The Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) has decided not to provide any prayer rooms in&nbsp;Gangneung for the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/pyeongchang-2018-winter-olympics-explained-8253"> 2018 Winter Olympics</a> after receiving threats by anti-muslim campaigners, the city&#39;s tourism department&#39;s chief said on Friday.&nbsp;

The KTO has refuted plans of organising mobile prayer rooms following strong opposition from some groups. Out of the total population of 51 million, Muslims account for&nbsp;a mere 0.2%, however, the KTO had earlier decided to build a prayer room to promote a &quot;Muslim-friendly Korea&quot; during the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/pyeongchang-winter-olympics-competition-begins-with-curling-32226">Winter Olympics</a> with the aim of increasing the number of Muslim tourists.

This goal came a step closer in early February with the opening of a cafeteria serving certified halal food to Muslim athletes competing at Pyeongchang.

Opposition from religious groups was shortly seen, who opposed the idea and threatened to carry out protests during the games which are set to begin on Friday.&nbsp;

Gangnueng city government tourism division chief Kang Suk-ho was quoted saying that he did not expect &quot;such an extreme backlash from the group&quot;.&nbsp;

In January, the Pyeongchang Olympics Gangwon Citizens&rsquo; Islam Countermeasure Association, a newly-formed civic group, began distributing a Google form titled &quot;Petition against the Installation of a Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Muslim Prayer Room.&rdquo;

The petition included various claims, including that the people of Gangwon province are collectively opposed to Islam, and that South Korea must be wary of the religion in its radical form. As of February 8, it had gathered more than 56,000 online signatures.

Also read:<a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/north-korean-leaders-sister-kim-yo-jong-welcomed-by-south-korea-8276">&nbsp;North Korean leader&#39;s sister Kim Yo Jong welcomed by South Korea</a>

Winter Olympics is already underway, PyeongChang is hosting the 2018 XXIII Olympic Winter Games. It is a major international multi-sport event which is scheduled to take place from February 9 to 25.

The 23rd Winter Olympics will feature 102 events in 15 sports and athletes from all over the world.

Out of the total population of 51 million, Muslims account of a mere 0.2%, however, the KTO had earlier decided to build a prayer room to promote a 'Muslim-friendly Korea' during the Winter Olympics with the aim to increase the number of Muslim tourists

The Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) has decided not to provide any prayer rooms in Gangneung for the 2018 Winter Olympics after receiving threats by anti-muslim campaigners, the city's tourism department's chief said on Friday. The KTO has refuted plans of organising mobile prayer rooms following strong opposition from some groups. Out of the total population of 51 million, Muslims account for a mere 0.2%, however, the KTO had earlier decided to build a prayer room to promote a "Muslim-friendly Korea" during the Winter Olympics with the aim of increasing the number of Muslim tourists. This goal came a step closer in early February with the opening of a cafeteria serving certified halal food to Muslim athletes competing at Pyeongchang. Opposition from religious groups was shortly seen, who opposed the idea and threatened to carry out protests during the games which are set to begin on Friday. Gangnueng city government tourism division chief Kang Suk-ho was quoted saying that he did not expect "such an extreme backlash from the group". In January, the Pyeongchang Olympics Gangwon Citizens’ Islam Countermeasure Association, a newly-formed civic group, began distributing a Google form titled "Petition against the Installation of a Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Muslim Prayer Room.” The petition included various claims, including that the people of Gangwon province are collectively opposed to Islam, and that South Korea must be wary of the religion in its radical form. As of February 8, it had gathered more than 56,000 online signatures. Also read: North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo Jong welcomed by South Korea Winter Olympics is already underway, PyeongChang is hosting the 2018 XXIII Olympic Winter Games. It is a major international multi-sport event which is scheduled to take place from February 9 to 25. The 23rd Winter Olympics will feature 102 events in 15 sports and athletes from all over the world.

Prayer rooms dismissed at Olympics following threats by anti-Muslim groups

Myanmar&#39;s anti-Muslim hardliners cheered Donald Trump&#39;s election as US president in prose and poetry on Thursday, hailing the divisive billionaire&#39;s triumph as a victory in the fight against &quot;Islamic terrorism&quot;.

