Looks like the story may not be a hoax afterall.. Rather, it appears the leader of Angola started to feel the heat for his anti-Islamic actions and now has his PR people trying to play both sides of the fence.. However, it appears Angola has a long history of battling with its Islamic minority group. It is definitely confirmed, from a very reputable (in popularity, at least) news source, The Guardian, that Angola has been shutting down mosques for a while now and does indeed have laws in effect that have worked to hamper and prevent Muslims from practicing their religion freely in the country. It appears the Angolan government is definitely pursuing an eradication of Islam, but is treading carefully, because of very obvious world resistance. I found the pictures of Palestinians burning the Angolan flag, quite amusing and vaguely familiar.. Hmmmmm.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/28/angola-accused-banning-islam-mosquesI guess my only concern now is how Jewish people are received in this country. Under the law in effect I am wondering if openly practicing Judaism is forbidden. It appears that the Angolan people were singling out Muslims for fear of terrorist activity and upheavels they saw in surrounding African nations. There was many cases of Muslims being deported from Angola for wearing hijabs or openly practicing the religion in public.
Somehow, I do not believe Angola would alienate Jews , especially considering the leader has taken a pro-Israel stance and has look to Israel as a trade partner, as well as Israel partook in clearing the mines in the country during past civil wars. There was one bad experience where they would not receive an openly gay Ambassador from Israel to Angola, which caused a bit of friction. But all I can say is, why should a religious CHristian country have to accommodate a homosexual. If anything, I blame Israel , rather than Angola, for appointing openly homosexual political figures to go to a country where Homosexuality is clearly a crime. And, I actually agree with the Angolans on this sentiment. Too bad, Israel cannot banish homosexuality from its soil.. Shame on us.. Once again.
President Dos Santos visited Israel in 2005. In March 2006, the trade volume between the two countries amounted to $400 million.[3] The Israeli ambassador to Angola is Sagui Karni.[4] In 2010, the Angolan government refused to receive openly gay Isi Yanouka as the new ambassador due to his sexuality.[5]
In August 2012, the Angolan chancellor took a three-day visit to Jerusalem, where the governments of Angola and Israel ratified in Tel Aviv an agreement to strengthen the bonds between both countries. Israeli President Shimon Peres said that this should be based on the fields of science and technology, economy, and security, and the Angolan chancellor expressed the desire to continue with the bilateral cooperation in health, agriculture, science and technology, and the formation of Angolan experts.[6]
Now, despite all the good deeds of Angola, I guess I cannot put it past an African nation or a Christian dictator, that he would treat us Jews properly. I am keeping my hopes up. Banishing Islam is the beginning of healing the scars of our world.