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A group of Muslim students living in Daegu, South Korea have been meeting to pray at a home near their university since 2014. In late 2020, they got permission to renovate the house and turn it into a mosque to better accommodate Muslims in the area. But their plans have been hampered by resistance from locals which has, at times, turned into open Islamophobia.
In 2021, protesters in front of the prayer site called students “terrorists” and signs calling Islam “an evil religion” were posted outside.
Then, in December 2022, those opposed to the development organised a barbecue and pig roast right in front of the site. Three pig heads currently sit outside, facing the students’ temporary prayer space.
>> Read more on The Observers: Pig heads, pork barbecues: Islamophobic attacks on a mosque under construction in South Korea
However, some of those objecting to the new mosque told Korean media that they rejected accusations of Islamophobia, explaining that they were mainly concerned about comings and goings to and from the site, or noise at religious festivals.
The South Korean Human Rights Commission called the demonstrations against the mosque discriminatory in October 2021.
South Korea’s 200,000 Muslims make up less than one percent of the population. The largest religions in the country are Christianity and Buddhism.
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