Angola To Ban Evangelical Christian Sects, Rejects 170 Faith Groups Including Angolan Islamic Community, Not Islam

Angola is at the verge of banning a wide spectrum of religious groups, many of them of the Christian stock.

A report by the British think tank Chatham House quoted Angolan Culture Minister Rosa Cruz e Silva as saying last week that her government wanted to reduce the number of 'sects' in Angola.

"According to the minister, this was to combat witchcraft and illegal migration– but was targeting mostly Brazil-style evangelical groups that have mushroomed across Angola in recent years and have particularly worried establishment churches that have seen their congregations dwindle," the report said.

It said reports of a looming ban on Islam was a misrepresentation of the minister's words when she issued a list by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of 170 rejected faith groups that had requested to be recognised by the government – mostly evangelical churches, but including the Angolan Islamic Community, an umbrella organisation of the Muslim community in Angola.

"The minister was probably misquoted by local media, although this technically puts members of the Angolan Islamic Community at risk of arrest," Chatham House said.

"There is growing prejudice against Muslims in Angola, fuelled by the evangelical groups that the government wants to regulate or ban. In Huambo a Mosque has been closed by the provincial authorities and in Saurimo a minaret had to be dismantled. Amnesty International and the US State Department talk about erosion of religious freedom and the anxiety of the practising muslims in Angola is understandable."