Tuesday, June 10, 2008
THE NEW MEANING OF "CONVERSION" - CHURCH TO MOSQUE
A reader sent in this story from the UK Telegraph:
Churches in Belgium are to be turned into mosques as Christian congregations decline while Muslims demand more places to worship.
Philip Heylen, Antwerp's deputy mayor, has called on the city to "break the taboo" over the many empty and unused churches.
"It's a looming issue yet it seems impossible to have a debate about this," he said. "Churches were built as places of worship and they should not be used as shopping malls. We've had a positive response from members of the Muslim community, which is open to the idea of converting them."
Antwerp has 36 mosques but many are located in old buildings that are too small or lack emergency exits. Meanwhile, the building of new mosques is sensitive in terms of planning.
When the people follow the example of the church, no one should act surprised!
