Friday prayer crowd at Ansan Islamic Center ignites South Korea coexistence debate

ANSAN, South Korea (MNTV) – As thousands of Muslim migrant workers gathered for holiday prayers at the Ansan Islamic Center earlier this month, the event brought into sharp focus both the growing visibility of Islam in South Korea and the practical challenges of accommodating large religious gatherings in densely populated urban areas, reports The Korea Herald.

The center is one of 21 mosques operated nationwide by the Korea Muslim Federation. The gathering was held for Jumu’ah, the weekly Friday congregational prayer, which typically draws worshippers from across the city and sometimes from further afield.

“It usually lasts about 20 to 30 minutes, with a sermon and group prayer. Not just Muslims living nearby, but people from across the country sometimes come,” explained congregant Tanvir Md Khalid to The Korea Herald.

While the facility accommodates up to 600 people and that particular day saw an estimated 250 to 300 attendees, both inside the building and on the surrounding streets remained calm. However, residents report that these occasions do not always proceed without incident, particularly during major religious holidays.

“There was one time when a delivery truck for my store couldn’t find anywhere to park because people were praying out on the streets,” recounted the owner of a nearby grocery store, who requested anonymity.

Concerns about crowd management and safety have prompted local residents to call for more structured oversight. “Even if it’s for a religious purpose, when nearly a thousand people gather outdoors, there should be safety measures on a level similar to those for regular rallies,” said Shin, a 52-year-old Ansan resident. “That’s especially important given the growing number of foreign residents in the area.”

The May Day holiday illustrated the scale of the challenge. The center reported that approximately 6,000 Muslims attended the prayer service that day, with 300 to 400 worshippers occupying the outdoor area in front of the mosque and adjacent sidewalks for roughly an hour around 1 p.m. Videos of the event subsequently circulated on social media, transforming what had been a localized neighborhood issue into a broader public debate.

Police from the nearby Wongok station were deployed to manage the situation, securing pedestrian access and monitoring traffic. “We monitored the situation before and after the prayer gathering, and there were no major safety issues,” reported Park Hong-soon, a senior officer at the Wongok Multicultural Police Substation.

Center officials responded to the criticism by characterizing such large outdoor gatherings as exceptional rather than routine. “It is difficult to predict how many people will gather during national holidays. We received complaints after May 1, and going forward, we will try to hold prayers indoors as much as possible,” said a center official.

Another representative emphasized the center’s collaborative approach: “We work closely with police and local authorities to ensure public safety when such situations occur. We try not to make noise and move in an orderly manner to avoid causing inconvenience to locals.”

Police have long been aware of these gatherings, with outdoor prayers taking place in the city for years. Officers have consistently encouraged center leadership to split attendance across multiple prayer sessions held indoors whenever feasible. “We’ve advised the center to divide worshippers into different prayer sessions for safety purposes, but because these are religious gatherings, police cannot go too far in directing how they are carried out,” explained an official from the Ansan Danwon Police Station.

Question of regulation

The increasingly visible sight of prayer crowds occupying public spaces has prompted fresh legal questions about how large-scale religious gatherings in shared urban areas should be regulated and overseen.

“The reason religious gatherings are exempt from reporting requirements is that they are generally seen as unlikely to disrupt public order or infringe on others’ rights,” explained Kim Byoung-soo, an attorney at law firm Nonhyeon. “But when large prayer gatherings occupy sidewalks and parking lots, blocking pedestrians and affecting traffic, it becomes increasingly difficult to view their impact as minimal.”