Update:
http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-11-26-no-angola-has-not-banned-islam-its-a-little-more-complicated-than-that/"And then just as curiosity about the story had peaked, the Angolan embassy in the US stated categorically that the Angolan government had not banned Islam, or Muslims from practicing their religion.
“The Republic of Angola...it's a country that does not interfere in religion. We have a lot of religions there. It is freedom of religion. We have Catholic, Protestants, Baptists, Muslims and evangelical people,†the statement said.""
"It remains true, however, that Islam, as the Angolan Culture Minister is quoted as saying in the Beninese press, has not been legalised in the country."
"According to a US State department 2012 report on religious freedom in Angola, the Angolan constitution and other laws and policies protect religious freedom and the state recognises and respects different religious groups, which are free to organise and carry out their activities if they abide by the constitution and laws.
To gain this right, religious groups must first petition for legal status with the justice and culture ministries. Legal status secures religious groups the right to construct schools and places of worship. In Angolan law, a religious group must have over 100,000 members and be present in 12 of the 18 provinces to gain legal status.
And with Muslims in Angola by all accounts numbering less than 100,000 in a population of about 20-million, Islam has not then been officially “legalised†in the country.
According to the State Department’s 2012 report: “Muslim group leaders reported Muslims could not practice Islam freely because the government did not recognize Islam and selectively intervened to close mosques, schools, and community centres. Although government officials asserted the government protected religious groups without legal status and did not have a policy to close mosques or other Islamic facilities, there were several reports of local authorities closing mosques or preventing their construction.â€"
"In April 2012, a participant at a government-sponsored workshop on the growth of non-traditional (i.e., not mainstream Christian) religions is said to have declared Islam unwelcome in Angola. And sentiment among Angolans appears to reflect this. In June 2012, an online newspaper posted an opinion piece titled “In Defence of Christianity in Angola: Islam is the Seed of Ruin.â€"
