Protest by 'patriots' will be held during Muslim prayers

This afternoon members of the Ghaqda Patrijotti Maltin will descend on the streets of Bugibba to protest against what they are saying is an “illegal Mosque” in the multi-ethnic tourist hotspot.

The protest, planned for 4pm, coincides with the afternoon prayers which are habitually held in the premises on Triq il-Mazzola, and the right-wing and Islamophobic group’s march is being considered as provocative.

Asked whether it was aware of this, the police said it did not receive any application by the Muslim community to hold any activity at the same time, adding that “it is a Constitutional right for a person or a group of persons to hold a protest if this is carried out in the parameters of the law.”

The police said that the permit was issued according to law, “as there was nothing adverse and there were no objections to this application.”

However, MaltaToday is informed that the founding members of the Malta Muslim Council Foundation – responsible for the community prayers in Bugibba – will be on site to “extend a hand of friendship” to the protesters and avoid any trouble in a potentially explosive situation since they intend to hold prayers despite the lack of planning permits.

MaltaToday understands that although there have been attempts on both sides to reach out to each other, the protest will go ahead as planned while the prayers will be held in the subterranean room as they have been for the last five years.

In a video message, one of the ‘patriots’’ ringleaders, Henry Battistino, urged people to attend the protest and said that “nobody should be allowed to take advantage of the Maltese people’s generosity.”

Describing the area in Bugibba where Muslims have been congregating for years as one of many “no-go areas” he called on supporters to maintain discipline.   

In another video posted on the Islamophobic group’s Facebook page, one of the organisers, Simon Borg, is seen standing outside the Bugibba church from where the protest will depart and says “no to a mosque in Bugibba, no to a mosque anywhere, in any part of Malta and Gozo.”

This comes after the St Paul’s Bay local council unanimously decided to object to a planning application to turn a subterranean room into a prayer room for the growing Muslim community in the area.
Mayor Graziella Galea said the council opposed the permit because the proposed prayer room was inadequate for worship, and would create a hindrance to public order and increase problems of parking space.

Muslims welcome Catholic school’s offer

The Malta Muslim Council Foundation had a similar application turned down by the Planning Authority some 10 years ago for the change of use of another venue, in St Paul’s Bay while more recently the Sta Venera local council objected to a change of use of a premises in the locality because they determined that the venue would be used as a mosque. 

This prompted the Dominican Order to offer St Albert the Great College’s facilities in Valletta to the Muslim community.
Dominican provincial Fr Frans Micallef and school headmaster Mario Mallia said that the objections to the change of use of the Bugibba premises to a prayer room are “suspicious and inconsistent because they are not used against other communities.”

Micallef and Mallia added that the council and other people opposed to Muslim places of worship were using two weights and two measures, especially when Maltese Catholics had plenty of places of worship, and Muslims are being denied their right to worship.

Underlining the Dominican Order and the college’s commitment to welcome children and people of all religions, including Muslims, Micallef and Mallia said “we celebrate hospitality as an integral part of our Christian and human identity,” adding that they cannot “sit on the fence.” 

The noble offer was not welcomed by all, with the Ghaqda Patrijotti Maltin’s Battistino describing it as “strange, ridiculous, impracticable and above all dangerous.”

But the move was welcomed by the Malta Muslim Council Foundation and after a meeting between the community’s leaders and Mallia on Friday, it was decided that the best way to use the school facilities was to hold educational and cultural events.

A Malta Muslim Council Foundation representative, Bader Zeina, told MaltaToday that the meeting was very positive and “although the school is not adequate to hold prayers as this would clash with other school activities we spoke about using the facilities for educational and cultural events which would bring the communities together.”