南非某座同志友善清真寺被关闭
South Africa's first gay-friendly mosque, which also allows women to lead prayers, has been closed indefinitely, a local official has told the BBC.
南非一位地方官员向BBC透露，当地首座同志友善清真寺被无限期关闭，该寺还允许女人带头祈祷。
A City of Cape Town councillor says the newly established Open Mosque had violated municipal by-laws by not having any parking spaces.
The mosque officially opened its doors on Friday despite criticism from members of the local Muslim community.
Founder Taj Hargey said the mosque would help counter radicalism.
"The City Council is trying to close the mosque using ridiculous bylaws and I will not be threatened by them or anyone else," Mr Hargey told the BBC.
"We have freedom of religion and expression in this country. No-one has the right to tell anyone what to believe in. This is a gender equal mosque, autonomous and independent and will remain so," he said.
City councillor Ganief Hendricks denied that the closure was part of a witch-hunt.
"This is an emotive issue - some councillors who are Muslim would want to defend the issue more vigorously than those that aren't but the bottom line is we have to make sure that the rules are followed," he told the BBC.
He said Mr Hargey had not applied to change the use of the building from a warehouse to a mosque.
"There are issues of health and safety to consider before [a mosque] is set up," Mr Hendricks said.