"Is Korea Ready to Embrace Islam?"

[Omar del Sur]

Banners against the construction of mosques are hung in residential areas in Daehyeon-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, where Muslims are concentrated.^

Is Korea Ready to Embrace Islam?​

한국은 이슬람을 받아들일 준비가 되어있는가? - BBC News 코리아

이슬람 사원 설립을 둘러싸고 곳곳에서 갈등이 커지고 있다. 최근 아프간인 특별기여자 입국 등 한국에 이슬람 교인 수가 늘어나는 가운데 국민들은 이슬람 교인들과 더불어 살아갈 준비가 되어 있을까?

www.bbc.com

Conflicts over the establishment of mosques are taking place everywhere. On the 18th, the civic group 'National Action Against Refugees', a civic group that is campaigning against the construction of mosques and anti-refugee, held a press conference saying 'Islam is not allowed to build mosques' near Gangnam Station in Seoul on the 18th and argued that "Islam is a dangerous religion that does not grant freedom of religion." did.
The People's Action Against Refugees demanded, "It is no longer possible to build mosques in South Korea, and in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, all existing mosques and prayer rooms should be retroactively closed." He also opposed the issuance of F-2 resident visas for free employment to 390 Afghan special contributors in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province.

A petition urging against the construction of a mosque in Daehyeon-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, was posted on the bulletin board of the Blue House petition, stating, "People are being discriminated against because of the Muslim group." As of 2pm on the 18th, this petition had more than 82,000 signatures.
The petitioner, who said he was a citizen of Daegu, said, "I have been struggling to block the construction of a mosque for over 8 months. see," he claimed.
He continued, "At some point, the number of Muslims started to increase, and now there are more people than the residents. There are times when I feel intimidated by 10 to 20 people in Muslim attire. “They are already packing their bags one by one,” he complained, saying, “These days, the situation is that the residents are subjected to reverse discrimination and hatred.”

The conflict that began with the building of the temple​

Conflict between local residents and Muslims over the construction of a mosque in Daehyeon-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu has been going on for several months.
Daehyeon-dong, where rent is cheap and close to Kyungpook National University, has been attracting Muslim international students to live in Daehyeon-dong for several years. About 150 people currently live there and come from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Tajikistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Muslim students attending Kyungpook National University bought a house in Daehyeon-dong in 2014 and used it as a prayer center.
The conflict started at this point. Some residents formed the 'Emergency Countermeasures Committee Against the Construction of Islamic Mosques' and started a campaign against the construction of mosques.
The lieutenant colonel filed a collective complaint, and the Buk-gu Office suspended the construction in February. In response, Muslim students and civic groups filed an 'application for an injunction to suspend construction', and in July the court upheld the Muslim students' hand. However, the construction has been suspended for eight months as residents are blocking the access road to the construction site with vehicles and furniture.

"I feel threatened"​

"I can't help but feel anxious. Think about it. When a temple enters, strangers come and go in front of this narrow alley, how can we lead a stable life? We feel threatened."
The non-captain is demanding that the mosque be abolished, saying that if a mosque is built, the entire area will become an Islamic region and the indigenous people will leave. Vice Chairman Kim Jeong-ae, who met near the construction site on the 2nd, said the reason for opposing the construction of the temple was "to protect the 'property and happiness' of residents.
Song Mo, who lives near the temple construction site, pointed out the construction site to the reporter and explained that the damage was severe, including noise and garbage. In particular, during the Ramadan festival, 70 to 80 people come and go, and he insisted, "I pray five times a day from 4 in the morning, so I can't sleep because of the noise."
"Come here and take a look. If you're a resident, not only the locals but also come and see the site, this is impossible. How can a densely populated area have walls attached to it. It is."
The 120 pyeong site where the temple will be built is surrounded by houses in the shape of an 'L'.

 

[Omar del Sur]

"Unfamiliar Islam... The scary thing is true"​

Vice-Chairman Kim Jeong-ae insisted that he did not oppose the construction of mosques out of hatred of certain religious groups, as known to the media.
"I'm not arguing about religion. It's in the middle of a house. No thief church is allowed in here. Even if you knock on wooden tables and sing hymns here, I'm against it. I'm not against being Muslim. Beggars, no multi-purpose facility is allowed in.”
Still, he acknowledged that Islam was unfamiliar and frightening.
Resident Lee said, "The clothes and language are unfamiliar to our eyes. Resident Kim Mo also said, "I saw the news and said that the people who caused the French terrorism were Muslim. Another resident, Mr. Song, said, "I am unfamiliar with the Islamic religion. It is true that it is not common in Korea. I only hear about Islam on the news, but it is all about terrorism."

