Capitalism, not sharia, is coming to Cuba
The situation looks serious: This mosque issue seems to have created some tension in the Cuban press, according to our own press, the one that has a high dose of sensibility of Cuba due to “comradeship.”
The source of the fear is that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was going to Havana, not only with one mosque projects in his suitcase, but two…
I am scanning news reports about Erdoğan’s visit to Cuba. It was told that papers were highlighting that the real agenda of the meeting with “comandante” Raul Castro was building a mosque in Cuba, is that really true? He was going to Cuba for mosque negotiations, one in Havana, the other in Santiago, is that so? Was it reported that Erdoğan has set in his mind to build a mosque here and that other matters were of secondary importance? Or was there some exaggeration for the future of the “last romantic communist” regime? It was shown as if this mosque negotiation was the only reason that Erdoğan included Cuba in his trip. It is as if this is not an official trip by Erdoğan to Cuba, but it was the association’s plan to build a mosque in Cuba…
Well, the mosque issue was followed up by Erdoğan and it was brought up in the talks with Castro. It was already confirmed that The Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) had prepared a project similar to the architecture of the Ortaköy Mosque.
What about the second mosque? Erdoğan had explained that there were two supporters of the mosque idea and that Saudi Arabia also wanted to build a mosque.
Did they misunderstand two supporters and two different mosque projects as Erdoğan wanting to build two mosques?
Cuba was the first settlement of the Spanish in the region; in other words, this island is the epicenter of first missionary activities spreading Catholicism to the continent. Today, 56 percent of the population is atheist, only 39 percent is Catholic; the remaining 5 percent have other religions and beliefs.
The Muslim population is estimated to be around 3,000 to 4,000 and the total population is 11 million, by the way.
Our economic relations are extremely limited. We sell iron-steel, rubber, soap and spare auto parts worth $15 million; in return, we buy cigars, charcoal, medicine, essential oil and ethyl alcohol worth $16 million. The annual capacity of our trade, the items of export and import are made up of these goods.
On the other hand, our political solidarity is at the top level. Each year, we vote in favor of the lifting of the American embargo to Cuba in the United Nations. The embargo has come to an end, it can be lifted any time, but not because of our vote. U.S. President Barack Obama has made a radical Cuba initiative in American foreign policy. He is pressing to have an embassy opened hastily – by the month of April. The Communist Party regime, though, is saying, “First, take Cuba off of the list of countries that support terrorism.”
The atmosphere is as if both of those things are about to happen. This summer, American capitalism is coming to Cuba. Signs, one by one, have appeared that nothing will be the same after the day Fidel Castro leaves this world.
Tell me which one of these constitutes a bigger threat to the “Communist regime fantasy” that is surviving in Cuba: A mosque or a cute branch of wild capitalism?
To build a mosque in the island to spread Islam? Well, just stop there. Even in official history, Islam came here via Andalusia with the Moor invaders; it is not new, it is even older than communism. Drop that nonsense of Erdoğan’s trying to Islamize Cuba, focus on the American imperialism pounding at the door if you are concerned about the future of the regime…
