WHY KOREAN YOUTUBER’S PLAN TO BUILD A MOSQUE IN INCHEON IS FACING OPPOSITION FROM LOCALS

Daud Kim, a Muslim Korean YouTuber, has been facing wrath from neighbourhoods in South Korea’s Incheon. The former K-pop artist aims to build a mosque for Muslims in the city. But local communities are not on board. Taking to Instagram, Daud-Kim disclosed his plans to his 3.5 million followers. He hoped to build a mosque on a 284.4 square meters plot he purchased in Yeongjong-do Island in Incheon for a whopping 189.2 million won ($136,600), according to the picture of the contract he shared. The YouTuber also shared the news with over 5.5 million subscribers on his channel. “Finally with your help, I have signed a contract for land to build Masjid in Incheon. I can’t believe this day has come. I plan to build a prayer place and Islamic podcast studio for D’awah to Koreans,” he said. “There will be many hardships but I believe I can do it. Until the day when every street in Korea is filled with beautiful Azan, I will do my best,” he added. What does Kim have in mind? Why is not everyone happy with his plans? Here’s a closer look. Why are some people unhappy with Kim’s plans? As soon as Kim made the announcements, his response was met with fierce protests by locals. His signed land purchase contract was cancelled upon the request of the landowner. Yonhap NewsTV, a Korea-based media outlet quoted the previous owner as saying. “It will be difficult for the municipality to approve the construction of a venue for a religious congregation, considering the road conditions around the property,” an official at Incheon’s Jung District Office said.

Some residents even said that the construction might lead to “lower housing prices in the area”, The Korea Times reported. While Kim’s initiative had some backers, the majority complained about road blockages, dust and “noise”  from azan and aromas emanating from the masjids. They also raised objections to Kim’s public appeal to fund the project with comments on his post alleging that he was “using Islam to gain popularity and scam people”.

Kim asked for money to build the masjid. “I need financial help to complete the building. If you would like to help, please donate here,” the YouTuber had said while sharing his bank details. However, this further enraged the locals with many saying that personal funds cannot be used to construct a public place of worship in the country and that he was “misusing” his funds. “All Masjids across the country associated with the Korean Muslim Federation are registered under the name of the KMF, and nobody is allowed to register in the name of an individual or raise funds for the construction of the Masjid,” the group informed. Amid the row over the mosque, Kim’s past has returned to haunt him. A local media brought up a sex crime he committed in 2019. He was allegedly prosecuted for attempting to rape a foreign woman. A TikTok video posted by the survivor discussing the attempted rape resurfaced and gained viral attention. Later, Kim clarified that the case had been closed and the charges suspended after he apologised to the woman, who reportedly didn’t wish that he be punished. The mosque controversy has put a spotlight on the Muslim population in the country.

How many Muslims are in South Korea?

Earlier known as Jay-Han, Kim converted to Islam in 2020 and became part of the 35,000 Korean Muslim community in the Asian country.

Of South Korea’s 51.7 million population, over half of them do not identify themselves with any religion, while 15.5 per cent identify as Buddhists and eight per cent as Catholics, as per a 2015 census report. The Asian nation has 19 mosques catering to 1,50,000 Muslims of foreign nationalities from Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan. While a majority of 1,20,000, work as labourers; 30,000 live there as students and businesspersons, as per the Korean Muslim Federation. Over the years, the construction of mosques has faced many administrative and religious hurdles in Korea with non-muslim Koreans filing complaints and expressing displeasure. Earlier in September 2020, the local district office approved the construction of a new mosque in Daegu, a city in North Gyeongsang province. It quickly led to tension with nearby residents.

However, in February 2021, the district office issued a directive to stop construction because of backlash from locals, who even placed a pig's head at the site, knowing that pork is taboo in Muslim customs. The order was overturned by the higher courts in September 2022.

The Muslim students from Kyungppok University and rights activists gathered in large numbers and called the incident an “Islamophobic act”.

2024-04-24T08:57:47Z dg43tfdfdgfd