Instantly become a 'terrorist'​

"We've been doing well with the residents for the past 7 years without conflict. We're suddenly terrorists when we introduce Muslim tenants to the landlord. They threaten us. I don't understand."
Moaz Razak (25), who came to Korea in 2019 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science at Kyungpook National University, is embarrassed by the sudden change in the attitude of the residents. The residents, who had always treated them warmly and kindly, began to look coldly at him and other Muslim students at some point, and eventually began to shout "terrorists" and "go back to your country".
“In the past 7 years, Muslim students have never threatened residents, and there have been no reports of noise or odors,” said Razak, who said that residents at first heard the smell and noise as a reason for opposing the mosque, but recently claimed that it was difficult to coexist with Muslims. explained.
Another Muslim student, Shehrya Ishaq, said that she had expressed her intention to find a solution to the noise and smell so that residents would not be inconvenienced.
"I said that I would find a way to avoid noise and odor damage to residents, such as installing soundproof walls and a long chimney."
Ishak complained that he would like to resolve conflicts with the residents peacefully through dialogue, but even this is a difficult situation.
"If you only approach the villagers, shout. A friend who speaks Korean tried to talk to us, but the villagers refuse to talk to us. Just look at us and get angry."

"My heart hurts"​

“One of the reasons I chose Korea to study was because it is a safe country.”
Unlike other countries where discrimination and threats against Islam are rampant, Razak said that he felt relatively safe in Korea, which treats Muslims kindly and without prejudice. However, recently, he said that he is feeling different views.
“When I walk down the street these days, I feel strangely staring at me. It hurts my heart. As someone who likes Korea, I upload a promotional video about Korea online, but recently my friends who heard the news about Islamophobia asked, ‘Are you okay?’ I don't know how to respond."
Razak said he did not resent the residents though. He said he hoped that the issue would be resolved so as not to harm the residents by respecting their opinions as much as possible.
“I still think of the residents as my family. All we want is to peacefully solve problems with them and have a temple where we can pray.”

Does Korea hate Islam?​

A mosque is located in the center of a residential area in Eoun-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. Muslim international students studying at nearby KAIST and Chungnam National University bought the building in 2011 with money raised by church members and built the temple. Islamophobic phrases were not seen in this place, which is no different from other ordinary neighborhood scenes.
The leader of the Daejeon mosque, Esan Ula Imam, told the story of her experiences during her five years here.
"The residents are very kind and friendly. Even if I ask for directions in Muslim attire or my wife is wearing a hijab that covers her face, they treat me kindly without showing any signs of discrimination. Please treat me. Thankfully, I have not experienced any problems while living in Korea.”
Of course, minor complaints were raised from the residents, but each time the problems were resolved through dialogue with the residents.
"There were a few complaints about parking and garbage in the early days after the temple was built, but we were able to resolve it without any problems through dialogue with the residents. I am trying to live in cooperation with the residents."

If 'Muslims are terrorists', 'Koreans are communists'​

A resident who has lived near a mosque in Daejeon for 10 years has been watching Muslim students since the mosque was built. There was no objection from local residents when it was announced that the temple would be built. The problem was after it was built.
"When I lay down at night, I hear noises in a foreign language, but it's hard to sleep. I parked everywhere for worship, so I bumped into residents. Also, the smell of their food was unfamiliar, so it was a problem."
But they were not unresolved problems.
"I went directly to the Imam, the head of the Islamic mosque, and talked about it. As the person in charge, please warn the members of the congregation. Then it was corrected. If it was bad at first, it is still 70% better now."
He said that although there were frictions that could arise between the same people, "Muslims never threatened the residents or became a problem because of Islamic doctrine." "It would be wrong to call all Muslims terrorists just because the terrorists were Muslims," he said.
"There are several sects of Islam, and calling all Islam a terrorist is the same as calling all Koreans a communist, although South and North Korea are different."

