AFRICA/ANGOLA - Official sources raise concern for infiltration of Islamic extremist in Angola’s diamond market “It is strange that twice in the past few days people have spoken of Muslims in Angola operating with terrorist intents” sources in Angola told Fides

Luanda (Fides Service)- “It is strange that twice in the past few days people have spoken of Muslims in Angola operating with terrorist intents” a local source in northern Angola told Fides commenting recent concern for the presence of Islamic extremists voiced by the Angolan head of security and head of the criminal investigation department of the national police force .
“In recent years state radio and television has reported on Islam spreading in Angola through immigrants from west Africa, involved in illegal activities, comments which spoke of a risk of diffusion of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism” the source told Fides. “In Angola, Muslims are mainly in provinces where there is the most money and businesses flourish: Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul and Cabinda. In the rest of the provinces there are no mosques or organised Muslim groups”.
Fides source describes the present Islamic situation in Angola: “in Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul (the diamond provinces) Muslims are mainly west African immigrants from Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Guinea, The Gambia; others are illegal immigrants from Congo who have become Muslims while working in the diamond areas of Congo. Still others are women from Congo and Angola married to Muslims from West Africa and Congo. A fourth group could be young Angolans, from Lunda attracted by the social status of Muslims: people who only use dollars, possess powerful cars, build much bigger homes and can afford to keep a number of wives.
This type of Islam spreads in West Africa by means of solidarity in business, and we can be sure that the Angolan Muslim converts in Lunda were offered economic help and in exchange readily accepted to embrace the religion of their creditor-friends.
Fides source says there is no danger of terrorist attacks in Angola although he warns that the country’s resources could become a source of funding for international terrorism: “Infiltration of Islamic terrorism encounters various obstacles in Lunda Norte: the situation of Muslims here is precarious and transitory, since they depend on their diamond trading; moreover the towns of Lunda Norte and Sul are still very "provincial", and people tend to talk and gossip; Lunda Norte has no Islamic Cultural or Koran school as yet; lastly there is no obvious target for a terrorist attack. Whereas Luanda, the capital with a marked anarchic and uncontrolled proliferation, offers all these elements”.
“Muslims in Lunda Norte could become channels of investment for terrorist networks in the sector of Angolan diamonds accepting funds to purchase diamonds from the illegal miners, the garimpeiros. Information confirms collaboration with terrorist organisations, facilitated by a highly corrupted ambient, where large sums of money may transit is secret and where purchased diamonds are easy to export” our source concludes. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 1/12/2004 righe 49 parole)