"Double messages at the mosque"
EFL
The largest mosque in Stockholm is spreading double messages. What the Imam says in his speech in Arabic doesnât match how the text is interpreted in Swedish. âAmerica rapes Islam,â the Imam roars in Arabic from the platform. The interpreter translates to Swedish: âWe condemn USA's torture of Iraqi prisoners.â
It is Friday prayer in the mosque on Medborgarplatsen in Stockholm. Every week some 2 000 Muslims gather here to listen to Sheik Hassan Mousas sermon. He is the highest Imam in the mosque. Friday May 14, when SvD visited the mosque, the Imam was talking about the torture pictures of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison. Hassan Mousa speaks formal, classical Arabic and roars into the microphone. âWhatâs wrong with you grandchildren of Mohammed? How long will you endure this humiliation of Muslims without reacting? American and British soldiers, grandchildren of Hitler, are torturing Muslims in Iraq.â The words sink like a carpet bombing over the hall. Everybody feels them. Many have tears in their eyes. Heads are sunk and eyes are lowered onto the the blue coloured soft carpet.
Minutes later the Swedish translation of the speech is read by an interpreter. In Swedish, the American torture of Iraqi prisoners is condemned, but at the same time the translator emphasizes earlier good works for Muslims done by the US, among others in Bosnia. Not a word on how America is raping Islam, is the enemy of Islam and wants Muslims to be humiliated and under submission. Afterwards the Imam Hassan Mousa admits that his sermon was harsh. âBut I had no choice. The hatred against America has grown enormously since the publication of torture- and rape picturesâ, he says. âThe torture of prisoners in Iraq is a racist act by America against Muslims. I canât come out and speak about reconciliation and say that Islam not is subjected to a war by America at this time. The Muslims in Sweden would not accept it.â
He also refers to earlier sermons and says that many Muslims call him an "American friendly" preacher. âI have to calm down the Muslims feelings and meet them halfway.â But at the same time he denies that the mosque on Medborgarplatsen spreads double messages. That the Swedish translation didnât match the original Arabic is not a conscious strategy according to him. âIt just happened. Arabic is a much richer language than Swedish. Itâs impossible to translate everything. I usually improvise as I speak as well and say things that arenât in the translation. According to Hassan Mousa the mosqueâs direction has also, for practical and time saving reasons, decided that the translation should be a short version of the Arabic sermon. âIt should account for the essential points in the speech,â he says.
Quote from the Imamâs sermon in Arabic:
âHow long will you sit with your arms crossed and watch as the enemies of Islam imprisons your brothers and sisters, torture them, dishonour and kill them? Have we as Muslims sunk so low that we allow American soldiers to rape us and piss on us? Havenât you understood that America doesnât want what is best for the Muslims? Havenât you understood that the only thing America wants is the humiliation of Muslims? Havenât you understood that America wants that the grandchildren of the Prophet submit to Bush.
America will pay the price for all martyrs who have died in Palestine. There are those who are spreading lies in the media, saying that we in the mosque donât think that the former Hamas Leader, Sheik Ahmad Yassin, is a martyr, He is certainly a martyr and the martyr of martyrs. I want everybody in Sweden to know that.â
Quote from the interpreterâs Swedish translation of the Imamâs sermon:
âWe condemn Americaâs torture of Iraqi prisoners. The UN's treaties forbid torture. We want the Americans who are responsible to brought before the court. America has committed inhuman acts. But at the same time we want to remind Muslims to not judge all Americans alike... Think about all American parents who sent their children to Bosnia in order to help Muslims there.â
Posted by: tipper 2004-05-28 |