Trump&#39;s shock ascent to the White House topped a vitriolic campaign in which he promised to ban Muslims from entering the US and pledged to establish a database of those living in the country.

Muslims around the world were left reeling from his surprise win on Tuesday, with many fearing he would bring in anti-Islam policies that could help bolster extremist groups like Islamic State.

But in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, a country simmering with religious tensions, hardline anti-Muslim groups waxed lyrical about his victory.

Firebrand monk Wirathu, once dubbed the &quot;face of Buddhist terror&quot; for his anti-Muslim sermons, celebrated with a four-line poem on Facebook.

&quot;Public security is the most important consideration/Donald Trump is the real leader/People love him so much/Nationalism is the priority,&quot; he wrote.

&quot;May US citizens be free from jihad. May the world be free of bloodshed,&quot; he added in a statement underneath.&nbsp;

Anti-Muslim sentiment has billowed in Myanmar in recent years, erupting into bouts of bloodshed and leaving a stain on the country`s recent democratic transition.&nbsp;

More than a million of Myanmar`s Muslims are Rohingya, a stateless ethnic group reviled by many Buddhists who insist they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Myanmar&#39;s president has accused Islamist Rohingya militants of attacking police border posts in western Rakhine state last month, an incident that sparked a deadly military crackdown in the border region.&nbsp;

Independent investigators have been prevented from carrying out enquiries into the allegations that Rohingya extremists carried out the deadly raids. 
But ethnic Rakhine Buddhist nationalists, who have long railed against the Rohingya, have seized on the attacks as evidence the oppressed minority is launching a new front for terrorism.

&quot;Being engulfed in Islamisation and illegal immigration problems, we the Arakanese (Rakhine) people look up to you as a new world leader who will change the rigged system being infested with jihadi infiltrators,&quot; said Aye Maung, chairman of the Arakan National Party, in an open letter to Trump.

&quot;We... hope your leadership will steer the US and the world into a safer place without radical Islamic terrorism.&quot;

(AFP)

Anti-Muslim hardliners cheered Trump's election calling the triumph a victory in the fight against 'Islamic terrorism'

Myanmar's anti-Muslim hardliners cheered Donald Trump's election as US president in prose and poetry on Thursday, hailing the divisive billionaire's triumph as a victory in the fight against "Islamic terrorism". Trump's shock ascent to the White House topped a vitriolic campaign in which he promised to ban Muslims from entering the US and pledged to establish a database of those living in the country. Muslims around the world were left reeling from his surprise win on Tuesday, with many fearing he would bring in anti-Islam policies that could help bolster extremist groups like Islamic State. But in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, a country simmering with religious tensions, hardline anti-Muslim groups waxed lyrical about his victory. Firebrand monk Wirathu, once dubbed the "face of Buddhist terror" for his anti-Muslim sermons, celebrated with a four-line poem on Facebook. "Public security is the most important consideration/Donald Trump is the real leader/People love him so much/Nationalism is the priority," he wrote. "May US citizens be free from jihad. May the world be free of bloodshed," he added in a statement underneath. Anti-Muslim sentiment has billowed in Myanmar in recent years, erupting into bouts of bloodshed and leaving a stain on the country`s recent democratic transition. More than a million of Myanmar`s Muslims are Rohingya, a stateless ethnic group reviled by many Buddhists who insist they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Myanmar's president has accused Islamist Rohingya militants of attacking police border posts in western Rakhine state last month, an incident that sparked a deadly military crackdown in the border region. Independent investigators have been prevented from carrying out enquiries into the allegations that Rohingya extremists carried out the deadly raids. But ethnic Rakhine Buddhist nationalists, who have long railed against the Rohingya, have seized on the attacks as evidence the oppressed minority is launching a new front for terrorism. "Being engulfed in Islamisation and illegal immigration problems, we the Arakanese (Rakhine) people look up to you as a new world leader who will change the rigged system being infested with jihadi infiltrators," said Aye Maung, chairman of the Arakan National Party, in an open letter to Trump. "We... hope your leadership will steer the US and the world into a safer place without radical Islamic terrorism." (AFP)

Trump victory hailed by anti-Muslim groups in Myanmar

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Prayer rooms dismissed at Olympics following threats by anti-Muslim groups

Trump victory hailed by anti-Muslim groups in Myanmar