Cape Town – The man who called for the Langebaan mosque to be burnt down is unshaken in his belief that the call to prayer should not be heard over loudspeakers.
Liam Ferreira, who on January 1 called for the area’s mosque to be destroyed, has reiterated his dissatisfaction with the Muslim call to prayer, delivered over loudspeaker.
The Adhan can be heard throughout the world five times a day but Ferreira does not want to hear it. The 22 year old was last in Langebaan in May 2015 before he moved to the UK.
He was not in the West Coast town when he made his controversial post on Facebook to complain about the call to prayer.
Ferreira is from Cape Town where he went to school and, according to him, had Muslim friends.
“I’m no longer a resident of Langebaan but still love the place,” he said during a Skype interview this week.
Turning to his post, Ferreira said he had a problem with the volume of the call to prayer.
“The announcement of it is a beautiful thing. It tells people at that time those who are believers will pray. But I disagree with the volume,” he said. “The fact that some people don’t want to hear it is a problem. I have heard the call at every time that it’s made.” Ferreira’s initial rant left locals angered at what was viewed as intolerance of the Muslim community which has had a presence in South Africa for hundreds of years.
He swiftly issued an apology and also condemned attacks on mosques over the last week; first in Simon’s Town and then Kalk Bay.
Ferreira said his Facebook post was a result of “poor judgment”, “ill-founded” and a “disjointed thought process”.
And while he had no intentions of becoming famous for it, as reported, he admitted that he wanted to “get publicity so the issue could be dealt with”.
“The post came from a space of anger and hatred,” he said.
“It’s bang out of order to be violent and hateful.”
Some people who have seen his post have called on Ferreira to meet the Langebaan mosque committee but he said as he was not in South Africa that would not be possible.
“I’m using social media to communicate with people. I have also sent them emails,” he said.
The vandalisation a week later of the Simon’s Town and Kalk Bay mosques elicited widespread calls for tolerance.
In Simon’s Town, a pig’s snout was left and blood was smeared at the entrance of the area’s historical mosque.
After that, the Kalk Bay mosque was attacked, with holy scriptures and calligraphy damaged.
The attacks saw Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille calling for an end to “bigotry” and social media, where the initial post was made, has been lit up with comments.
Local theatre-maker Janni Younge said: “The sound of the call to prayer is part of the life and spiritual texture of Cape Town.
“I love it. It’s inspiring. Turn up the volume.”
Journalist Steve Kromberg added: “I love the food, the clothes, the architecture, the song of the meuzzin, the craftsmanship (in Cape Town)... The list goes on and on. It’s not us and them... ”
Carl Joshua, who is from Cape Town, said they “grew up hearing the mosque, why is it all of a sudden a problem?”
“One of the things that makes our city so enjoyable is the diversity that we have,” he added.
“Nowhere in the world can you learn about so many different cultures and religions and still live in such harmony. Let’s not give these idiots the attention that they seek.”