Tongan Muslim man accuses royal guard for being ignorant and favours certain churches

The Muslim man who was kicked out from Pangai Lahi after he went to offer a prayer for the Queen Mother on Tuesday last week has broken his silence in an interview with Kaniva News.

Peili Lutui Tea, who goes by the Islamic name Mohamed Allah Fatah, said the royal guard who kicked him out was ignorant and favoured only certain churches.

He said the law of the nation should respect a human being’s conscience and if someone wanted to show their love to the Queen Mother they should be allowed to do so.

He said the Queen Mother was loved and he wanted to offer a prayer for her because he was an international religious leader.

Fatah said he was ordained at the Khalifa Four and Five in Egypt.

He claimed he belonged to the king’s royal sea guards known as Fokololo ‘o e Hau through his father Lutui Palelei.

He said he had a duty to accomplish for the Queen Mother and give his blessing for her but it was marred by the royal guard’s ignorance.

He said when he entered Pangai Lahi he wanted to stop and change out of his Islamic clothes, but the royal guard kicked him out.

“Why did they not stop me when I stepped out of the taxi?” Fatah asked.

He claimed Muslims had never broken any laws in Tonga and what the royal guard did had tarnished their good reputation.

It is believed there are about 50 Muslims in the kingdom.

Fatah said there were 73 different Muslim sects in the world.

He said there were two groups of Islam in Tonga and they knew about each other.

Fatah said he belonged to the Ahmadiyya sect while the other group belonged to Sunni Islam led by Imam Ilyas Manu.

As Kaniva News reported earlier, thousands of Christian mourners gathered in a large marquee outside the palace to pray for the matriarch’s soul.

Ten Christian churches, two other groups and the royal family offered a series of prayer vigil during the Queen Mother’s takipō which began on Tuesday at 6pm and lasted until 6 o’clock on Wednesday morning.

The prayer vigil was conducted by the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Catholic Church, Tonga Tauʻatāina Church, Anglican Church, Church of Tonga, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Tōkaikolo Fellowship, Assemblies of God and the Constitution Church.

The two groups were from the Siaʻatoutai Theological College and Ālonga Centre which was founded by the Queen Mother.

Kaniva News has asked the Palace Office for comment.

   
Source: Kaniva News