am sorry but I dont think the boys over at OPEC are blameless.

ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ said...

Spackle: "Here is a little example of how the Saudis have affected my life. Yesterday I filled up my gas tank to the tune of $55. I was so POd at this highway robbery and the fact that my money is going to the people who want to kill us..."

Forgive me as I didn't see any interrogation marks in your comment. In the long run nuke and other sources of energy will be available if not precluded by government ukase (i.e. political considerations). International cartels such as OPEC can only succeed in the absence of outside competition. Presently that competition is suppressed by governments that are in the pocket of the enviros. An excellent example of this is available here.

spackle said...

"Forgive me as I didn't see any interrogation marks in your comment."

What? sorry, you lost me?

spackle said...

Okay. I think I got it now. I thought you were initially referring to my second comment.

spackle said...

Unless you were being sarcastic with me which still leaves me scratching my head.

Rich Rostrom said...

Religion in South Korea is a very odd business. Most Koreans are indifferent, or practice traditional rituals because they are traditional.

Christian missionizing has been very aggressive. There apparently is (or was) a violent strain among Christian converts, which manifested as vandalism and arson of Buddhist shrines (between 30 and 50 serious incidents in 1985-2005); also, "hard" Christians seem to be very influential in the government.

It will be interesting to see how the introduction of Islam to Korea plays out.