Ryu Yeon-ju has been friends for 10 months since getting to know Imam Ula to study English. Ryu also had a prejudice against Muslims at first.
"When you talk about Muslims, you associate them with terrorists. I also saw on the news that buildings collapsed during the IS, Taliban, or 911 attacks, so I thought Muslims were scary people. I would be lying if I said that they wore different clothes than us and there was no rejection."
Ryu, who has lived in Daejeon for 20 years, said there were no conflicts between residents due to Muslims. Rather, he explained that his fear of Muslim men disappeared when he got to know the Ula Imam.
"I saw the human side of Imam Ulla when she hesitated because she couldn't solve something. I thought she was just like us, but rather a kinder and warmer person."
Ryu became close with Imam Ula and asked all about prejudices against Islam, such as violations of women's human rights and terrorism.
"I asked if the violation of women's human rights in Pakistan is really serious. When I showed you a video of a department store, some women were wearing hijabs and some were naked. Also, there were Muslim female professors and female announcers around. I thought I couldn't judge."
The reason Ryu helps Imam Ula like this is because she knows what it's like to live in a foreign country.
“I also remember the people who helped me when I was in a foreign country with my husband for a few months when I couldn’t understand the language and had a hard time.”
Ryu said that having people from another culture as a neighbor has the advantage of being able to experience and learn new things and broaden your view of the world.
“Isn’t there a reason why God made us in different shapes? Just as a rainbow is more beautiful than one color, I wonder if a society that is more beautiful when different colors come together.”

 

[Qeelbax]

Absolutely not. I would say a good 40-50% HATE religion. These gaalo blame all their problems on religion.

 

[Gadhwayne]

Their biggest religion is Masiixism. Churches recruited Koreans by fomenting anti Japanese sentiments caused byJapanese dominance in the region. The missionaries succeeded. South Korea has been mostly ruled by Masiixi presidents since then

 

[Odayga_Jabuuti]

What are you doing in South Korea? Religion is frowned upon in East Asia.
Islam is accepted in South and North America, literally the entire continent of Africa, the middle east, Western Europe. South Korea is a materialistic society where wealth matters more than religion. So don't expect any type of change coming from Conservative East Asians countries like South Korea, they always were atheist.

 

[senor chang]

What are you doing in South Korea? Religion is frowned upon in East Asia.
Islam is accepted in South and North America, literally the entire continent of Africa, the middle east, Western Europe. South Korea is a materialistic society where wealth matters more than religion. So don't expect any type of change coming from Conservative East Asians countries like South Korea, they always were atheist.

They are some Korean Muslims in this world

 

[Omar del Sur]

What are you doing in South Korea? Religion is frowned upon in East Asia.
Islam is accepted in South and North America, literally the entire continent of Africa, the middle east, Western Europe. South Korea is a materialistic society where wealth matters more than religion. So don't expect any type of change coming from Conservative East Asians countries like South Korea, they always were atheist.

I'm not in South Korea. I am very optimistic about East Asia. One day insha'Allah they'll all become Muslim. Don't tell anyone but I'm one of those people who finds Korea fascinating- not because of K-Pop but because I think North Korea is super-interesting.

 

[Omar del Sur]

it is true I think that some of the societies in East Asia are not very religious.... but I believe it is a myth that East Asians are naturally atheistic or something like that.... I knew a Chinese man who converted to Islam and became a very enthusiastic Muslim and I know a Chinese woman who converted to Christianity and became a very enthusiastic Christian..... I think they're brought up without a strong religious background and then they want religion... conversion to Christianity is definitely happening, I just am sad it's not Islam they are converting to instead

 

[Xoxoxo]

@Omar del Sur youre an idiot wallahi. More then half off the population don’t follow a religion and more then half off it hate any religion or have a strong dislike against it.

its their country, their laws and if they don’t want to build mosques it’s their business

 

[Xoxoxo]

it is true I think that some of the societies in East Asia are not very religious.... but I believe it is a myth that East Asians are naturally atheistic or something like that.... I knew a Chinese man who converted to Islam and became a very enthusiastic Muslim and I know a Chinese woman who converted to Christianity and became a very enthusiastic Christian..... I think they're brought up without a strong religious background and then they want religion... conversion to Christianity is definitely happening, I just am sad it's not Islam they are converting to instead

*Sigh*

If that wasn’t the case they would have become full blown Christian’s which didn’t happen.

read their history. It ain’t going to happen fam.

 

[Odayga_Jabuuti]

They are some Korean Muslims in this world

These are the official statistics:

As you can see muslims in South Korea represent less than 1% and among those muslims most are foreigners, there are not that many for any political change.

I'm not in South Korea. I am very optimistic about East Asia. One day insha'Allah they'll all become Muslim. Don't tell anyone but I'm one of those people who finds Korea fascinating- not because of K-Pop but because I think North Korea is super-interesting.

haha it's almost impossible
But we will see, I can't predict the future, but I appreciate your optimism.

 

[Gadhwayne]

These are the official statistics:
View attachment 220363
As you can see muslims in South Korea represent less than 1% and among those muslims most are foreigners, there are not that many for any political change.

haha it's almost impossible
But we will see, I can't predict the future, but I appreciate your optimism.

The official are somewhat deceiving. The main religious people are Masiixis not counting the nonreligious. South Korea has been under mostly Masiixi