Source: maltatoday.com.mt

Children reciting the Quran at a religious institute. Photo does not depict the madrassa set up in Malta

The Maltese Security Service (MSS) is monitoring the activity of a local Madrassa-styled grouping that is meeting in the north of the island.

A Madrassa is an Islamic religious school.

Security has been stepped up after the Charlie Hebdo Parisian killings.

Madrassa gatherings are usually focused around the religious teachings of the Koran.  The meetings in Malta are said to take place in a garage and attract a particular segment of Muslims. Moderate Muslims have warned over the literal interpretation of the 700 commandments in the Koran.

The MSS was alerted to this Madrassa after it was alleged that one spiritual leader made a defamatory address to the Muslims present about the West. Concerns are running high and there are worries that a small number of Muslims living in Malta may empathise with radical jihadist groups.

On PBS’s Reporter, when asked whether he could comment about the presence of a madrassa in Malta, Laiq Ahmed Atif, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta, said he did not know of their existence.

However the Malta Security Services are worried that the recent influx of Arab nationals from various countries from a lower income bracket may be a fertile bed for radicalisation.

The most radical of the Sunni Jihadis, better known as Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, are in fact found in Libya, Syria and Iraq.

Speaking on the discussion programme ‘Reporter’, Atif said that he was not aware of any instances of Imams spreading inflammatory teaching among the Maltese Muslim community. On the contrary, Atif said, every Muslim should integrate and obey the laws of the land they live in. “The love of your country is part of your faith. If I live in Malta I should love Malta. If I am a bad Muslim, I can do what I want, but if I am a good Muslim, I will love the country I live in.”

A philosopher, a Muslim leader, a cartoonist, and a Francophile discussed the murder of French cartoonists from the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, at the hands of Islamic extremists last week, during the debate on the latest edition of the TV discussion programme ‘Reporter’.

Programme host Saviour Balzan asked Laiq Ahmed Atif, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta, about Islam being a religion of peace, confronting him in particular with the fact that there are many who interpret passages from the Koran which advocate violence in a literal sense.

“Jihad is not about killing, it is an internal struggle. Terrorists are terrorists. Terrorism is not a religion,” explained Atif. “We need more dialogue between religions, which should spread love not hate”.

Philosopher Joe Friggieri said his… read more at maltatoday.com.mt